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Die Stuttgarter Wohnhochhäuser «Romeo und Julia» von Hans Scharoun, entstanden in den Jahren 1954 bis 1959, bilden einen seiner eigenwilligsten und weitreichendsten Versuche, den «Wohnvorgang» neu zu entwerfen. Hans Scharoun hat sich für seine Grundrissentwürfe ein dichtes Geflecht von Forschungen und Wissenssystemen zugänglich gemacht. Seine unpublizierten Textfragmente, vor allem aber die Vorlesungen von 1947 bis 1958 zeigen, dass er in seiner entwerferischen Tätigkeit auf unzählige Diskussionsstränge der Wohnbauforschung zurückgriff und in seine Arbeit aufnahm. Seine Forschungen zum Grundriss machen die widersprüchliche, sich ständig erneuernde Vertiefung des Wissens sichtbar.
Diese englische Ausgabe eröffnet, wie Scharouns «Romeo und Julia» unabdingbar mit dieser Auseinandersetzung verzahnt ist. Der wechselhafte Entwurfsprozess zu den Wohnhochhäusern wird erstmals anhand eines umfangreich ausgebreiteten Planmaterials aus dem Baukunstarchiv der Akademie der Künste nachvollziehbar dokumentiert. Neben historischen Fotos zeigen Fotografien von Georg Aerni das expressive Erscheinungsbild der Bauten.
About the author
Markus Peter is founding partner of Meili Peter Architects with offices in Zurich and Munich. He also teaches as a professor of architecture and construction at ETH Zurich.
Ulrike Tillmann is an architect and architectural historian. She has been working as research assistant with Markus Peter’s chair of architecture and construction at ETH Zurich 2006–09 and is currently pursuing her PhD at Freie Universität Berlin.
Summary
Insights into the design process and intellectual foundation of Hans Scharoun, one of the most extraordinary protagonists of Germany's modern architecture
Additional text
“Every now and then, an architecture book comes along that reminds you of all the things you love about architecture. The documentation of Scharoun’s simultaneously meticulous and messy design process, often presented in this sizable book on a facsimile of its original matte beige sketch paper, is astonishing, a “back to basics” architecture informed by extensive research—his own and that of colleagues in related fields who set out to solve the housing crisis in postwar Germany—and countless drawings of a kind that have become foreign to our contemporary eyes, now accustomed to lifelike renderings and slick animations to illustrate a project.” Josephine Minutillo, Architectural Record
“Something worth highlighting in this publication is its ability to become a primary resource for future research on Scharoun's work, on the history of collective housing, or on residential design processes. In particular, it highlights the wonderful collection of drawings and plans of different moments of the process, reproductions of the Hans Scharoun Archive. For this reason, the edition not only shows the research carried out by the authors Markus Peter and Urike Tillmann, but also brings researchers closer to the original material that has been worked on, a meticulous and very valuable publishing practice.” David H. Falagan, Arquilecturas
Report
"Every now and then, an architecture book comes along that reminds you of all the things you love about architecture. The documentation of Scharoun's simultaneously meticulous and messy design process, often presented in this sizable book on a facsimile of its original matte beige sketch paper, is astonishing, a "back to basics" architecture informed by extensive research-his own and that of colleagues in related fields who set out to solve the housing crisis in postwar Germany-and countless drawings of a kind that have become foreign to our contemporary eyes, now accustomed to lifelike renderings and slick animations to illustrate a project." Josephine Minutillo, Architectural Record
"Something worth highlighting in this publication is its ability to become a primary resource for future research on Scharoun's work, on the history of collective housing, or on residential design processes. In particular, it highlights the wonderful collection of drawings and plans of different moments of the process, reproductions of the Hans Scharoun Archive. For this reason, the edition not only shows the research carried out by the authors Markus Peter and Urike Tillmann, but also brings researchers closer to the original material that has been worked on, a meticulous and very valuable publishing practice." David H. Falagan, Arquilecturas
