Philipp Oswalt – författare

For many, flat roofs, white façades, and large glass surfaces—the so-called Bauhaus style—are hallmarks of modern architecture. On the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Bauhaus as an internationally renowned institution, this unique architectural guide aims to correct such one-sided and reductive views. The development of new building types—whether railway stations or shopping centers, company headquarters or museums, zoos or nuclear power plants—is more important than outward appearance. Focusing on exemplary buildings in Hesse, the guide uncovers backgrounds and makes them tangible. The spectrum ranges from Ernst May’s residential house in Frankfurt to the Biblis nuclear power plant, Metzendorf’s buildings for the Odenwald School, the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt barracks in Neustadt, and the Frankfurt Zoological Garden. The book shows that modern surroundings rest upon architects whose different visions of people and society—cast in stone, concrete, steel, or glass—continue to decisively shape our everyday lives to this day. Clearly organized according to building types, with numerous illustrations, maps, and floor plans, the volume makes for stimulating reading.