"Exhibition Showcase: 'Beautiful Housing' - A Vision for a Brighter Future"
The Kunsthalle Tübingen is currently hosting an intriguing exhibition titled "Schöner Wohnen – Architekturvisionen von 1900 bis heute", which delves into the ever-evolving question of "How should we live?" by showcasing architectural visions and housing concepts from 1900 to the present day.
The exhibition offers a comprehensive, historically grounded look at how architecture reflects societal values and changes over time. Highlights include societal and historical perspectives on housing, participatory art projects, and a reflection on architectural styles and movements.
One of the key features is the exploration of housing as a reflection of social themes and cultural values across eras. The exhibition presents various concepts that were once fascinating and inspiring but not very inviting to live in. For instance, Bruno Taut's "Alpine Architecture" (1917-1919) presents an uninhabitable crystal landscape.
Participatory art projects, such as Simone Ruess's work involving people with refugee backgrounds, provide a safe space for them to imagine future living scenarios, emphasising community and exchange over purely formal architecture. Student contributions from the University of Applied Sciences Darmstadt and the State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart have also enriched the exhibition.
The exhibition does not separate interior design from architecture, as demonstrated by a focus on Verner Panton's Atelierwohnung, with its distinctive 1960s rounded, colorful furniture and textiles. This illustrates how interior living concepts influence architectural experience.
Reflections on architectural styles and movements over time are another significant aspect of the exhibition. It showcases the historic rise and fall of postmodernism and design groups like Memphis with figures such as Ettore Sottsass.
The exhibition also presents futuristic housing concepts, such as Kishō Kurokawa's "Living Space in Space", designed as a walkable, transparent bubble, aiming to provide fresh air in cities polluted by exhaust fumes. The capsule, about nine square meters in size, contains a bed, a shower cabin, and cabinets. One module, or capsule, of the Nakagin Capsule Tower, designed by architect Kishō Kurokawa, is on display in the sculpture courtyard of the Kunsthalle Tübingen as part of the exhibition.
The development of architectural drawing towards AI-generated design is also a topic in the exhibition. The capsule by Kishō Kurokawa, resembling an oversized washing machine with a porthole, is the only remaining capsule from the Nakagin Capsule Tower; it was demolished in 2022. A grandson of the founder of the art hall secured the capsule for the Kunsthalle Tübingen exhibition.
Nicole Fritz, director of the Kunsthalle Tübingen, emphasises that the exhibition aims to encourage reflection on how we live and what we need for a "good" life in the future. According to Fritz, architectural drawings can be an expression of a "hope for a better world".
The exhibition is a collaboration with the German Architecture Museum in Frankfurt am Main and runs until October 19, 2025, at Kunsthalle Tübingen.
In summary, the "Schöner Wohnen" exhibition positions housing as a dynamic, socially embedded practice that connects architecture with cultural identity, community, and future sustainability, rather than just formal structures or aesthetics. It offers a multifaceted exploration of living environments as cultural expressions and future social spaces.
- The exhibition, "Schöner Wohnen – Architekturvisionen von 1900 bis heute", at Kunsthalle Tübingen delves into how architectural visions and housing concepts, notably home-and-garden designs, have reflected societal values and changes over time.
- The exhibition's exploration of architectural styles and movements also includes a focus on home-and-garden living concepts, such as Kishō Kurokawa's "Living Space in Space", a futuristic housing concept designed as a walkable, transparent bubble, illustrating the potential impact of home-and-garden designs on urban living.
