Press Releases from gisela graf communications (47 total)
Next to Bauhaus 2
The Bauhaus centenary might be over, but the Bauhaus tradition persists. This is clearly shown in the Dessau School of Architecture's new annual "Next to Bauhaus 2". The second volume of documentation on the research and teachings by the Faculty of Architecture, Facility Management and Spatial Information of the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences provides an overview of the work and legacy of lecturers and students of the Dessau campus…
Flying Panels. How Concrete Panels Changed the World
During the second half of the twentieth century countless concrete panels sailed through the skies: not only physically from factory to construction site, or from country to country, but also figuratively. The flying concrete panel could be found all over the world in countless pictures, on posters, in cartoons and movies and even as toys or theatre and opera sets. Their symbolism made them an emblem for the promise of…
Mass Housing in the Socialist City. Heritage, Values, and Perspectives
Prefabricated mass housing in cities from formerly socialist countries represents an enormous volume of residential housing today and is therefore an important tool for the future urban development within these cities. But transformation of these districts is needed due to the functional, societal, and technical challenges that they face. How can these - sometimes gigantic - structures from the 1960s and 70s be adapted to today's needs? How can a…
Architectural Guide Moon
Mankind first reached the moon on July 21, 1969. This celestial body had always been a place of longing for earth's inhabitants but this date really set things in motion. Luna, Ranger and Apollo - these and all of the other missions that followed contributed to the fact that we can now seriously consider settling on the moon - and in a manner that is quite different from the…
Sports Facilities. Leisure and Movement in Urban Space
Gone are the days in which the typically multi-purpose school gyms located somewhere on the outskirts of town are the first thing to come to mind when one mentions sports facilities. Nowadays a growing number of sports facilities are developed which are not only designed with an unusual concept and integration into the urban context, but which also provide a significant and aesthetic contribution to their surroundings - all the…
Shrinking Cities in Romania (2 Volumes)
Shrinking cities are a worldwide phenomenon. While megacities keep on growing, the mid-sized and smaller cities are often left to deal with dwindling population numbers. These shrinking processes can also trigger uncontrollable dynamics. They are often looked upon by governments and administrations with a degree of trepidation, sometimes even becoming a taboo issue. Ignoring the phenomenon has become quite common in a country that is especially impacted by it due…
Housing for All
Affordable housing is an ongoing political issue. Local authorities have repeatedly been striving to set international standards for these important construction projects since the 1920s. In the tradition of a socially oriented housing development today's focus is on not only on setting out political, but also architectural standards. The catalogue of buildings presented in Housing for All shows more than 130 current residential buildings, all adhering to the principle of…
Affordable Housing
Cost-effective Models for the Future
Affordable housing is currently in short supply. In many European cities prices in the residential market are literally going through the roof and there is an acute need for action: as much affordable housing must be provided as quickly as possible. Yet how can costs be reduced without restricting the quality of the new homes? This calls for persuasive models and concepts that are cost-effective, sustainable…
Redevelopment of the new Schindler-Campus
Ebikon/Luzern, 22.10.2018. Swiss architects Burckhardt+Partner AG are redeveloping the historic Schindler site into a modern campus. The upgrading and overall design of the urban development include the replacement and conversion of existing buildings, new builds as well as the optimisation of site access and a new landscaping design. The redevelopment aspires to achieve a Gold-level LEED certification.
For more than sixty years the Swiss town of Ebikon has been the headquarters…
Georgia. Art for Architecture
Soviet Modernist Mosaics from 1960 to 1990
While buildings in the style of Soviet modernism in Georgia have received global recognition for several decades, the artworks created for architecture during this period – monumental, decorative mosaics – are still waiting to be discovered and appreciated internationally. These glorious, colourful mosaics were, and still are, an independent yet inseparable part of the architecture in Georgia. They express the function of the respective…
Hybrid Tbilisi
Reflections on Architecture in Georgia
The Caucasian metropolis of Tbilisi is in a permanent state of transformation. Spectacular new buildings contrast with late-Soviet formal experiments such as the Ministry of Highway Construction, an icon of Soviet brutalism. Meanwhile, palaces, administration buildings, and museums by European architects from the early-twentieth century are fading into oblivion, while entire streets around them are being reconstructed. Georgia’s capital appears like something of a paradox: on…
The Törten Project. Murder and Crime Mysteries from a Bauhaus Estate
A different approach to architectural teaching
Students develop crime stories set in the Bauhaus Estate in Törten, Dessau
Hannes M actually hated straight lines and was secretly in favour of Baroque ornamentation. His granddaughter discloses this secret, putting her life at risk. Meanwhile, a neighbour gets carried away with his zest for renovation and destroys the Amber Room, which had been stored in boxes in his garden shed. Another resident elsewhere…
Modernity and Durability
Perspectives for the Culture of Design
The orthodox concept of the Modern, as it was passed down from the 1920s to the post-war era, has been in a state of crisis for quite some time. This is particularly visible in the fields of urban planning, architecture, and design. Theorists and practitioners have either fiercely defended it as a crowning historical achievement to be upheld and further cultivated, or dismissively rejected it…
Architectural Guide Monterrey
Monterrey is known as ‘the city of the mountains’, in reference to its privileged location at the foothills of the Sierra Madre. The city, founded in the north-east of Mexico in 1596, remained dormant until the turn of the 20th century, when it went through a period of rapid industrial growth that transformed it into a prosperous city. Today, Monterrey is an important metropolis brimming with culture, education, and business.
