INFORMATION 8 December 2011
Frankfurt/Main
schneider+schumacher
10 December 2011 – 29 April 2012
Deutsches Architekturmuseum DAM, 1st Floor
Schaumaninkai 43, Frankfurt am Main
OPENING:
Fri, 9 December 2011, 19.00
PRESS CONFERENCE:
Thu, 8 December 2011, 11.00
GUIDED TOURS:
On Saturdays and Sundays, 14.00
On the construction site of the extension of the Städel museum, 2011 © Kirsten Bucher
OPEN:
Tues., Thurs.-Sat. 11 a.m. – 6 p.m. / Wed. 11 a.m.
– 8 p.m. / Sun. 11 a.m. – 7 p.m.; closed Mondays
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
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SCHNEIDER+SCHUMACHER OFFICE PROFILE
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PUBLICATION
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IMPRINT
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COMING SOON / CONTACT
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PRESS INFORMATION
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schneider+schumacher
Frankfurt / Main, 8/12/2011
CONSTRUCTING THE PARADIGM SHIFT
The DAM presents the work of schneider+schumacher architectural studio will present its work to mark
the completion of the Städel Museum and the conversion of the Dresdner Bank Silver Tower into the
Deutsche Bahn administration building. 14 selected projects from Germany and Austria, which were
completed since the establishment of the studio in 1988, are shown in the exhibition. The projects will be
shown as large-scale projections in an installation conceived exclusively for DAM by MESO Digital
Interiors. The big frameless projection with 11.000 pixels allows the guests to go close to the images.
Three computers in a network and 17 beamers project the medial display on the three walls of the box in
the middle of the room. The projection was especially composed for the 14 selected projects and adjusted
to the special local conditions of the “Haus-im-Haus”. New photographs by Kirsten Bucher, who presents
an authentic snapshot of the buildings both inside and out, are combined with archived images and
interviews to produce an atmospheric spatial choreography which illustrates the studio’s work and
intention.
Foreword of the exhibition by Peter Cachola Schmal:
The “schneider+schumacher” exhibition marks the start of a new series of shows at the DAM. Taking the
form of a monographic tribute, these annual events will present the work of the most important
architects in the Rhine-Main region.
What does schneider+schumacher’s architecture stand for? Clarity, angularity and directness are
qualities we can detect throughout their work, be it new-build or conversion, a decidedly contemporary
mode of expression that welcomes technological progress, yet remains intrinsically distinctive, selfconfident and sculptural. Their tendency towards reductive detailing stems not from some contrived
purist intention, but from a clear and functional response to the brief, in which construction is
constantly informed by design. Within the building industry this painstaking approach to detailing and
execution has earned schneider+schumacher immense respect. Rooted in the architectural heritage of
the 1980s, trained first at the University of Kaiserslautern, and the Technische Hochschule in Darmstadt
and later on at the Städelschule, led at that time by the charismatic Peter Cook. Michael Schumacher‘s
interlude in Norman Foster’s office at the end of the 1980s led to an awareness for structure, quality and
innovation.
Till Schneider‘s and Michael Schumacher’s sensitive and complex architectural conversions and
extensions are currently shaping Frankfurt’s built landscape in a particularly special way. During the
course of this exhibition, in close proximity to the DAM, the Städel Museum will open first their
renovated existing building and then the new underground extension. The Städel extension can be seen
as an example of a paradigm shift in museum architecture, away from the representative solitary
edifice to something below ground that from the outside, at first glance, appears to be simply a
selfeffacing annex. On closer inspection though, with its innovative porthole windows radiating light
outwards, this gently curving grass mound reveals its hidden strength in a spectacular interior space.
