Bauhaus Europa

Aachen, Germany

2005 – 2006

The Act of Constructive Subsidence
Elke Krasny 12/2006

Wolfgang Tschapeller’s design for Bauhaus Europe demonstrates the sort of space contemporary architecture can create if it reflects the cultural development of Europe. What he has translated into three-dimensional food for thought, with exemplary, uncompromising radicalism, is the definition of a building type that is the first of its kind: a Bauhaus Europe localized in Katschhof, the heart of Aachen’s old town. It is a building intended to negotiate, debate and perceive Europe’s past, present and future, a building based on the premise of reflecting the plan and the program in its spaces – a courageous undertaking.

The design initiates an act of construction that neither curries favor with nor disdainfully ignores existing structures. Quite to the contrary, the act of construction reanimates the connecting lines of the historical order of the urban space – from Roman to Carolingian to post-industrial – and curates a continuation of the quintessence of these intellectual connections. The topology of the layers of urban space perpetuates the exterior environment in the interior of the building. The continuous interior space is accessed from Katschhof square, unfolding functions and intentions: the entrance level as a constant, the underside elevation as the blurred boundary of the temporary exhibition and the forum, and the research and teaching spaces as a tectonic system of clouds above them. Its transparency is programmatic – not everything can be seen at first glance.

The combination of interpretation and transformational implementation is manifest in the concepts “index”, as a map of the entirety of European history, and “reading beam”, both used to guide the design and constitute the spaces. The quintessence of Western thought is evident in the urban environment: the city hall and the Palatine chapel, and the imperial passage connecting them. Protected from wind and weather, the ruler used to walk between the centers of secular and religious power on a covered path. The “royal road” became a figure of speech, meaning an auspicious or easy way to achieve something.
Retracing these historical lines, Bauhaus Europe stands to become the “royal road”, literally and figuratively, allowing us to understand past, present and future developments as a passage that allows space for mythical projections, and in particular the insights derived from them. The royal road was the primary design concept applied to the building plot. As a mobile building section, the idea was then imbued with life. The Reading Beam exemplifies the privileged position of observers, enabling them to see the big picture. The observers’ positions cast shadows on the map of events below them. In turn, the events localized below them have cast their long shadows. The shadows are continuously lengthening, but also constantly mobile, as is the reading beam. Projections are given a major role to play. For visitors, the building is never the same, but always changing. They have to check their position by the Reading Beam’s position as compared to the Index. Bauhaus Europe contains space-time as time in space and as space in time. The folded map with its lines, layers, heights and depths relies on views from the outside, as well as views of the repeatedly rewritable attributions in the Index. There are empty spaces, reserves of space all the way to 2800 – a refreshing change in an era where compilations of the past often permanently obstruct our perspective on potential futures.

Collaborators

Jesper Bork

Mitarbeiter | Collaborator

Stefan Salchinger

Mitarbeiter | Collaborator

Felix Strasser

Mitarbeiter | Collaborator

Mark Lentsch

Mitarbeiter | Collaborator

Thomas Fringgs

Mitarbeiter | Collaborator

Astrid Tschapeller

Mitarbeiter | Collaborator

Mina Yaney

Mitarbeiter | Collaborator

Consultants

Werkraum Wien Ingenieure ZT GmbH

Peter Bauer

Tragwerksplanung | Structural Engineering

Krenn & Palla, DI, ZT GmbH, staatlich befugte und beeidetete Ziviltechniker für Maschinenbau

Josef Palla

Maschinenbau, Fördertechnik, Bühnentechnik | Mechanical, materials handling and stage engineering

TB Käferhaus GmbH, Ingenieurbüro für intelligente Haustechnik

Jochen Käferhaus

Technische Gebäudeausrüstung | Building services and equipment

Sascha Hempel

Projektmanagement | Project management

SHP Schreiber Hochbau

Rüdiger Schreiber

Projektmanagement | Project management

Isochrom

Armin Hess

Renderings und Bildbearbeitung | Renderings and digital imaging

The two-stage international competition for Bauhaus Europe was launched in the summer of 2005. Among others, a curatorial study by Okwui Enwezor and a project study by OMA/AMO served as the basis for the competition.

