S(ch)austall - FNP Architekten

Usually, I am not that much into snappy, witty names for built projects. I don't know ,it just feels a bit too much like an ironic semi-academic thing from the nineties. But I'd have to make an exception for this project by the Stuttgart firm called FNP Architekten. They named the reconversion of this old shed somewhere in Rheinland-Pfalz (in the south-west of Germany) S(ch)austall, a combination of Saustall (pigshed) and Schaustall (showroom), both the old and the new use.

But as nicely chosen the name might be, it is rather meagre in comparison to the loveliness of the building itself. Whereas a building such as this old pigstall would normally be torn down to make place for a new building, the architects came up with another approach to the crumbling, old structure from the 18th century. The architects used the strategy of a "house within a house". They devised an infill for the existing structure, that enhanced the existing structure. For instance, the existing holes in the old structure (that used to be windows) now look rather modern. I just love this approach to renovation, actually playing on the specifics of the site. And I'm not the only one digging this, considering the fact that building won several awards.

Forgotten architects

In the 1920s and early 1930s, German Jewish architects created some of the greatest modern buildings in Germany, mainly in the capital Berlin. A law issued by the newly elected German National Socialist Government in 1933 banned all of them from practicing architecture in Germany. In the years after 1933, many of them managed to emigrate, while many others were deported or killed under Hitler’s regime. Pentagram Papers 37: Forgotten Architects is a survey of 43 of these architects and their groundbreaking work.

That's what written about this on the weblog of Pentagram Papers. And it's a truely fascinating read. Haifa-born architect Myra Warhaftig (who died on March 4th, 2008 at the age of seventy-eight) spent twenty years getting all the stories together about these architects. Of course, it's an interesting read because of the personal stories of the architects involved. But what's more: it also showed that the Nazis effectively dispersed of interesting and possibly important development within the modern movement: almost all the architects in this publication worked along the lines of the international style, and seemed to push the boundaries of the style and ways unseen at that day...

A fashionable memorial

At the unveiling of the memorial at the Judenplatz in Vienna, Simon Wiesenthal allegedly said that "This monument shouldn't be beautiful, it must hurt." The monument was designed by Rachel Whiteread to portray the horrors of the holocaust. The inverted bookshelves - engraved with words stating that the monument was meant to commemorate the 65.000 Austrian Jews who were killed during the second world war.

But this didn't stop the high-end fashion brand Don Gil from using this memorial as part of a fashion campaign. The photos show a young, beautiful male model, casually leaning against the monument. The monument isn't depicted as a monument, but as a clean and smooth background for an advertisement. Oddly enough, there wasn't too much discussion about this. True, the Viennese Jewish Committee made some fuss about it, and as a reaction Don Gil took the images from their website. They still distribute the magazine in which it is published, though. It's a clear indictation of the impotence of monuments as such. If people don't see the meaning, they just see a beautiful image, to use for whatever purpose they see fit...


I found this case thanks to An-architecture.com.

Moresnet - the story of a micronation

It was the year 1815. After Napoleon was defeated, two countries couldn't agree on their shared borders. The debate between Prussia and The Netherlands was about a zinc mine called Altenberg/Vieille Montagne. It took over a year to reach a compromise: the village of Moresnet would become Dutch, the village of Neu-Moresnet became Prussian, and the area inbetween (containing the town of Kelmis) became a condominium - a territory ruled by two authorities. Both countries were to govern the "Neutraliteit Moresnet" as it was officially called : a neutral territory of roughly the same size as Monaco. Simply put: the area became a new country (a micronation), of which the head of state was the major of the village of 256 inhabitants. After Belgium became independent in 1830, they took over the governing part of the Dutch. Considering the geographic location, the point at Vaals (in the south of the Netherlands), which is now known as the "drielandenpunt" (three-nation point) because of the meeting of three borders, was a "vierlandenpunt" (four-nation point) at that time. If you look at older maps, this position is actually marked as such.



It didn't take long for the town to understand the possibilities of the position as a self-governed state. For instance, it wasn't allowed to either of the countries (Prussia and the Netherlands) to place a military power in Moresnet. The country also wasn't allowed to have a military of its own. As a result, the inhabitants of Moresnet didn't know conscription (it wasn't until much later (1847, to be exact) one was supposed to chose between either Belgium and Prussia for military service). They also had very low taxations in Moresnet, and low import-taxes, with higher wages than in surrounding countries. And brewing your own alcohol was legal there.
As a result, the nation started growing rapidly. In the year 1858, 2572 people were living there - ten times as much as when the country was established.

One of the most intriguing figures in the history of the place was the German physician dr. Wilhelm Molly. He moved to Moresnet to start a doctors' practice. He quickly became popular because he was a good doctor for fair prices. After his successful attempt to end a Cholera-epidemy, he was more popular than ever. But he wasn't just a physician. He was also the founder of the "Kelmiser VerkehrsAnstalt", issuing stamps and such - as a symbol of independence for the country. But that wasn't all: Molly was eager to turn Moresnet into a Esperanto-state. The neutrality of the territory was suited for that, in his eyes. This new state was supposed to be called "Amikejo" - meaning "place of friends". At a propaganda-congress in 1908, local citizens and international Esperantists came together to discuss Amikejo. Shortly after, many international newspapers reported about "a new Esperanto-country"...

The first world war was the end for Moresnet. In 1914 Germany (including former Prussia) invaded the country. Oddly enough, even though they had always considered Moresnet to be Prussian/German territory, they called it "occupied territory" during the war.
After the war, in 1919, it was decided that Belgium gained control of the entire area of Moresnet. The actual zinc mine, the reason for its independence, was already depleted since 1885.

What is left of this former country is only a small museum called the Göhltal Museum. And of the original 60 poles that marked the border of the country, about 50 are still in its original position. As if the country still exists...

Kolumba art museum - Peter Zumthor

In the centre of Cologne (Germany), Peter Zumthor has transformed the ruins of Kolomba for the new building of the Cologne Diocese Museum. Zumthor has integrated the parts of the ruins into a new structure, building on the foundations of the old building. By not reconstructing it, but really making a new structure, with a new kind of texture. It is really challenging ruins like this - respecting them, but not deifying them - but it's amazingly done in this case. The new place has a superb atmosphere, but at the same time reminds of the memory of the place. Zumthor just has a way of building really tactile, sensitive buildings, and this is another gem in his oeuvre.

I stumbled upon this project on world architecture news.com.