50 years ago in 1966, Eckhard Gerber began his career as a freelance architect in Meschede, Germany. Forming the basis of his new business, which he named “Werkgemeinschaft 66,” was a series of successful competition entries that he had worked on as a student. During the many years of success that followed, the firm, which has been based in Dortmund since 1979, has grown steadily. Today, Gerber Architekten has some 170 employees and further offices in Hamburg, Berlin, Riyadh, and Shanghai.
On the occasion of the 50th anniversary of Gerber Architekten, this exhibition offers insight into the various strategies and approaches used by the firm to realize its express goal to create places that touch people’s hearts and awaken their desires. With the help of drawings, models, photos, renderings, books, and films, select building projects will be presented in the context of their respective zeitgeist and constantly new architectural challenges, addressing a wide range of themes surrounding urban development as well as functional, cultural, and artistic issues. Additional key parameters impacting each project are the site’s specific characteristics, its history, topography, and surrounding structures, the climate and connectivity, as well as energy and ecological needs – aspects of particular importance today. At the heart of the design process is always the connection of architecture with the landscape and/or urban space. This has been achieved by embedding the building within the surrounding environment, by allowing the latter to flow into the building, or by establishing relational perspectives between them.
Featured projects include: the Göttingen State and University Library (1993), the Harenberg City Center in Dortmund (1994), the new Trade Fair Center in Karlsruhe (2003), the Biological Institute of the Technical University in Dresden (2005), the RWE Tower in Dortmund (2005), the U Tower – Center for Art and Creativity in Dortmund (2010), the King Fahad National Library in Riyadh (2013), the head-end structures of Quarter of Nations in Wilhelmsburg, Hamburg (2014), the Justus Liebig University in Giessen (2016), the Qur’an Museum in Al Madinah al Munawarah and the Haram Intermodal Metro Station in Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), as well as the HEHE Holdings office building in Taiyuan (China), which are currently in planning.

A weekend with scenographic and performative elements as well as reflections on cultural history, through which the historical past is connected with contemporary perspectives.

90. years Bauhaus building
Saturday, 3. December 2016, 7–12 pm

Foundation stone ceremony Bauhaus Museum Dessau
Sunday, 4. December 2016, 10 am–3 pm

Information and Program

In 2016 Topotek1 celebrates it’s 20th anniversary. On this occasion the monography Creative Infidelities. On Landscape Architecture of Topotek 1 was published by jovis Verlag accompanied by an exhibition held in the office of Topotek 1 in Berlin. Starting in November, this exhibition will be shown in the Architekturgalerie in Munich with selected works by Topotek 1 and its long-standing collaboration partners. The book Creative Infidelities: On the Landscape Architecture of Topotek 1 edited by Barbara Steiner presents the approaches and methods of Topotek 1 in detail featuring ten important works from the office. Collaborators from the fields of architecture, art and design, private and public clients specialist planners and project managers in addition all consider the joint projects from different perspectives.