The second stage of the competition for Bauhaus Europe was decided in January 2006. The jury recommended the execution of the project by Wolfgang Tschapeller Architects.

In the summer of 2006, a majority vote by the city government of Aachen decided in favor of the construction of Bauhaus Europe. At around the same time, a petition for a referendum, signed by about 10,000 supporters, was filed by opponents of the Bauhaus project. The City of Aachen scheduled the referendum for December 2006.

On December 10th, 2006, around 80,000 of the city’s 180,000 voters cast their votes in the referendum for or against the Bauhaus Europe project. 60,000 out of 80,000 voters were against the project.

Some aspects of the dispute around Bauhaus Europe are documented in:

Bauwelt 6/06, Feb. 3, 2006, vol. 97
Bauwelt 42/06, Nov. 3, 2006, vol. 97
Bauwelt 46/06, Dec. 1, 2006, vol. 97
Bauwelt 47/06, Dec. 8, 2006, vol. 97
Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Dec. 8, 2006, no. 286, supplement p. 40
Bauwelt 1-2/07, Jan 5, 2007, vol. 98 .
All: articles and letters to the editor on the project “Bauhaus Europe Aachen”

The Katschhof square dispute in Aachen
Bauwelt 42/06, Nov. 3, 2006, vol. 97
With articles by A. Naujokat, Monika Krücken, Jan Pieper

European Cultural Center “Bauhaus Europe”
Bauwelt 6/06, Feb. 3, 2006, vol. 97

European Cultural Center Aachen
Wettbewerbe Aktuell 4/2006

The new cultural center in Aachen, Bauhaus Europe, will hold an extraordinary position among contemporary architectural projects. For one thing, a unique site has been chosen for it: a building plot of the city of Aachen adjoining the space between the Palatine Chapel and the city hall. Following the curatorial considerations of Okwui Enwezor, the pair of the Palatine Chapel and the city hall in Aachen, together with the passage that once connected them, constitutes the materialization of a fundamental element of European culture. The dialogue between ecclesiastic and secular power is “objectified” by the building of the royal hall (city hall), the Palatine Chapel and the connecting passage.

For another thing, a European cultural center is no predetermined building type, but a building type that has yet to be defined. The European Cultural Center in Aachen will be neither museum nor monument, nor solely a presentation space. Europe’s cultural texture will be its focus, making it a setting for reflection and projection. Reflection means recognizing and understanding Europe’s shape of the past, and projection will mean the attempt to materialize, to suggest European projects of the future.

The European Cultural Center in Aachen will contain permanent and temporary exhibition spaces as well as educational, informational and research facilities amounting to around 3,900 m2. A forum with a large council hall for conferences and sessions of the municipal council will cover approx. 400 m2. The center will also feature the necessary administrative facilities, workshops, restaurant areas, shops, storerooms and so on.

In conceptual terms, the new cultural center in Aachen will be composed of 2 elements:

The READING BEAM: The historical connecting passage between the royal hall and the chapel was a significant tectonic element. The project refers back to the memory of the connecting passage. It detaches a fragment of the historical connecting passage and rotates it over the site. The result is a slowly rotating movement steadily scanning the site, a sort of mobile that confronts the visitor with constantly changing positions.

The INDEX: A giant map, folded and accessible, a sort of infinite document is spread over the entire site. It is a record of European history, its index, so to speak. The INDEX, which will map only the most essential coordinates at first, will be gradually constructed. Step by step, the giant, folded surface will be labeled, modulated and studded with images and sound emitters, objects and writing. Projections will be superimposed on horizontal, vertical and curved surfaces in ever new ways.

The surface tectonics of the INDEX react to the essential events in history. Surface tension, indentations, inclinations and openings shape the narrative. Okwui Enwezor says that “... time is condensed, so to speak, takes on a shape, becomes artistically visible. In the same way, space is enriched and reacts to the movements of time, actions and history.” Enwezor also says, “History is the object.”

Nodal points of history are applied to the site. They are superimposed on the site and the functional demands on the site. Histories, nodal points of history are placed over the topographical and functional conditions. A reconstruction, re-mapped history becomes a building element. This element is called the INDEX. At the informational level, the INDEX is the summary of all events in European history. At the physical level, the INDEX is a structure, a substrate like a map, which materializes nodal points in history.