Likewise, early in 2012, the Deutsche Bahn will be moving into the skyscraper known as the
“Silvertower” (ABB Architects, 1978), following a programme of total refurbishment commissioned by
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Frankfurt / Main, 8/12/2011
the Commerzbank. Radical changes to this high-rise – formerly owned by the Dresdner Bank – will be
barely noticeable, since the architects have adopted a conservationist approach to the renovation work,
almost as if they were working on a traditional historic building. “Durable and beautiful” is how the
architects describe the building, in keeping with schneider+schumacher’s “simple definition of
sustainability”. The architects’ first skyscraper, the cylindrical Westhafen Tower with its “apple-wine
glass” façade, located on the north embankment of the river Main, hails the New Städel from the other
side of the river and offers a striking entrée to the city from the west.
schneider+schumacher’s most famous structure to date, the legendary red steel Info-Box that stood in
Berlin from 1995 until 2001, could also be regarded as a paradigm shift similar to that which has
occurred at the New Städel. In this case however, it was a pavilion building that set the stage for a
prominent building site. Reinterpreting construction work in terms of an event, it prompted both
curiosity and acceptance from the public, rather than the usual antagonism, and reworked copies of the
Info-Box were subsequently erected next to building sites all over the world, in the hope that they too
would act as a similar panacea.
In preparing this exhibition and the accompanying catalogue, we were particularly interested in the
everyday practicability of schneider+schumacher’s architecture, in how clients and visitors make use of
the existing architecture. Is there much wear and tear? Are the buildings accepted? Has anything been
changed, reorganised, or possibly even converted? In short, does the architecture pass the only true
stress test? This is why we approached Kirsten Bucher, a Frankfurt photographer, and asked her to visit
the architects’ major works and to portray these in everyday use, just as they are. In contrast to the
more familiar images taken by professional architectural photographers – buildings devoid of human
presence photographed just after completion – her highly personaland emotional pictures offer us an
alternative interpretation. Together with interviews by the architectural theorist Manuel Cuadra, what
ultimately emerges is a fresh and up-to-date review of schneider+schumacher’s built portfolio.
Projects shown in the exhibition:
Städel Museum, Frankfurt/Main, 2012
Autobahn Church, Siegerland, 2012
Silvertower, Frankfurt/Main, 2011
Fronius Research and Development Centre, A-Thalheim, 2011
Hager, Blieskastel, 2005–2010
Instituto Cervantes/Amerika Haus, Frankfurt/Main, 2008
Westhafen, Frankfurt/Main, 2003–2004
Erco Automated Warehouse, Lüdenscheid, 2001
Soviet Special Camp Museum, Sachsenhausen, 2001
Innside Hotel and Cubus Office Building, Düsseldorf, 2001
Braun Office Building, Kronberg, 2000
KPMG, Leipzig, 1998
Info-Box, Berlin, 1995
J. Walter Thompson, Frankfurt/Main, 1995
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Frankfurt / Main, 8/12/2011
SCHNEIDER+SCHUMACHER OFFICE PROFILE
schneider+schumacher Till Schneider and Michael Schumacher established schneider+schumacher in
Frankfurt a. M. in 1988. One of the office’s first projects, the red Info-Box situated in Berlin’s Potsdamer
Platz, quickly became a legend in its own right. schneider+schumacher translate complex client
requirements into built form with a remarkable and characteristic simplicity of approach, ensuring each
building is integrated into its context through economic, ecologically sound design that meets the
demands of the specific brief. Over recent years, the office has created in-house departments focusing on
architecture, building and project management, design, kinetics and town planning – areas of expertise
that can be called upon during any project phase. The office’s portfolio ranges from museums to industrial
buildings, from tree houses to skyscrapers. In 2010 schneider+schumacher set up an office in Vienna.
Till Schneider
Born 1959 in Koblenz, studied architecture at Kaiserslautern University, Technische Hochschule
Darmstadt, and Städelschule Frankfurt/Main with Peter Cook, freelance work with Eisele+Fritz and Prof.
