Shaping urbanisation
Urban structural culture in Essen and the Ruhr 1900 - 2010
Urban structural culture in Essen around 1900 / Graphic: Hermann Ehlgötz, 1925
The "Shaping urbanisation" exhibition project organised by the Museum Folkwang deals again with the early involvement of museum founder Karl Ernst Osthaus (1874–1921) in urban building and architecture. Osthaus was the first to call for a cooperative approach to planning activities carried out by the towns and cities of the Ruhr region with the goal of ensuring a contemporary, modern built environment.
He was convinced that "the focus of modern artistic endeavour (…) lies primarily in architecture" (K. E. Osthaus, 1903). Osthaus initiated the first "General building and roads plan" for the Ruhr Mining District Housing Association and won acclaim at European level for the modern architecture of his iconic construction projects in Hagen. One of the most important projects during the collector and patron's latter years was the planning (and partial realisation) of the Hohenhagen garden city and artists' colony, in which renowned architects such as Henry van de Velde, Peter Behrens, Bruno Taut and Walter Gropius were involved. The idea formulated by Osthaus for a coordinated approach to urban planning in the Ruhr region was taken up in 1912 by Essen politician Robert Schmidt (1869–1934) and, in 1920, led to the foundation of the Ruhr Mining District Housing Association (SVR), which in turn evolved into today’s Ruhr Regional Association (RVR).
The Museum Folkwang was founded by Osthaus and, from the very beginning, has organised exhibitions and lecture series in order to contribute to contemporary discussion on modern urban building culture and to advocate modern architecture. The museum has remained true to these goals in Essen (for instance with the "Bauten der Technik" (Buildings of the Art) exhibition in 1928).
With a new museum building opened in 2010, the Folkwang has again become an important player as regards architecture and urban planning in the Ruhr Metropolis. Starting with the "Shaping urbanisation" exhibition project, the Museum Folkwang is seeking to assume this role within research and public discussion on a long-term basis and, most importantly, make a meaningful contribution to it via exhibitions and publications addressing the concepts, history and future of architecture and urbanisation.
October 2010 to January 2011
Museum Folkwang, Essen
Tue – Sun 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.
Fri 10 a.m. – 10.30 p.m.
Closed Mondays
€ 7 – 10
Project sponsor: Essen Cultural Foundation
For further information, please visit:
www.museum-folkwang.de