Fragments of Metropolis – Rhein & Ruhr

fragmentsofmetrokleinDeutsches Haus at NYU and the University Alliance Ruhr New York present “Fragments of Metropolis – Rhein & Ruhr,” a panel discussion among Barry Bergdoll, Niels Lehmann, and Christoph Rauhut.

The architecture of expressionism powerfully heralded in Central Europe the onset of the roaring twenties. On the occasion of the publication of the bilingual German and English volume Fragments of Metropolis – Rhein & Ruhr (Hirmer Verlag, 2016), the publishers, authors and photographers Christoph Rauhut and Niels Lehmann will discuss the legacy of Expressionist architecture in the Rhine & Ruhr region. In this volume, for the first time all surviving buildings of the region are recorded in a survey – a fascinating discovery. They present an abundance of examples in the Rhine & Ruhr region – an urban landscape usually well known for its industrial heritage.

Fragments of Metropolis – Rhein & Ruhr is the result of a major undertaking by Rauhut and Lehmann: to document all the remaining expressionist buildings in Europe. The buildings that remain today tell the story of an avant-garde that gave expression to its vision of a new society through architecture – the modern metropolis.

Barry Bergdoll is the Meyer Schapiro Professor of Art History at the Dept. of Art History at Columbia University. Professor Bergdoll’s broad interests center on modern architectural history, with a particular emphasis on France and Germany since 1750. Trained in art history rather than architecture, he has an approach most closely allied with cultural history and the history and sociology of professions. He has studied questions of the politics of cultural representation in architecture, the larger ideological content of nineteenth-century architectural theory, and the changing role of both architecture as a profession and architecture as a cultural product in nineteenth-century European society. In exhibitions at the Canadian Centre for Architecture and at the Museum of Modern Art, where he served as Philip Johnson Chief Curator from 2007 to 2013, Bergdoll has offered a series of exhibitions intended to offer more inclusive visions of subjects from Mies van der Rohe (and his relationship to garden reform and landscape), the Bauhaus, Henri Labrouste, Le Corbusier, Latin American post-war architecture, and most recently Frank Lloyd Wright. Bergdoll’s interests also include the intersections of architecture and new technologies of representations in the modern period, especially photography and film. He has worked on several film productions about architecture, in addition to curating numerous architecture exhibitions. He has written extensively on the history and problematics of exhibiting architecture, and the history of museological practices in relationship to architecture.

Dr. Christoph Rauhut, born 1984 in Essen, studied architecture in Aachen and Zürich. He was a scientific researcher at the ETH Zürich from 2009 to 2015. Rauhut currently works as policy officer for the German National Heritage Committee with a focus on European cultural heritage. His research focuses on nineteenth and early twentieth-century architectural history, he has published various books and articles, e.g.: Construction Techniques in the Age of Historicism, 2012; Modernism London Style, 2012; Fragments of Metropolis – Berlin, 2015; Fragments of Metropolis – Rhein & Ruhr 2016.

Niels Lehmann, born 1982 in Berlin, studied architecture in Dresden, Harvard and Zürich. After having worked for Hans Kollhoff, Berlin and Foster + Partners, London, he was a scientific researcher at the ETH Zürich. Since 2011 Lehmann has worked in the field of real estate within various positions, now being in charge of investment and development projects in Switzerland as portfolio manager. He is part of a number of architecture documentation projects and has worked for many years as architecture photographer.

Events at Deutsches Haus are free and open to the public. If you would like to attend this event, please send an email to [email protected]. As space at Deutsches Haus is limited, please arrive ten minutes prior to the event to ensure you get a good seat. Thank you!

Fragments of Metropolis – Rhein & Ruhr is a DAAD supported event.

The organizers would like to acknowledge the support of Elisabeth Rochau-Shalem, Hirmer Verlag, in organizing this event.











