Inspiring Rooms

Places of building culture

Whether baroque or Bauhaus – Germany is a land of outstanding building culture. Numerous examples of creative building and architectural design stand out and increasingly fascinate not only art lovers but also conference and meetings participants. O Gehry, Foster et al have created exciting (meeting) rooms - with novel views for new insights. Lay people can also get on the architectural track with exclusive guided tours and memorable events.

Meet during Bauhaus Year 2009
One architectural movement in particular is very much in the public eye in 2009 - ‘Bauhaus’ – a school of art that was unique worldwide. Architect Walter Gropius founded this influential educational establishment exactly 90 years ago in Weimar where other famous teachers such as Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe also taught. Bauhaus Year 2009 draws attention to and celebrates this exceptional style in places such as Weimar, Dessau and Berlin with various events and exhibitions. Cultural nuances, indeed, that can spice up and confer conference and meeting programmes with that very special something.

Culture tip:
The Kunstsammlung (Art Collection) Stadtmuseum Jena is staging an exhibition entitled ‘Kandinsky’ up until 22nd November 2009 in which works created during Kandinsky’s Bauhaus period in Weimar and Dessau are on display. The Kunsthaus (Art House) Apolda dedicates its exhibition entitled ‘Feininger and Bauhaus Weimar-Dessau-New York’ to Lyonel Feininger, the first artist to be summoned by Walther Gropius to the Bauhaus school in Weimar. This runs up until 20th December 2009. Further information on the Bauhaus Year and about all related exhibitions from www.bauhaus2009.de

Meeting in the Meisterhaus
Exclusive exhibition visits and guided tours of prominent architecture may also be organised and booked as Bauhaus building blocks for unusual social and accompanying programmes after the anniversary year. Visitors can marvel at around 500 exhibits from teachers and pupils of the renowned avant-garde school in the Bauhaus-Museum Weimar or follow the footsteps of the early Bauhaus masters during the course of a city guided tour. Walter Gropius’ ‘Meisterhaus’ and 1926 Bauhaus building still fascinate visitors to Dessau – both are not only UNESCO World Cultural Heritage sites since 1996, but also inspiring venues for conferences, exhibitions and events. Tours of the Bauhaus and excursions to all Bauhaus buildings in Dessau may also be incorporated in social and sightseeing programmes. The worldwide largest collection of Bauhaus buildings is, however, to be found in Berlin. The Bauhaus Archiv Museum für Gestaltung (Bauhaus Archive Museum for Design) presents a complete spectrum of the Bauhaus school: from architecture to furniture, ceramics to photography. The striking building on the Landwehr Canal is a late Gropius work – its museum rooms may be reserved for smaller meetings or exclusive events (www.bauhaus.de).

Meet behind the dancing façade
Frank O Gehry taught buildings to dance in Herford in the German Federal State of North Rhine Westphalia: as in his design for the MARTa Herford. The complex, with its brick slip cladding so typical of the region and its wavelike stainless steel undulating roof, houses a museum that aims to reconcile contemporary 21st century art and current design tendencies in one concept – particularly in the furniture branch. The name in itself means programme: the ‘M’ stands for furniture, ‘ART’ for art and ‘a’ for ambience. There is ample space for events, receptions, meetings, workshops and / or product presentations for up to 600 persons behind the dancing façade www.martaherford.de.

Conferences in the Boiler House
While we are on the subject of great architects we cannot fail but to mention the world-renowned Lord Norman Foster: he granted the former Kesselhaus (Boiler House) of the Zollverein Colliery (Zeche) in Essen – which by the way was built in Bauhaus style – a completely new look. A fascinating mixture of old and new: parts of the huge boiler complex have been retained in the heart of the building while additional floor levels have been carefully added. The ‘red dot design museum Deutschland’ houses the largest and most unusual exhibition of contemporary design worldwide – a unique backdrop for meetings, presentations, social and accompanying programmes www.red-dot.org.

Really wild
The absolute counterpart to Bauhaus functionalism is the ‘Villa E 96’ in Hamburg - a real eye-catcher among the avant-garde and baroque villas of the Elbchaussee. The operators of this small designer location - which offers space for up to 75 guests – term their style ‘poetic high-tech baroque’. The outside of the building is composed of wild futuristic forms, with colourful and playful details inside; the lit-up painted glass floor, the neon-lit glass railings and the red velvet covered walls are what also make this venue a very special place www.e96.de.

A palatial setting
Guests and event participants can, on the other hand, enjoy old Baroque to the full in the magnificent Würzburger Residenz (Würzburg Palace). The palatial complex, counted among the most significant Baroque ensembles in Europe, was built from 1720 to 1744 to plans from the renowned Balthasar Neumann: his architectural masterpiece being the spectacular and unique staircase. Würzburg Palace is a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Ducal Hall (Fürstensaal) – in which palace society used to dine, unlike many of the other often unheated rooms, may be let throughout the year for events (also during museum opening times) www.residenz-wuerzburg.de.

Modern meets classic
The International Congress Center Dresden ICCD, in comparison, stands out because of its businesslike, slick and simple architecture. Situated on the green banks of the River Elbe, it offers wonderful views of the State Capital of Saxony. The Congress Center, one of the most modern in Germany, offers an architectural counter pole to the famous Brühlschen Terrassen (Bruehl Terraces). Its form absorbs and reflects the oscillations of the river’s stream in the urban landscape. Dresden or the ‘Baroque Pearl’ offers an ideal environment for meetings and congresses with format, with attractions such as Our Lady’s Church, the Semper Opera House and the second largest museum landscape in Germany www.dresden-congresscenter.de.

Meetings with model character
Whoever is interested in architecture and the art of building can visit numerous museums in Germany where this theme is intensively dealt with. The permanent exhibition of the German Architecture Museum (DAM) in Frankfurt am Main has on display the most comprehensive collection of model panoramas on the history of architecture in Germany. Its motto is ‘From ancient huts to skyscrapers’. The museum, with its clear views of Frankfurt’s imposing skyline, can also be let for events www.dam-online.de.