Mürb, co- owner of schneider+schumacher with Michael Schumacher since 1988, in 2005 Acting
Professor at Technische Universität Darmstadt, Chair of Frankfurt chapter of Bund Deutscher
Architekten since 2010, lives in Frankfurt/Main.
Michael Schumacher
Born 1957 in Krefeld, studied architecture at Kaiserslautern University and Städelschule Frankfurt/Main
with Peter Cook, freelance work with Norman Foster, co-owner of schneider+schumacher with Till
Schneider since 1988, Visiting Professor at Städelschule Frankfurt/Main in 2000, Chairman of Bund
Deutscher Architekten Hessen from 2004 until 2009, Professor for Design and Construction at Leibniz
University Hannover since 2007, lives in Frankfurt/Main.
PUBLICATION
Peter Cachola Schmal/Till Schneider/Michael Schumacher
(Ed.)
schneider+schumacher
Prestel Verlag, Munich / 2011
German / English, Photographs by Kirsten Bucher, 240 pages,
137 coloured images, 90 black/white images
24 x 30 cm, Hardcover
ISBN: 978-3-7913-5147-6
Bookstore prize 49,95 EUR, museum shop prize 39 EUR.
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Frankfurt / Main, 8/12/2011
IMPRINT
schneider+schumacher
10 December 2011 - 29 April 2012 at the DAM
An exhibition of Deutsches Architekturmuseum DAM, Frankfurt am Main
Concept and Implementation Anna Scheuermann, Peter Cachola Schmal, Till Schneider, Michael
Schumacher, Ragunath Vasudevan, Jessica Witan
Media Technology MESO Digital Interiors, Frankfurt
Interviews Till Schneider, Michael Schumacher in conversation with Manuel Cuadra
Translation Hester Robinson, Frankfurt
Photographies Kirsten Bucher, Frankfurt
Mock-up Photographies Jörg Hempel, Aachen
schneider+schumacher Film G+K Film, Frankfurt
Woodwork Schreinerei Hein, Waldbüttelbrunn
Lease and Mounting Sound for Friends, Frankfurt
Crossbeam Mounting Inditec, Bad Camberg
Paintwork Paolo Brunino, Ulrich Diekmann, Enrico Hirsekorn, Eike Laeuen,
Michael Reiter, Beate Voigt, Gerhard Winkler
Facility Management Joachim Müller-Rahn
Loans Wolfgang Welker
Administration Yvonne Künstler, Inka Plechaty (DAM); Sabine Bigos, Elke Fritzsche, Inge Marx-Jansen,
Magdalena Niedzwiecka (s+s)
Press and Public Relations Brita Köhler, Stefanie Lampe (DAM); Inga Pothen, Anna Scheuermann,
Jessica Witan (s+s)
Graphic design printmedia Gardeners, Frankfurt am Main
Catalogue Heine/Lenz/Zizka, Frankfurt/Berlin; Prestel Verlag, Munich · London · New York
Kindly supported by:
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Frankfurt / Main, 8/12/2011
To coincide with the exhibition there will be a symposium at the Städel Museum, Frankfurt/Main in
spring. For further information see www.dam-online.de.
LECTURE schneider+schumacher 14 March 2012, 19:00, DAM
Press images for announcements and reports during the exhibition period at www.dam-online.de
28 January – 29 April 2012
DAM Prize for Architecture in Germany 2011
25 May – 19 September 2012
The Architectural Model. Tool, Fetish, small Utopia
DEUTSCHES ARCHITEKTURMUSEUM
Press & Public Relations
Schaumainkai 43, 60596 Frankfurt am Main, Germany, www.dam-online.de
Brita Köhler, Dipl.-Ing. (FH)
T +49 (0)69 212 36318 \ F +49 (0)69 212 36386
brita.koehler@stadt-frankfurt.de
Stefanie Lampe, B.A. / Assistence
T +49 (0)69 212 31326 \ F +49 (0)69 212 36386
stefanie.lampe@stadt-frankfurt.de
PRESS INFORMATION
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