The READING BEAM and the INDEX constitute a pair like the PALATINE CHAPEL and the ROYAL HALL.

The PERMANT EXHIBITION is placed on the INNER SIDE of the Index. It is the object; it is history, as Enwezor says. The INDEX is the PERMANENT EXHIBITION. The TEMPORARY EXHIBITION is positioned on the OUTER SIDE of the INDEX. It may be independent of the INDEX. However, it may also specifically explain NODAL POINTS of the INDEX.

The SUPPORTING LEVEL of the INDEX separates the UPPER SIDE from the LOWER SIDE, and the INNER SIDE from the OUTER SIDE. The supporting level of the Index will be a rib structure. The surface will be a MOUNTING SURFACE, composed of individual panels that can be detached and remounted depending on need. Spatial permeability between the permanent exhibition and the temporary exhibition can thus be controlled.

Spatial connections and permeations between the Index and the temporary exhibition may be designed arbitrarily, depending on the exigencies of the exhibition configuration. Topical and spatial linkages between the Index and temporary exhibitions or detailed exhibitions may thus be created. Mobile gangways serve to create ever new paths for visitors.

The undulating surfaces of the INDEX space are in principle accessible. The inclinations of the surfaces are predominantly based on the surrounding cityscape. Main pathways are constructed by means of recessed or elevated steps on the terrain. Visitors can walk into the angle-free space defined only by the markings of history. YOU CAN WALK INTO HISTORY. You can take a stroll through history. Developing the INDEX becomes a curatorial task. The curator can position paths over the INDEX at his discretion.

The READING BEAM is situated high above the INDEX, the historical overview. The READING BEAM is a mobile bridge. It offers visitors the opportunity of a sweeping view, a survey of the permanent installations.

Visitors may step onto the READING BEAM at any time, even when it is in motion. Access is from a fixed catwalk via an access stair that goes over the railing of the catwalk. The access stair is linked to the READING BEAM by joints and has a railing.

From a technological point of view, the READING BEAM is moved by means of 2 driving units. A driving unit consists of a four-wheel carriage with a rotating assembly flange-connected to its bottom. In addition, each driving unit is equipped with a length compensation mechanism. The carriages are equipped with electrical drives. A measuring and control system ensures control over movement and driving speed. In principle, slow driving speeds are planned, depending on needs, e.g. one movement cycle in the course of one month, one day or one hour (60m/h). The movements of the READING BEAM are calendrical, comparable to clockworks, sundials, camera dollies etc. To ensure the safety of the visitors, the READING BEAM is equipped with all necessary safety systems such as sensor strips, emergency stops etc.

Project Info

Basics ^33/3

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2005 lobt die Stadt Aachen einen internationalen, begrenzt offenen zweiphasigen Realisierungswettbewerb mit einer kooperativen zweiten Phase aus. Ausgeschrieben war ein neues Gebäude, ein "Bauhaus Europa" genanntes europäisches Kulturzentrum mit der Aufgabe einer gemeinsamen europäischen Identität nachzuforschen, nicht für die Vergangenheit sondern auch und vor allem für die Zukunft. Die Idee dazu geht auf den früheren EU-Kommissionspräsidenten Romano Prodi zurück. Aachen, unmittelbar an der Grenze mehrerer europäischer Länder gelegen - Holland, Deutschland, Belgien - war neben seiner Lage auch aufgrund seiner europäischen Vergangenheit ein naheliegender Standort. Zusammen mit den noch vorhandenen Teilen des karolingischen Pfalzbezirks - immerhin eine der Werkstätten des karolingischen Europa - schien Aachen der ideale Grund ein neues "Bauhaus Europa".

1 Council Hall (aula regia)
2 Katschhof
3 Dom (Palatine Chapel)
4 Treasury
5 Quadrum
6 Administration building
7 Market
8 Archives
9 Singing School

1 Rathaus
2 Katschhof
3 Dom (Pfalzkapelle)
4 Schatzkammer
5 Quadrum
6 Verwaltungsgebäude
7 Markt
8 Stadtarchiv
9 Domsingschule

The building site sits directly next to the grounds of Charlemagne's palace on the northwestern edge of Katschhof square in Aachen. The Palatine Chapel and the Cathedral, the symbols of ecclesiastical power, lie to its south, the City Hall, formerly the Royal Hall and the symbol of secular power, lies to the north.

