New German Architecture

This exhibition explores the emergence of a new generation of German architects currently making waves in the German state of Hesse. Organised and curated by Manual Cuadra of the Bund Deutscher Architekten (BDA), the exhibition comprises projects all designed by architects under the age of forty. These architects have received the BDA architecture prize ‘Young Architects in Hesse’ and have demonstrated the quality of their work in competition with their colleagues throughout Hesse. The buildings explored in this exhibition not only bear witness to the professional competence of these firms, but above all to the importance of good planning and its influence on the functional and spatial qualities of a building – to the benefit of the client, the users and the environment.

“At 40, an architect is still regarded as young – partly because of the experience that has to be gained in order to bear the title of ‘architect’ and partly because of the difficult young architects have in gaining a foothold in the market. The high quality of the award winning works in this exhibition prove that any misgivings are quite unwarranted. Most important of all the BDA hopes that its architectural prize will contribute towards helping the architects presented here, and all other talented young architects, to be given the chance they deserve and need in order to develop their abilities and provide the service that is so important to society.”
Jurgen Engel - Chairman of BDA Hesse and Jury Chairman

Against One-Dimensionality - in Architecture and Elsewhere
“Neither the pessimists who bemoan the crisis of architecture in terms of a decline in the quality of real estate investment, nor the optimists who claim that the many outstanding achievements by leading architects in recent years amount to nothing less than the flowering of a great new architectural era are right. Indeed, it would seem that our age is characterised by the co-existence of both these aspects – outstanding creative achievements on the one hand, and astonishing mediocrity that ruthlessly ignores the public realm on the other hand.

If there is mediocre architecture, then it is surely not for want of competent architects. After all, there are superb buildings that prove they do exist. Unfortunately, they are not always given the opportunity of showing what they are capable of achieving when it comes to tackling sensitive urban situations or architecturally challenging tasks. Even in such difficult situations, architects are occasionally bypassed in favour of others, such as the so-called general contractors, who do not have the necessary competence in the field of architecture.

The laws of the market have come to dominate ever more areas of public and private life. Reason does not always prevail. When money is a prime consideration, the fact is all too often overlooked that not only the commercial objectives of the investors, but also public interest are at stake: the needs of the people who live in the apartment blocks, the needs of the employees who work in the office buildings etc. All buildings, including those erected primarily in the interest of investment, are part of the public realm. What is more, it is precisely these capital investments that are most likely to be situated in carefully chosen locations – preferably on prime sites in the busiest streets and public squares. In many cases, it is the site that gives them their significance in the first place, which means that they profit directly from their surroundings.

Unfortunately, this rarely prompts an approach that respects the public realm. Yet, in such cases, respect could well produce the kind of architecture that represents more than just the single-minded pursuit of commercial aims, by addressing the many different factors involved in the building project or related to it and taking these into account in the architectural design.

Contrary to what we are so often led to believe, it is not the cost that stands in the way of a many-facetted architecture as conceptually sound as it is formally substantial. Indeed, good planning is far more likely to lead to an economical solution than the kind of low quality designed offered, by say, a general contractor.

Good architecture is not a matter of miracles. Nor is it the sole preserve of large-scale and ambitious building projects. Good architecture can also be found in small projects on a modest scale – as the designs in this exhibition prove. For all the difference in detail, they share something in common – the quest for a distinctive response to a complex issue. This is reflected in the harmony they all radiate – a harmony that goes beyond the bounds of outward appearances and is inherent in the form in which individual interests coincide with the interests of the community: architectural form.”
Manuel Cuadra – Secretary BDA Hesse