In…
Architectural Guide Minsk
Minsk, founded in 1067, was a small, inconspicuous town lost in the backwoods of Eastern Europe for many centuries. Ironically, it was the devastation caused by the Second World War that drove the Soviet authorities to transform Minsk into a major city of true importance. The post-war development turned Minsk into one of the world’s fastest growing cities in the 1960s and 1970s and also left behind bright, visible traces…
The energy is in the façade
Grosspeter Tower in Basel: the building's envelope as solar power plant
Basel, 28.6.2018 The Grosspeter Tower in Basel has been completed. To mark this occasion the Zurich-based client PSP Swiss Property will today officially inaugurate this energetically exemplary building. What is not immediately apparent is that the façade generates electricity.
The prerequisite of the client was that an in all respects sustainable building should be designed. These aspirations are particularly expressed…
New digital strategies at Burckhardt+Partner
Basel-based digitalwerkstatt becomes subsidiary of the architecture company
» Burckhardt+Partner has expanded its digital planning service with digital manufacturing processes
» It offers comprehensive digital services from concept to realization from a single source
» It is thereby systematically further developing its architecture services
Digitalization offers a range of possibilities for designing planning and execution processes more efficiently, quickly, cost-effectively and individually. Burckhardt+Partner AG is taking advantage of these possibilities and is therefore expanding…
Living with Nature
The longing for nature has never been greater than at a time when more and more people live in densely populated urban centres. The country is a place for relaxation and recreation. Living there, even if only for a short time, is a dream for many people which remains unreachable for most.
A number of such places of longing are presented in Living with Nature from the Edition DETAIL series. Holiday…
Manual of Multi-Storey Timber Construction
Timber has reclaimed its place in the urban environment. This oldest of mankind's building materials is not only perfectly suited for conversions, extensions and infill projects, but also for the construction of multi-storey buildings all the way up to skyscrapers. This has only become possible through ongoing and intensive research and development in timber construction which over the past couple of years has led to a range of hybrid solutions.
DETAIL's…
30:70 - Architecture as a Balancing Act
Never before have so many buildings been constructed as today, and never has architecture had so many technological and design possibilities at its disposal. And we must, as ever, make our built environments as pleasant as possible. After all, they affect our health, well-being, and productivity. Yet there is a sense of unease permeating the present state of contemporary architecture.
The German-Russian architect Sergei Tchoban and Russian art theorist Vladimir Sedov…
Next to Bauhaus
Dessauer Schule – Dessau School of Architecture
The yearbook Next to Bauhaus by the Dessau School of Architecture is the first in a planned series of annual documentations on the research and teachings by the Faculty of Architecture, Facility Management and Spatial Information of the Anhalt University of Applied Sciences. The title provides the first comprehensive overview of the work and legacy of lecturers and students of the Dessau campus and…
structure - published by DETAIL now an independent magazine
Review of Structural Design and Engineering can be subscribed from March 2018 onwards
structure - published by DETAIL will become an independent international trade journal for structural engineers with its own brand identity. The magazine, that was so far only available as a special issue, will be published quarterly starting from the 1st of March, 2018. It is intended for everyone who recognises the importance of structural engineers in the success…
DETAIL Prize 2018 announced: Innovative details wanted!
• Submissions from 3 to 30 April 2018
• Prizes are awarded for architecture, interior design and construction
• Award ceremony in November 2018
Awarding architectural quality
The DETAIL Prize is awarded for future-oriented, innovative and authoritative projects with outstanding architectural and technical qualities. From 3 to 30 April 2018, planners can submit projects realised anywhere in the world for all building types that are characterised by special details within a coherent overall…
CEBRA_files_01, 02 and 03
Anyone who associates Scandinavian architecture with minimalist, reserved, and classical can be convinced otherwise by CEBRA. The name of this Aarhus-based architectural office reflects its programme: a tropical exotic in the cool North and architecture that is expressive, colourful, and innovative, but always contextual and user-oriented.
