Lecture date: 2014-02-18
Christiane Lange, Julian Heynen & Paul Robbrecht
Roundtable Discussion
Chair – Valentin Bontjes van Beek
The design for the Clubhouse of the Krefelder Golfclub (1930) by Mies van der Rohe was never built, until 2013, when it was constructed as a life-size model that could be entered. MIES 1:1 The Golf Club Project is an unusual experiment, an architecture exhibition made up of only the 1:1 model. Curator Christiane Lange invited Belgian architect Paul Robbrecht (Robbrecht en Daem architects, Gent) to develop the model’s structure, based on the original plans. The project was completed in May 2013, on the original site in Krefeld. As an example of mature architectural language, the 1:1 model distils Mies’ concepts and can be seen as a unique object d’architecture.
Christiane Lange who initiated and curated the project will speak about the historic and artistic background as well as the meaning and public reception of the 1:1 model. Christiane Lange holds a masters in art history and history from the Universities at Bonn. As a member of the German Research Foundation Project Catalog Raisonné of furniture and furniture design by Mies van der Rohe, she catalogues all furniture designs, realised and un-realised, by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. The Project is led by Wolf Tegethoff of the Zentralinstitut fuer Kunstgeschichte, Munich, Germany. Christiane is a founding member of ‘Projekt MIK e. V.’ Krefeld, Germany. Her research, exhibitions and films focus on the European work of Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich. Christiane’s most recent publications are Mies van der Rohe, Architecture for the silkindustrie and Mies in Krefeld, a documentary film.
Julian Heynen will present ‘Making Models – A Way of Talking About the World’, specifically drawing attention to the work of Thomas Schütte as an example for how models can be used in the neighbouring field of contemporary art. Julian Heynen is a curator and writer specialising in contemporary art and currently artistic director at large of the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen, Düsseldorf. In the 1980s and 1990s he was director of exhibitions at Haus Lange and Haus Esters, two villas designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe in 1927–30.
Paul Robbrecht will present ‘The Reconstruction of an Architectural Thought’ discussing his approach to the source materials and how he approximated the 80 year old designs. Co-founder of Robbrecht en Daem architecten, Paul Robbrecht is currently International Fellow of the RIBA, guest professor, University of Ghent and member of the Royal Flemish Academy of Belgium for Science and the Arts.
