topos113

urban mutations
Collages of
Architecture
Is it possible or even reasonable to deliberate on architecture without
paying attention to the surroundings, to the space architecture
is embedded in? Klaus Theo Brenner, German architect, would
definitely deny this notion. He sees himself in the tradition of the
Italian architect and designer Vittorio Gregotti, and therefore,
when talking about architecture always includes urban space. For
him, architecture is always connected to the urban realm and interrelated
with the urbanites. In his recent book “City Life Collage”
Brenner focuses on the complexity, vibrance and diversity of city
life by use of collages that he created between 1990 and 2019. He
creates highly aesthetic, colorful, sometimes nostalgic, sometimes
alienated, even mutated images that tell stories about the cities we
currently inhabit and about the cities’ past, always shimmering
through. Just as cities are constituted by different layers, transforming
the urban realm’s structure and surface over time,
Brenner builds layer upon layer to create a plethora of palimpsests
to give the beholder of the collages an idea of both the mutability
and consistency of urban space.
ANJA KOLLER
Collages: Klaus Theo Brenner
018 topos ISSUE 113