SKULPTURENHALLE NEUSS
The Skulpturenhalle, or sculpture hall, of the Thomas Schütte Foundation on the outskirts of Neuss is the biggest and most ambitious building so far to be based on a model by Thomas Schütte. Models for imaginary buildings have been part of Schütte’s output since his early career, but had, until recently, remained primarily fictional and poetic reflections of the artist’s life and work.
The Skulpturenhalle is situated between the grounds of the Museumsinsel Hombroich, the Kirkeby-Feld exhibition area on the grounds of the former military rocket station, and the Langen Foundation – all of them created through private initiative, which makes the Skulpturenhalle a perfect fit here. Its most distinctive external features are the wooden slatting on the concrete outer wall, lending the elongated surface its delicately ribbed look, and the convex form of the overhanging roof, visible from afar. The adjacent technical services building that houses the cash desk, library and curatorial office has a striking chimney-like structure forming a light-shaft for the office. The Skulpturenhalle provides a haven for contemporary art production on two levels: an entrance-level exhibition space for sculpture and a basement-level storage space for the artist and his foundation. At the centre of the Skulpturenhalle is an intimate exhibition space whose design and materials distinctly mark it as a signature work by Thomas Schütte. The building project was undertaken under the supervision of Lars Klatte and Heinrich Heinemann from the RKW firm of architects.
Dieter Schwarz
INSEL HOMBROICH
„Art in parallel to nature.“
(Guiding principle of the Hombroich Foundation)
The Rocket Station Island Hombroich is part of the visionary project by the collector Karl-Heinrich Müller (1936–2007), with the intention of fostering a unique synthesis of art and nature on a “small neglected piece of earth” in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
For decades the property located along the Erft River near the German town of Neuss, which was not noted on any maps, served defence purposes for NATO and also the storage of warheads for cruise missiles and Pershing rockets. In 1992–93 the facility was abandoned in the course of disarmament agreements between NATO states and the former USSR. In 1994, Karl-Heinrich Müller purchased the thirteen-hectare-large area and initiated – together with Erwin Heerich, Oliver Kruse, and Katsuhito Nishikawa – a unique project dedicated to culture and artistic space.
Müller recultivated the property, turning it into a place of culture, science, and nature. Here the idea was not to erase the history of the location, but rather to give it a new face and to lend it new purpose. Military elements like barbed-wire fences, floodlight systems, and bulletproof glass were done away with. Though the storage facilities, hangars, bomb-shelter systems, earthen walls, and the observation tower all remained in place, they were renovated and in certain cases also remodelled. New buildings by Heerich and Nishikawa complemented the existing ensemble, as did sculptures by Heinz Baumüller and Eduardo Chillida.
Following an invitation by Karl-Heinrich Müller, Tadao Ando visited the Rocket Station in 1994 and experienced its original state. Enthusiastic about Müller’s plans, Ando developed an architectural model that also ended up becoming part of the project. This culture and artistic-space project was introduced at the Venice Biennale in 1996 and has now been realised in its essential aspects.
The Rocket Station Hombroich and the Museum Island Hombroich merged in 1997 to form the Island Hombroich Foundation, today forming the Hombroich cultural space: a dynamic ensemble of art, culture, science, and nature that pursues a path of continual development.
CAFÉ BIEMEL
Hendrik Baatz and the Stiftung Insel Hombroich would like to honor the philosopher Walter Biemel (1918-2015) with the name of the café. He was closely associated with Hombroich as a member of the Advisory Board for Philosophy and bequeathed his entire scientific estate to the Foundation, which manages the holdings as the Walter Biemel Archive.
SKULPTURENHALLE NEUSS
The Skulpturenhalle, or sculpture hall, of the Thomas Schütte Foundation on the outskirts of Neuss is the biggest and most ambitious building so far to be based on a model by Thomas Schütte. Models for imaginary buildings have been part of Schütte’s output since his early career, but had, until recently, remained primarily fictional and poetic reflections of the artist’s life and work.
The Skulpturenhalle is situated between the grounds of the Museumsinsel Hombroich, the Kirkeby-Feld exhibition area on the grounds of the former military rocket station, and the Langen Foundation – all of them created through private initiative, which makes the Skulpturenhalle a perfect fit here. Its most distinctive external features are the wooden slatting on the concrete outer wall, lending the elongated surface its delicately ribbed look, and the convex form of the overhanging roof, visible from afar. The adjacent technical services building that houses the cash desk, library and curatorial office has a striking chimney-like structure forming a light-shaft for the office. The Skulpturenhalle provides a haven for contemporary art production on two levels: an entrance-level exhibition space for sculpture and a basement-level storage space for the artist and his foundation. At the centre of the Skulpturenhalle is an intimate exhibition space whose design and materials distinctly mark it as a signature work by Thomas Schütte. The building project was undertaken under the supervision of Lars Klatte and Heinrich Heinemann from the RKW firm of architects.
Dieter Schwarz
INSEL HOMBROICH
„Art in parallel to nature.“
(Guiding principle of the Hombroich Foundation)
The Rocket Station Island Hombroich is part of the visionary project by the collector Karl-Heinrich Müller (1936–2007), with the intention of fostering a unique synthesis of art and nature on a “small neglected piece of earth” in the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
For decades the property located along the Erft River near the German town of Neuss, which was not noted on any maps, served defence purposes for NATO and also the storage of warheads for cruise missiles and Pershing rockets. In 1992–93 the facility was abandoned in the course of disarmament agreements between NATO states and the former USSR. In 1994, Karl-Heinrich Müller purchased the thirteen-hectare-large area and initiated – together with Erwin Heerich, Oliver Kruse, and Katsuhito Nishikawa – a unique project dedicated to culture and artistic space.
Müller recultivated the property, turning it into a place of culture, science, and nature. Here the idea was not to erase the history of the location, but rather to give it a new face and to lend it new purpose. Military elements like barbed-wire fences, floodlight systems, and bulletproof glass were done away with. Though the storage facilities, hangars, bomb-shelter systems, earthen walls, and the observation tower all remained in place, they were renovated and in certain cases also remodelled. New buildings by Heerich and Nishikawa complemented the existing ensemble, as did sculptures by Heinz Baumüller and Eduardo Chillida.
Following an invitation by Karl-Heinrich Müller, Tadao Ando visited the Rocket Station in 1994 and experienced its original state. Enthusiastic about Müller’s plans, Ando developed an architectural model that also ended up becoming part of the project. This culture and artistic-space project was introduced at the Venice Biennale in 1996 and has now been realised in its essential aspects.
The Rocket Station Hombroich and the Museum Island Hombroich merged in 1997 to form the Island Hombroich Foundation, today forming the Hombroich cultural space: a dynamic ensemble of art, culture, science, and nature that pursues a path of continual development.
CAFÉ BIEMEL
Hendrik Baatz and the Stiftung Insel Hombroich would like to honor the philosopher Walter Biemel (1918-2015) with the name of the café. He was closely associated with Hombroich as a member of the Advisory Board for Philosophy and bequeathed his entire scientific estate to the Foundation, which manages the holdings as the Walter Biemel Archive.