Kontakte – Das Jahrbuch der KIT-Fakultät für Architektur 2023

Architecture for an
Open Society
present the projects as comprehensively as possible,
the reception of the works in the public eye
was also presented with the help of trade journals
and newspapers. The position of the office
and the person Günter Behnisch was added
through repeated recorded conversations, manuscripts
of lectures, quotations or project descriptions.
On the occasion of Günter Behnisch's 100th
birthday, it was apparent to deepen the examination
of the archive Behnisch & Partner which is
part of the saai. Together with the Baden-Württemberg
Chamber of Architects and Behnisch
Architekten and thanks to the support of the
Baden-Württemberg Foundation, the saai was
able to realise this project in Stuttgart.
Right from the start it was important to
create an exhibition that not only focuses on
Behnisch's work and his biography, but also
shows the relevance of contemporary and architectural
historical events and their influence
on the profession and the work itself. The topic
of building for the society became central,
since Günter Behnisch defined architecture
and building culture with his human-focused
and socially aware buildings.
After developing a rough concept, the curators,
together with the team from OUP Studio
for Visual Communication – responsible for exhibition
architecture and graphics – worked on
transferring and conveying the concept to the
exhibition space. Intensive research in the archive,
the selection of exhibits, the writing of
texts, inquiries to other archives and repeated
discussions and reflections accompanied the
exhibition team.
The exhibition’s six chapters cover the most
important premises of Behnisch’s oeuvre using
selected projects. Contemporary historical topics
and events introduced each chapter with a timeline
that allows a contextualisation in the time of
the buildings origin. Architectural-historical digressions
stood out in terms of design and were
directly related to the projects. Architecture itself
can only be exhibited in the rarest of cases; curators
are dependent on secondary and referential
objects – models, plans, photos, publications,
films, audio documents and the like. In order to
↪ 416–417
A B F G Ausstellungsansicht
Behnisch & Partner, Progymnasium
Lorch, 1970–1973
C Arbeitsmodell
D Schnitt, Gebäudekomplex in der
Landschaft
E Detailaufnahme Fassade
Behnisch & Partner, Zentraler
Bereich der Bauten des Deutschen
Bundestages (Plenarsaal und Präsidialbereich),
Bonn, 1983–1992
H Arbeitsmodell Eingangsgebäude
und Lobby
I Ausführungsplan Eingangshalle
(saai)
415