Das Bauareal liegt am Grund der karolingischen Pfalz mitten in Aachen, am Nordwestrand des Katschhofs. Im Süden die Pfalzkapelle und der Dom als Platzhalter der kirchlichen oder himmlischen Macht, im Norden das Rathaus zuvor die Königshalle, als Platzhalter der weltlichen Macht.

Cardo maximus and decumanus maximus are clearly discernible and embedded in the city’s topography. The Roman axial roads are shifted about 30 degrees from due north.

In die Topographie der Stadt sind Cardo Maximus und Decumanus Maximus deutlich lesbar eingebettet. Das römische Achsensystem ist ca. 30 Grad von Nord gedreht.

Decumanus maximus and cardo maximus

Decumanus Maximus und Cardo Maximus

The Carolingian Palatine District emerged around 800 BC. The main axis is directed precisely north-south.

Um ca. 800 n. Chr. entsteht der karolingische Pfalzbezirk. Die Hauptachse liegt strikt in Nord-Süd Richtung.

Charlemagne’s Royal Hall (now the site of the City Hall) in the north and the Palatine Chapel in the south were the main structures of the Carolingian Palatine District. The Royal hall (the seat of secular power) and the Palatine Chapel (the seat of ecclesiastical power) were linked by a slim two-story corridor structure. The ground floor of this “building link” contained rooms for soldiers and storage, while the upper floor was a connecting corridor between the secular and ecclesiastical powers. Charlemagne used the corridor as a means to enable communication between the worldly sphere and the heavenly sphere.

Wesentliche Bauteile des karolingischen Pfalzbezirks sind die Königshalle Karls des Großen (an der Stelle des heutigen Rathauses) im Norden und die Pfalzkapelle im Süden. Königshalle (die weltliche Macht) und Pfalzkapelle (die kirchliche Macht) wurden mit einem 2-geschossigen Korridorgebäude verbunden. Erdgeschossig hat dieses "Verbindungsgebäude" Räume für Soldaten und Lager enthalten, im Obergeschoss war das Gebäude Verbindungsgang zwischen weltlicher und kirchlicher Macht. Den Gang, als Mittel der Kommunikation, benutzte Karl der Große, um zwischen weltlicher und himmlischer Domäne zu korrespondieren. Unbemerkt wechselte der König zwischen Welt und Himmel.

The connecting passage, which no longer exists as a structure – it is a purely archeologically documented presence – thus became an actor in an architectural concept. Part of this virtual corridor has been excised and shifted to the present and across the surface of the building site.

Der mittlerweile baulich nicht mehr bestehende Verbindungsgang - eine ausschließlich archäologisch dokumentierte Präsenz also - wurde zum konzeptuellen Akteur des Projekts. Ein Teil dieses erinnerten Verbindungsganges wird herausgelöst und in die Gegenwart, bzw. über die Fläche des Bauareals verschoben.

A remembered part of the connecting passage is shifted – rotated, really – across the building site like a projector, a scanner, or a reading beam.

Ein erinnerter Teil des Verbindungsganges wird wie ein Projektor, wie ein Scanner, wie ein Lesebalken über das Bauareal rotiert.

The movement of the Reading Beam transcribes and describes the building site.

Die Bewegung dieses Lesebalkens überschreibt und beschreibt das Bauareal.

The movement can be envisaged at various speeds, 100m forward over the course of one year, or hours, or even minutes.

Man kann sich diese Bewegung in verschiedensten Geschwindigkeiten vorstellen. Über 100 Meter die ein Jahr dauern oder Stunden oder nur Minuten.

We are proposing a structure akin to a machine, something that has its own momentum, like clockworks do. It is a project that positions emerging spaces in place and time simultaneously.

Es wird hier eine maschinenartige Konstruktion vorgeschlagen, etwas das Eigenbewegung hat, wie ein Uhrwerk. Ein Projekt, das seine entstehenden Räume an Orten und in Zeiten positioniert.