The three-volume, elaborate monograph, CEBRA_files, documents more than fifteen years of thought-provoking architecture. With its 1,200 pages and around 1,500 illustrations, the team of fifty…
Architectural Guide Münster / Münsterland
The university town of Münster is a modern business location with over 300,000 inhabitants and a high radiation power within and beyond its region. The city's history is over 1,200 years old and it still has an attractive old town.
With the help of 170 buildings and projects, the Architectural Guide Münster / Münsterland describes the latest architectural history of the Westphalian city and its region, since 2006. Many of the…
Architectural Guide Aarhus
Aarhus may be only the second biggest and second oldest city in Denmark, but this 330,000 inhabitant city in Jutland is home to country's oldest university. Many who have studied there end up staying – there must be a reason. It is worth taking a closer look at this city that lays in the shadow of Copenhagen – especially now, since it is the 2017 European Capital of Culture.
In addition…
The Melnikov House - Icon of the Avant-Garde, Family Home, Architecture Museum
The Melnikov House is a world-famous icon of Russian Constructivism, a masterpiece of Modernism. Konstantin Melnikov built this house for himself and his family between 1927 and 1929 – as an experiment to test his concept of mass construction for residential settlements. The unmistakable double-cylindrical shape, the refined lighting regulated by honeycomb-like windows, a sophisticated climate control system and many other original elements make this building still innovative today; it…
Spying on Moscow - A Winged Guide to Architecture
A pedestrian in the city sees buildings in the context of the city landscape, with the façades as main attraction. Architects and engineers are focused on construction and design, and urbanists consider individual buildings solely as elements of the city complex. Thus the angle of observation influences the reception of the objects: viewing from above, onto the "fifth façade" that barely anyone sees, opens completely different dimensions.
The Moscow photographer, Denis…
Urban Eurasia - Cities in Transformation
In these parts of the world, we see the city as an organism that has grown from individual and communitarian interests, economic forces, technical and cultural innovations - based on the communication between the different parties. It was different in the Soviet Union, where the urban space was implemented by the state or political elite according to its political objectives, and this as one of the fastest and most powerful…
Urbanity and Density in 20th Century Urban Design
Light, air, sun was not everything: a book about urban modernity
The book Urbanity and Density in 20th Century Urban Design topples a solid historical picture. To this day, the history of urban planning in the twentieth century reads as if modernity had dissolved the traditional city configurations and radicalised the spatial and structural organisation of the city. Postmodern, on the other hand, saw a return to traditional urban forms.
The author…
Architectural Guide Iran
From the Safavids to the Iranian Revolution
Iran has one of the oldest urban cultures, dating back over 4,000 years. In the Architectural Guide Iran, the author and architect Thomas Meyer-Wieser explores Iranian architecture, from the Safavids to the Iranian Revolution, with the help of 360 buildings and projects in Isfahan, Shiraz, and Tehran. On the fictional tour of these three cities - alternating capital, depending on the ruling dynasty -…
Architectural Guide Dessau / Wörlitz
Dessau may be a mere speck on the map, but to this day the city of Bauhaus still occupies the most important place in the development of the New Building – otherwise known as the Neues Bauen – movement. The Garden Kingdom of Dessau-Wörlitz and the Bauhaus have not only bequeathed the city and its surrounds with inestimable architectural urban and rural properties and spaces, cited intellectual heritage, which has…
Architectural Guide Berlin
With additional contributions by Philipp Meuser and Martin Pueschel
In no other place in Europe have changing ideologies and differing urban planning models left such a far-reaching mark as in Berlin. The German capital enables the reader to make a literal journey through history. In the shape of four excursions, the Architectural Guide Berlin presents prominent architectural highlights from Kurfürstendamm in the West to the prefab housing estates of the East.
The…
Contemporary Architecture. Made in Germany
Whether it be a solar kiosk in Africa, the National Library in Saudi Arabia or a city in Mongolia: architecture "Made in Germany" can be found all over the world - and German architects are valued for their efficiency, quality and reliability; they are considered experts on sustainability and sophisticated urban planning.
