Wolf D. Prix & Partner

COOP HIMMELB(L)AU: 7+

Projects Models Plans Sketches Statements

Exhibition:
December 12, 2012 – March 3, 2013

Opening:
Wednesday, December 12, 2012, 7:00 PM

Speaking at the opening: 
Dr. h.c. Kristin Feireiss, Aedes Berlin
Dr. Ralph Scheide, Ambassador of the Republic of Austria
Prof. Dr. Michael Mönninger, Professor for architecture and history of art, HBK Braunschweig
Emer. Univ. Prof. Arch. DI. Dr. h.c. Wolf D. Prix, Wien

Aedes Cooperation Partners

Prof. Dr. Michael Mönninger, Professor for architecture and history of art, HBK Braunschweig
Univ. Prof. Arch. DI. Dr. h.c. Wolf D. Prix, Wien / Dr. Ralph Scheide, Ambassador of the Republic of Austria
Beate Engelhorn, curator, Aedes Berlin

Video

On the occasion of Prof. Wolf D. Prix’s 70th birthday, the Architekturforum Aedes in Berlin is devoting an exhibition to COOP HIMMELB(L)AU entitled "Wolf D. Prix & Partner: 7+ Projects, Models, Plans, Sketches, Statements" from 13 December 2012 to 24 January 2013

70 years, 7 projects, the 7 lives of an architect...
The magical number 7 has been integrated into the exhibition concept in a variety of ways. This show, which opens just one day before the 70th birthday of COOP HIMMELB(L)AU founder Wolf D. Prix, begins with a backward glance at the founding year of 1968 and the theoretical roots of this architectural partnership. The exhibition then proceeds with a detailed presentation of 7 buildings chosen by Wolf Prix, each from a different decade, and each with special significance for his oeuvre as a whole, before concluding with a foretaste of future projects. On the basis of a range of media, the exhibition provides a retrospective of more than 40 years of continuous architectural practice, joined by a highly personal forecast of the studio's future.

7
In the gallery of Aedes, the focus is on 7 different projects which made substantial contributions to the studio’s development and to its architecture. From the world-renowned "Cloud" project which launched the COOP HIMMELB(L)AU story, to the Dalian International Conference Center in China, and finally to the new building for the European Central Bank in Frankfurt, these 7 projects are presented to viewers via large-scale models, sketches, construction plans, and computer animations. The multifarious character of these materials on the 7projects provides insight into the design process and DNA of COOP HIMMELB(L)AU.

+ “How soon is now?” (Wolf D. Prix)
By building on expertise in the area of city planning acquired through earlier projects, including the first-prize-winning competition design for Melun Sénart (France) and a high-rise study for Vienna (Austria), COOP HIMMELB(L)AU takes an interdisciplinary approach to investigating future urban planning challenges and possible solutions.
Currently, familiar urban planning parameters, in conjunction with the expectation that issues related to energy generation and resource utilization will condition future building tasks, are transforming our (urban) spatial environment to such a degree that innovative solutions are proving indispensable. The study “2050” is being shown in the Aedes Studio in a “work-in-progress” phase. The study poses questions concerning these new, three-dimensional transformations, and searches for answers in the form of planning scenarios for energy-efficient urban spaces. Also presented will be the latest competition designs and design concepts on the basis of singular selected projects which stand in an associative context with the urban planning ideas of COOP HIMMELB(L)AU.

For more info please see: http://www.coop-himmelblau.at

Catalogue