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Bauhaus Europa Grundlagen diagram_black_12_konzept

The INDEX is a curved surface, a sort of topographical list in which events with their spatial and temporal qualities can be noted. The INDEX and the READING BEAM are generative elements of the project.

Der INDEX ist eine gewölbte Oberfläche, eine Art topographische Liste, in der Ereignisse mit örtlichen und zeitlichen Qualitäten vermerkt werden können. INDEX und LESEBALKEN sind die generativen Elemente des Projekts.

Index & Reading Beam: position e.g. 24/03/2009, 4h58min – The Reading Beam is the instrument that permits a general view. It reads, describes and makes the Index visible.

Index & Lesebalken: Position z. B.: 24.3.2009, 4h58min - Instrument des Überblicks ist der Lesebalken. Er liest, beschreibt und macht den Index sichtbar.

Index & Reading Beam: position e.g. 24/03/2009, 8h27min – The Index and the Reading Beam are determined by different temporal modalities: the Reading Beam by the dirigible duration of its movements, consequently by its speeds; the Index by mapped time.

Index & Lesebalken: Position z. B.: 24.3.2009, 8h27min - Index und Lesebalken sind durch verschiedene Zeitmodalitäten bestimmt: der Lesebalken durch die einstellbare Dauer seiner Bewegungen, also Geschwindigkeiten; der Index durch kartierte Zeit.

Index & Reading Beam: position e.g. 24/03/2009, 19h33min

Index & Lesebalken: Position z. B.: 24.3.2009, 19h33min

The INDEX is the table of contents, the overview, but at the same time the INDEX is the spatial element that structures the building.

Der INDEX ist das Inhaltsverzeichnis, die Übersicht, zugleich ist der INDEX das räumliche Element, welches das Gebäude strukturiert.

Bauhaus Europa Grundlagen diagram_black_ausstellung_plan

Events are positioned on the Index using temporal and spatial axes. The axis for 2006 is located about two thirds of the distance along the Index. This means that room is left both for the future and the past.

Ereignisse am Index werden durch zeitliche und örtliche Achsen positioniert. Die Achse 2006 liegt in etwa auf 2/3 des Index. Das heißt, es wird Raum für Zukunft und Vergangenheit angeboten.

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Plans ^22/2

Horizontal section at level +10.85

Horizontalschnitt auf Ebene +10.85

Horizontal section at level +8.75

Horizontalschnitt auf Ebene +8.75

Horizontal section at level +5.75

Horizontalschnitt auf Ebene +5.75

Horizontal section at level +2.75

Horizontalschnitt auf Ebene +2.75

Horizontal section at level -0.25

Horizontalschnitt auf Ebene -0.25

Horizontal section at level -3.25

Horizontalschnitt auf Ebene -3.25

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Section A-A

Schnitt A-A

Section D-D

Schnitt D-D

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Animations ^53/5

The speed and trajectory of the Reading Beam can be programmed. The Reading Beam has a sort of independent existence; it keeps the building moving, subjectifying it, so to speak, even when it is empty.

Geschwindigkeit und Weg des Lesebalkens sind programmierbar. Der Lesebalken führt eine Art Eigenleben, er hält das Gebäude in Bewegung, subjektiviert es sozusagen auch im Leerzustand.

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The Reading Beam is designed as a bridge, capable of bearing visitors (readers). At the same time, the Reading Beam is an optical and acoustic tool. The Reading Beam can write on and annotate the Index. Initial experiments on inscriptions and projections were carried out for the competition project. These experiments are the first in a series considering the dissemination of knowledge and communication with virtual bodies of knowledge in real spaces as their field of exploration.

Der Lesebalken ist als Brücke ausgebildet, kann also Besucher (Leser) aufnehmen. Zugleich ist der Lesebalken ein optisch-akustisches Instrument. Der Lesebalken kann den Index beschreiben und beschriften. Für das Wettbewerbsprojekt wurden Minimalexperimente für Beschriftung und Projektion durchgeführt. Diese Experimente sind der Anfang einer Kette von Versuchen, welche die Vermittlung von Wissen und die Kommunikation mit virtuellen Wissenskörpern in realen Räumen als Versuchsfeld sehen.