Contemporary Architecture. Made in Germany is a presentation of 28 international architecture firms based in Germany. The book presents…
Building Across Worlds - International Projects by Architects von Gerkan, Marg u …
The Hamburg-based architects von Gerkan, Marg und Partner, also known as gmp, belong to the internationally most recognised architecture offices. From single-family homes to master plans, gmp has realised some 400 projects worldwide - many of them built in Asia. But how does one build in other cultural environments and on the proper scales in, for example, China or Vietnam? How much knowledge from the European construction practice can be…
Building Openings Construction Manual
Every architect has to reflect on building openings, since every house has windows and doors. They are the interface between indoor and outdoor spaces, essential functional and design elements of facades which provide light, ventilation and climate control. What sounds so simple has become a highly complex matter in times of energy planning. DETAIL is now publishing a comprehensive standard and reference work on the subject: the Building Openings Construction…
Architectural Guide United Arab Emirates
Architecture and the United Arab Emirates: these keywords almost automatically provoke thoughts of the headline-grabbing and record-breaking architecture in Abu Dhabi and Dubai. A closer inspection, however, reveals neo-traditional edifices in Sharjah or ambitious structures and trendsetting projects in the smaller emirates. Furthermore, there are numerous examples of a new generation of Emirati architecture, whose focus lies on sustainability and the preservation of diverse building traditions. The architecture in the…
Behind the Iron Curtain - Confession of a Soviet Architect
The Soviet Union is history, its architecture still an underrated and unexplored era on the international scene. Felix Novikov, one of the last surviving Soviet architects and thus an important contemporary witness, speaks in Behind the Iron Curtain. Confession of a Soviet Architect. Born in 1927 and currently resident in the USA, the architect and publicist exerted a decisive influence on Soviet architecture following the Second World War with his…
Conversations with Peter Eisenman - The Evolution of Architectural Style
Peter Eisenman is regarded as one of the most influential architects of the present day. His architecture carries many layers and meanings, whereby one question leads to the next. Convinced that the work of an architect primarily needs to be examined based on his or her own words, the author and curator Vladimir Belogolovsky has allowed Eisenman to speak for himself. The book Conversations with Peter Eisenman. The Evolution of…
Container and Modular Buildings
By now, the need to build numerous apartments within a short space of time is evident owing to the rapid increase in the number of immigrants and refugees in Europe. Affordable and fast accommodation has always been a latent issue, but now it has become apparent and needs to be addressed. Concrete solutions are sought after by architects.
Although containers offer temporary accommodation, modular buildings are intended to achieve long-term solutions.…
Design for Space - Soviet and Russian Mission Patches
The white helmet of Yuri Gagarin is adorned with the Cyrillic letters CCCP – in a luminous shade of red. The images of the first man in space circulated throughout the world in 1961 and were highly effective in terms of publicity. Although Gagarin only flew with military insignia, a new genre of political art was set to evolve soon after. The dove of peace with which Valentina Tereshkova journeyed…
Architectural Guide Chile
The fact that Chilean architecture has made a comeback on the global stage with modern masterpieces and interesting concepts – particularly over the past fifteen years – can be put down to architects such as the Pritzker laureate Alejandro Aravena, who curated the Venice Architectural Biennale in 2016. However, this is also due to less well-known architects, such as Mathias Klotz, Smiljan Radic and Pezo von Ellrichsausen.
The Architectural Guide Chile…
Stadium Buildings
From ancient stadium construction to a design object of the twenty-first century, sports arenas have long been turned into places hosting a global media spectacle. For a few hours or days, colossuses made of steel and concrete transform into colourful festival locations. These spectacular creations make headlines every couple of years in the run-up to the World Cup and the Olympics.
With the volume Stadium Buildings from the Construction and Design…
The DETAIL Prize 2016 is announced
• Submissions from 17 May until 30 June 2016
• Now also for interior designers and civil/structural engineers
• Symposium and gala event in November 2016
Munich, 20.04.2016 The DETAIL Prize has once again been announced: From 17 May until 30 June 2016, architects from all over the world can submit their realized projects for all building types that are characterized by innovative details within a coherent overall concept. For the first time…
Hidden Urbanism - A deluxe volume celebrates the Moscow Metro
All Aboard
Life in the world's metropolises doesn't just play out above ground. Metros in the largest cities of the world transport umpteen thousand people from one station to the other on a daily basis. The Moscow Metro has one of the deepest and most frequented metro systems globally. Furthermore, it has turned these underground hubs into full-scale palaces and temples of transport - a visit thus resembles that to a…
Towards a Typology of Soviet Mass Housing (box set)
An Academic, Playful and Haptic Approach towards a Comprehensive Understanding of Prefabricated Buildings
This insightful study on Soviet serial mass housing from 1955 to 1991 is now available as a box set complete with a Quartets-type card game and miniature plaster model
Soviet mass housing is a unique phenomenon. The construction programme launched in the post-Stalinist era was the largest undertaken in modern architectural history worldwide. At the same time, Soviet mass…
Hidden Urbanism - All Aboard
A deluxe volume „Hidden Urbanism“ celebrates the Moscow Metro
Life in the world's metropolises doesn't just play out above ground. Metros in the largest cities of the world transport umpteen thousand people from one station to the other on a daily basis. The Moscow Metro has one of the deepest and most frequented metro systems globally. Furthermore, it has turned these underground hubs into full-scale palaces and temples of transport -…
