Professorship

Contributing to the »Theory and History of Modern Architecture« — for us, this means tapping into a wealth of experience that we need in architecture to respond in a responsible manner to current requirements.

Architecture is therefore our conceptual interest and acts as both our starting point and our target. We look at our theory and our history. As architects who wish to learn from the past, we consider the architectural work and architectural thinking of modernism. We want to understand how we got to where we are. We ask how we can honour our responsibility for shaping our environment.

We aim to consider modern architecture holistically and are interested in tracing its gradual emergence. We are just as invested in the architectural debates of today as we are in those of the 18th century (in the middle of which modernism begins to emerge, as traditionalism loses its innocence and then its value, before finally collapsing). Modernism — however one wishes to define it — has since been characterised by its constant search for new ways to meet the changing tasks of a constantly evolving world. It is a peculiar story, full of optimism and hope, but also of missteps, dead ends, and abrupt course corrections.

It is just as important to learn from mistakes as it is to further expand on the exemplary. Time and time again, our primary concern is the ideas that were and are still at play. Without them, the practical aspects cannot be understood. When we delve into theory, it is therefore also in the interest of practice. When we consider the practical, it is in the spirit of locating its principles.

In short, when we look at modern architecture, it is not from the outside, rather from the inner circle of those who inherit it. We are striving for an understanding from which architecture can once again emerge. This is something we need in order to carry out our responsibilities.

About the history of the Professorship