22.10.2024

Young and radical : The Baumeister in February 2024

Building design

Raum*F collective, photo: Katarina Lovrić

In the February issue, we look at young architects who have long since tired of the status quo. Young planners are as multifaceted as they are uncategorizable. They cannot be lumped together.

Young, radical, rebellious and long tired of the status quo. Some of the young architects we spoke to in the course of this issue fit this description perfectly.

They are really fueling the pressure for change, and in many places the architecture profession seems barely able to cope with it. At the same time, the above four-part harmony is deceptive. After all, young planners naturally cannot be lumped together or pigeonholed. They are as multifaceted as they are uncategorizable.

It is a tradition for the Baumeister to publish an issue for and by young people once a year. My personal resolution for this issue was to remove myself from the overall equation as much as possible. The aim was to create a more unbridled, downright radical and unadulterated issue. And in my view, we have succeeded.

Before you is a Baumeister like we’ve never done before. In its own way, this edition breaks chains and leaves me feeling something between anxiety and a sense of optimism.

In B2, young architects who have something to say, who show the courage to say publicly what many only think about in the quiet closet, have their say using keywords. This issue is intended to be a platform for all the convictions that drive and, above all, motivate our young talents. You will soon realize that nothing has been sugar-coated here. Many views are hard-hitting, honest and offensive.

Of course, this also means that you as readers must give the opinions, statements and lines a special chance. And I would like to expressly ask you, dear readers, to do so. Basically, this issue is about opportunities. With this BAUMEISTER, we have offered young architects the opportunity to put truly honest and open statements on paper. Now we have a real opportunity for a dialog between the generations.

No generation will be able to steer or even define the destiny of the future alone. But by working together, we can build our future together in the best sense of the word. This will be exhausting (and sometimes quite annoying – for all sides), no question. But it’s worth it. After all, it’s always about passions and the soul that we all put into our work.

I am impressed by this issue and promise you that it is worth paying attention to the people who have been so courageous and say here publicly what many are afraid to talk about. This courage inspires me and I am happy and grateful to be part of this issue. And: I wrote at the beginning that I was taking myself out of the equation for this issue. That’s why, at the request of many of those involved, this issue is gendered. As an exception.

The magazine is available here in the store.

In our January issue , we present the topic of “circularity” and the end of linear construction. Get your copy of B1 now here.

22.12.2024

EVA Conference 2015

Building design

A conference on the quality of digital media and techniques The EVA (Electronic Media and Visual Arts) conference took place for the 22nd time at the beginning of November at the Berlin Museum of Decorative Arts. This annual gathering of users, developers and mediators of electronic documentation and communication techniques has been held at an international level for 26 years, with venues such as London, Florence, Moscow and Jerusalem […]

A conference on the quality of digital media and techniques

The EVA (Electronic Media and Visual Arts) conference took place for the 22nd time at the beginning of November at the Berlin Museum of Decorative Arts. This annual gathering of users, developers and mediators of electronic documentation and communication technologies has been held at an international level for 26 years, with venues including London, Florence, Moscow and Jerusalem. Even if the focus changes from year to year, the EVA conference, with its seismographic recording of technical trends, has become an integral part of the cultural sector.

While in recent years the focus has been on the development of 3D technologies or the digitalization of soundscapes, this year’s conference focused on the quality of digital media and technologies. A wide range of questions relating to visualization, digitization and staging were discussed in lectures and workshops. How unique are works of art if they can be perfectly reproduced or scanned in high resolution? What possibilities does this open up for everyday museum life? What is it like to live in a “smart city”? Electronic documentation and visualization techniques in the cultural sector were presented and discussed in a practical way.

For example, the Fraunhofer Institute for Computer Graphics Research in Darmstadt presented the spectacular 3D visualization of the Pergamon Altar. In a record time of just one week, the entire altar was captured in 47 scan positions with 180 million generated pixels. The post-processing of the data naturally required an enormous amount of personnel and technical effort, but the result is a technical masterpiece that will delight the public. Will this set the standard for future projects of this kind? The work has not yet been completed and will be presented to the public at the beginning of next year.

Elisabeth Markevitch, who has created a user-friendly tool for designing exhibition spaces with her “IkonoSpace” software, showed that three-dimensional digital techniques can be a great help in curatorial and restoration work. Joachim Weinhold, a mathematician (3-D laboratory at the Institute of Mathematics at TU Berlin), described the exciting reconstruction of the foot of an Achilles sculpture in the tea room of the Berlin City Palace using 3-D printing.

