Rediscovery of a key work by Peter Behrens thanks to SPP 2255

During the second annual meeting of the SPP 2255 in Dessau-Roßlau, the participants also visited on October 13, 2022 various historical constructions in the Dessau-Mitte industrial park in the course of a field trip prepared by Axel Schuhmann (Anhalt University of Applied Sciences). One of its preserved halls made a particular impression on the participants, yet there was hardly any information available about it – for example on the construction period or the planners responsible.

Subsequent research led to a surprising discovery: the building is a supposedly lost work by the architect and designer Peter Behrens (1868-1940), an exceptionally important figure for the development of modern architecture.

Developed in cooperation with the Berlin steel construction company Breest & Co., the building had been originally designed as a “Power Machines Hall” for the 1910 World’s Fair in Brussels. After the end of the exhibition, the structure had been relocated to Dessau, where it subsequently served as a loading hall for the company G. Polysius behind new facades designed by a local architect.

To the best of our knowledge, the Power Machines Hall was the first building in which Behrens devoted himself intensively to the design of the engineering-determined interior of an industrial building. This building therefore served as a decisive basis for the subsequent development of modern industrial architecture, both for Breest & Co. and for Peter Behrens himself. In addition, with Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, two later directors of the Bauhaus – whose former Dessau premises are less than a kilometer away from the hall – had been employed in Behrens’ studio exactly at that time.

The rather coincidental “rediscovery” of this key work of modern architecture vividly demonstrates the urgent need for improved knowledge of our historical construction heritage – a main goal of SPP 2255. Roland May and Axel Schuhmann report in detail on the history, significance and subsequent use of this special construction heritage structure in the current issue of the journal Denkmalpflege in Sachsen-Anhalt.

Interior of the former Power Machines Hall in 2023. Photo: Axel Schuhmann.

Peter Behrens’ Power Machines Hall during the 1910 World Exhibition in Brussels. Source: Illustrirte Zeitung 134 (1910), No. 3490.

Title page of the 2024-1 issue of the journal “Denkmalpflege in Sachsen-Anhalt”.

Further News

Practice project Tempelhof Airport: THFx Monument Workshop 2024.1 ” High-modern constructions: repair and retrofitting”

Kategorie: Extern, News
Published on: 17. July 2024

Berlin-Tempelhof
The former Berlin-Tempelhof Airport is one of the largest listed building complexes in Germany. Built between 1936 and 1941, the facility mirrors several phases of German history in a unique way. The huge building complex is also of particular importance in terms of construction history; back in 2011, it was already honored by the Federal Chamber of Engineers as a “Historical Landmark of the Art of Engineering”.

See article

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Kategorie: News
Published on: 23. October 2024

Cottbus
The first funding phase of SPP 2255 is coming to an end, and we will be starting the second at the beginning of the year. Three more years of the Cultural Heritage Construction Research Network lie ahead of us. Some projects are coming to an end, others are being added. We would like to thank all those with whom we were able to work in the first phase for exciting encounters, multi-layered suggestions, valuable insights and their often inspiring commitment to the common cause – the interdisciplinary process of valorizing the cultural heritage of construction.

For 2024, Team Cottbus wishes both old and new contributors and supporters health, happiness and joy in their work!

See article

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Kategorie: News
Published on: 23. October 2024

Cottbus
How good it was to finally be able to exchange ideas in person again! Communication in the second year of our DFG Priority Program was characterized by a wide range of encounters, from common ground and cluster workshops to think tanks and annual meetings.

Thank you for your powerful commitment!

The Cottbus Head Office wishes all contributors, supporters and friends of SPP 2255 health, happiness, joy and success in their work in 2023!

See article

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year

Kategorie: News
Published on: 23. October 2024

Cottbus
The first year of the DFG Priority Program 2255 Cultural Heritage Construction presented us with major challenges – but together we got off to a flying start. The coordination team would like to thank all contributors, partners and friends for their great commitment and diverse support!

We wish you all a Merry Christmas and good luck, health and many new successes for 2022.

See article

Extraordinary ensemble of ultra-modern constructions at Cottbus airfield

Kategorie: News
Published on: 18. October 2024

Cottbus
The hangars built in 1933/34 on the former Cottbus-Nord airfield form a unique ensemble of extraordinary buildings of their time in Germany. With the help of Roland May, Thomas Klatt reported in the Lausitzer Rundschau and Märkische Oderzeitung newspapers on August 9 and 10, 2024 about this unique building heritage, which has already been the focus of several SPP 2255 events.

See article

Establishment of the International Working Group “Theory, Methodology and Practice of Railway Heritage Preservation”

Kategorie: Extern, News
Published on: 16. July 2024

Zurich
Bereits in der ersten Förderphase (2021 – 2023) hatte sich eine enge Zusammenarbeit zwischen den Teilprojekten A1 und A2 des „Eisenbahnclusters“ im SPP 2255 sowie der Fachstelle Denkmalpflege der Schweizerischen Bundesbahn (SBB) etabliert. Auf Initiative der Schweizer Kolleg*innen kam nun erstmals an der ETH Zürich eine gemeinsame neue Arbeitsgruppe zusammen. Sie hat sich die Entwicklung eines Positionspapiers als Grundlage für eine künftige ICOMOS-Charta zur Eisenbahndenkmalpflege zum Ziel gesetzt.

See article