When: Mon., Nov. 21, 2016 at 6:30 pm - 9:00 pm
Where: Deutsches Haus at NYU
42 Washington Mews
212-998-8660
Price: Free
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fragmentsofmetrokleinDeutsches Haus at NYU and the University Alliance Ruhr New York present “Fragments of Metropolis – Rhein & Ruhr,” a panel discussion among Barry Bergdoll, Niels Lehmann, and Christoph Rauhut.

The architecture of expressionism powerfully heralded in Central Europe the onset of the roaring twenties. On the occasion of the publication of the bilingual German and English volume Fragments of Metropolis – Rhein & Ruhr (Hirmer Verlag, 2016), the publishers, authors and photographers Christoph Rauhut and Niels Lehmann will discuss the legacy of Expressionist architecture in the Rhine & Ruhr region. In this volume, for the first time all surviving buildings of the region are recorded in a survey – a fascinating discovery. They present an abundance of examples in the Rhine & Ruhr region – an urban landscape usually well known for its industrial heritage.

Fragments of Metropolis – Rhein & Ruhr is the result of a major undertaking by Rauhut and Lehmann: to document all the remaining expressionist buildings in Europe. The buildings that remain today tell the story of an avant-garde that gave expression to its vision of a new society through architecture – the modern metropolis.

Barry Bergdoll is the Meyer Schapiro Professor of Art History at the Dept. of Art History at Columbia University. Professor Bergdoll’s broad interests center on modern architectural history, with a particular emphasis on France and Germany since 1750. Trained in art history rather than architecture, he has an approach most closely allied with cultural history and the history and sociology of professions. He has studied questions of the politics of cultural representation in architecture, the larger ideological content of nineteenth-century architectural theory, and the changing role of both architecture as a profession and architecture as a cultural product in nineteenth-century European society. In exhibitions at the Canadian Centre for Architecture and at the Museum of Modern Art, where he served as Philip Johnson Chief Curator from 2007 to 2013, Bergdoll has offered a series of exhibitions intended to offer more inclusive visions of subjects from Mies van der Rohe (and his relationship to garden reform and landscape), the Bauhaus, Henri Labrouste, Le Corbusier, Latin American post-war architecture, and most recently Frank Lloyd Wright. Bergdoll’s interests also include the intersections of architecture and new technologies of representations in the modern period, especially photography and film. He has worked on several film productions about architecture, in addition to curating numerous architecture exhibitions. He has written extensively on the history and problematics of exhibiting architecture, and the history of museological practices in relationship to architecture.

Dr. Christoph Rauhut, born 1984 in Essen, studied architecture in Aachen and Zürich. He was a scientific researcher at the ETH Zürich from 2009 to 2015. Rauhut currently works as policy officer for the German National Heritage Committee with a focus on European cultural heritage. His research focuses on nineteenth and early twentieth-century architectural history, he has published various books and articles, e.g.: Construction Techniques in the Age of Historicism, 2012; Modernism London Style, 2012; Fragments of Metropolis – Berlin, 2015; Fragments of Metropolis – Rhein & Ruhr 2016.

Niels Lehmann, born 1982 in Berlin, studied architecture in Dresden, Harvard and Zürich. After having worked for Hans Kollhoff, Berlin and Foster + Partners, London, he was a scientific researcher at the ETH Zürich. Since 2011 Lehmann has worked in the field of real estate within various positions, now being in charge of investment and development projects in Switzerland as portfolio manager. He is part of a number of architecture documentation projects and has worked for many years as architecture photographer.

Events at Deutsches Haus are free and open to the public. If you would like to attend this event, please send an email to [email protected]. As space at Deutsches Haus is limited, please arrive ten minutes prior to the event to ensure you get a good seat. Thank you!

Fragments of Metropolis – Rhein & Ruhr is a DAAD supported event.

The organizers would like to acknowledge the support of Elisabeth Rochau-Shalem, Hirmer Verlag, in organizing this event.

Buy tickets/get more info now