Outstanding Structures : Germany

The Federal Republic of Germany has some fine representative buildings. Public clients in particular usually hold architectural competitions before they decide on the execution of a specific design. These Ideas and Project Competitions are key instruments for promoting architectural quality in Germany.
Even more than 30 years ago outstanding structures were produced under these conditions, including the three-sectional high-rise Thyssen House in Diisseldorf (Helmut Hentrich and Hubert Petschnigg, 1960). One example of unconventional, dynamic architecture is the head office of the automobile manufacturer BMW in Munich with its striking cylindrical form (Karl Schwanzer, 1972). Another is the Bahlsen building in Hanover with its interlocking cubist forms (Dieter Bahlo, Jorn Kohnke, Klaus Stosberg, 1974).

The tent-roofed structures (Gunter Behnisch, Fritz Auer, Wolfgang Biixel, Erhard Trankner, Carlo Weber) designed for the 1972 Olympics in Munich are world famous. These sports facilities are situated in a park which has continued to be a popular recreational area in the years since the Games.

The Philharmonic Hall in Berlin (Hans Scharoun, 1963) features a vineyard-like terraced auditorium constructed around the orchestra. A classical ruin was incorporated into Munster’s City Theater (Harald Deilmann, Max von Hausen, Ortwin Rave, Werner Ruhnau, 1955). The new City Library in Munster - a two-part structure, one part of which is reminiscent of a ship - attracted considerable attention at the beginning of the 1990s (Julia Bolles-Wilson and Peter Wilson, 1993).