GESAMTKUNSTWERKE

Overview

The architecture by Arne Jacobsen and Otto Weitling is of outstanding importance for post-war modernism in Germany. The calibre of their projects, however, has been forgotten. Gesamtkunstkwerke closes this gap in the appreciation of their work with a comprehensive presentation of seven out of eight German projects by the Danish master architects.

Jacobsen and Weitling’s Scandinavian functionalism is a reflection of the visions of the former FRG – designs and commissions grounded in democracy, prestige and efficiency. The publication also takes stock of how the legacy of late modernism is being handled.

The journey through the architects’ locales leads us to the sea, to model towns and to the intricacies of modernism, prompting a debate in accordance with Otto Weitling: ‘Pros and cons would be a positive sign because a building that isn’t talked about is usually not worth talking about.’