Will digital technology replace the “analog” museum? Dr. Andreas Bienert from the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin (SMB) does not see this danger. Rather, the complexity of perceptual possibilities and the new digital representations would complement the haptic museum offer. Bienert has been the initiator and organizer of the conference, which always attracts top-class speakers, for many years and advocates open and open-minded communication between technical experts and cultural partners. In his opinion, the EVA events are legitimized and justified by interdisciplinarity and mutual exchange.

With almost 200 visitors this year, he draws a positive conclusion from EVA Berlin 2015, noting that in addition to the presentation of technical innovations, there has recently been an interest from political and cultural institutions in questions of culture and computer science. Unfortunately, this is also due to the disturbing reality of the major destruction of cultural heritage in the Middle East, said Bienert on the fringes of the exciting conference.

The comprehensive conference proceedings are available to download free of charge on the EVA platform.
You can find an interview on the significance of the conference in today’s academic world here.

02.06.2020

Design

Scenes from the Cimetière Saint-Pierre in Marseille

Building design

STEIN presents a photo gallery featuring historic tombs from France’s third-largest cemetery.

Steinonline_Titel — Saint-Pierre has plenty of sculptures like these to offer. Photo: Anne Fischer

Steinonline2 — Local limestone is the primary material used for most of the tombstones. Photo: Anne Fischer

Steinonline3 — And depending on the section of the cemetery, they can be quite impressive. Photo: Anne Fischer

steinonline4 — A stone picture frame as a grave ornament. Photo: Anne Fischer

steinonline5 — In the background, a touch of modernity—in the form of large urn fields. Photo: Anne Fischer

steinoline6 — Even a hundred years ago, there were already off-the-shelf products—just on a mausoleum scale. Photo: Anne Fischer

steinonline7 — The ravages of time take their toll; the administration cannot preserve all the gravestones. Photo: Anne Fischer

steinonline9 — A mausoleum door clad in natural stone. Photo: Anne Fischer

Steinonline10 — The historic gravestones are mostly found on pine-covered hills. Photo: Anne Fischer

steinonline8 — A flagship project, certainly even at the time of its creation. Photo: Anne Fischer

The mausoleums are falling into disrepair, while the urn fields are expanding

The Cimetière Saint-Pierre is one of the newer cemeteries of its kind: it was established in 1855 and officially inaugurated eight years later. Previously, the people of Marseille buried their loved ones in smaller parish, monastery, or hospital cemeteries—or at the central Saint-Charles Cemetery. Located in the city center, the latter quickly ran out of space and was permanently closed in 1876. Saint-Pierre replaced it, covering an area of 63 hectares.

At first glance, this seems overwhelming. But visitors quickly find their bearings by following the greenery: wherever pine trees grow on small slopes, they are sure to find the historic burial sites. Dozens of renowned French entrepreneurs and artists—including painters, sculptors, and singers—are buried here. Among them is the composer Vincent Scotto. He wished for the following epitaph: “All my life I have composed; today I am decaying.” However, it never came to pass—Scotto’s wife deemed this final wish inappropriate.

Saint-Pierre stands as a striking testament to the changing funeral culture in our neighboring country as well. Extraordinary—and above all, an extraordinary number of—mausoleums, sculptures, and funerary monuments commemorate the cemetery’s heyday—even if some of them are now aging and falling into disrepair in a regrettable state. Huge urn burial grounds down the hillside serve as their modern counterpart.

In total, around 150 employees now work at the cemetery, which contains 100,000 graves. Unusual to German eyes are the cars that, while not numerous, do pass through regularly. Saint-Pierre has a road network totaling 15 kilometers. In Marseille, too, the city administration is working to find solutions for the changing face of cemeteries. Among other initiatives, it has launched grave sponsorship programs and is attempting to catalog as many of the graves as possible in an online database. There is an interactive terminal at the cemetery (and also at the 20 others scattered throughout the city). Interested visitors can use it to search for the graves of famous people—or to find that of a relative on the vast grounds.

 The editorial team will continue the series “Impressions from the Cemetery” at irregular intervals—and welcomes suggestions and requests via email to redaktion@stein-magazin.de