New Form, New Material and Color Scheme, the Exposed Concrete Phenomenon—The Centennial Hall in Wrocław
The aim of the article is to present the remarkable changes in architecture that took place in the 20th century. They can easily be called a revolution regarding the architectural form and the color scheme. Progress was being made through the development of reinforced concrete production methods. In...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-01-01
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| Series: | Arts |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/11/1/17 |
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| author | Jerzy Ilkosz Ryszard Wójtowicz Jadwiga Urbanik |
| author_facet | Jerzy Ilkosz Ryszard Wójtowicz Jadwiga Urbanik |
| author_sort | Jerzy Ilkosz |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The aim of the article is to present the remarkable changes in architecture that took place in the 20th century. They can easily be called a revolution regarding the architectural form and the color scheme. Progress was being made through the development of reinforced concrete production methods. In the German Empire (<i>Deutsches Kaiserreich</i>), this material quickly found applications in more and more interesting solutions in architectural structures. In Wrocław (formerly Breslau), then located in the eastern German Empire, exceptional architectural works were realized before and after the First World War using new technology. In 1913, an unusual building was erected—the Centennial Hall, designed by Max Berg (inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2006). Berg’s work was inspired by the works of both Hans Poelzig and Bruno Taut. On the one hand, it was a delight with the new material (the Upper Silesian Tower at the exhibition in Poznań, designed by H. Poelzig) and, on the other hand, with the colorful architecture of light and glass by B. Taut (a glass pavilion at the Werkbund exhibition in Cologne). Max Berg left the concrete in an almost “pure” form, not hiding the texture of the formwork under the plaster layer. However, stratigraphic studies of paint coatings and archival inquiries reveal a new face of this building. The research was carried out as part of the CMP (Conservation Management Plan—prepared by the authors of the article, among others) grant from The Getty Foundation <i>Keeping It Modern</i> program. According to the source materials, the architect intended to leave the exposed concrete outside of the building, while the interior was to be decorated with painting, stained glass, and sculpture. The stratigraphic tests showed that the external walls were covered with a translucent yellowish color coating. Thus, the Centennial Hall shows a different face of reinforced concrete architecture. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:40:12Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-f3c910cd1fbc477abe09ade43e4872d5 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-0752 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:40:12Z |
| publishDate | 2022-01-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Arts |
| spelling | doaj.art-f3c910cd1fbc477abe09ade43e4872d52023-11-23T18:42:16ZengMDPI AGArts2076-07522022-01-011111710.3390/arts11010017New Form, New Material and Color Scheme, the Exposed Concrete Phenomenon—The Centennial Hall in WrocławJerzy Ilkosz0Ryszard Wójtowicz1Jadwiga Urbanik2Wroclaw Museum of Architecture, 50-156 Wrocław, PolandDrabik & Wójtowicz s.c.—Conservation and Restauration of Art, 51-113 Wrocław, PolandFaculty of Architecture, Wroclaw University of Science and Technology, 50-370 Wrocław, PolandThe aim of the article is to present the remarkable changes in architecture that took place in the 20th century. They can easily be called a revolution regarding the architectural form and the color scheme. Progress was being made through the development of reinforced concrete production methods. In the German Empire (<i>Deutsches Kaiserreich</i>), this material quickly found applications in more and more interesting solutions in architectural structures. In Wrocław (formerly Breslau), then located in the eastern German Empire, exceptional architectural works were realized before and after the First World War using new technology. In 1913, an unusual building was erected—the Centennial Hall, designed by Max Berg (inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2006). Berg’s work was inspired by the works of both Hans Poelzig and Bruno Taut. On the one hand, it was a delight with the new material (the Upper Silesian Tower at the exhibition in Poznań, designed by H. Poelzig) and, on the other hand, with the colorful architecture of light and glass by B. Taut (a glass pavilion at the Werkbund exhibition in Cologne). Max Berg left the concrete in an almost “pure” form, not hiding the texture of the formwork under the plaster layer. However, stratigraphic studies of paint coatings and archival inquiries reveal a new face of this building. The research was carried out as part of the CMP (Conservation Management Plan—prepared by the authors of the article, among others) grant from The Getty Foundation <i>Keeping It Modern</i> program. According to the source materials, the architect intended to leave the exposed concrete outside of the building, while the interior was to be decorated with painting, stained glass, and sculpture. The stratigraphic tests showed that the external walls were covered with a translucent yellowish color coating. Thus, the Centennial Hall shows a different face of reinforced concrete architecture.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/11/1/1720th centuryGermanyGerman EmpireSilesiaWroclawCentennial Hall |
| spellingShingle | Jerzy Ilkosz Ryszard Wójtowicz Jadwiga Urbanik New Form, New Material and Color Scheme, the Exposed Concrete Phenomenon—The Centennial Hall in Wrocław Arts 20th century Germany German Empire Silesia Wroclaw Centennial Hall |
| title | New Form, New Material and Color Scheme, the Exposed Concrete Phenomenon—The Centennial Hall in Wrocław |
| title_full | New Form, New Material and Color Scheme, the Exposed Concrete Phenomenon—The Centennial Hall in Wrocław |
| title_fullStr | New Form, New Material and Color Scheme, the Exposed Concrete Phenomenon—The Centennial Hall in Wrocław |
| title_full_unstemmed | New Form, New Material and Color Scheme, the Exposed Concrete Phenomenon—The Centennial Hall in Wrocław |
| title_short | New Form, New Material and Color Scheme, the Exposed Concrete Phenomenon—The Centennial Hall in Wrocław |
| title_sort | new form new material and color scheme the exposed concrete phenomenon the centennial hall in wroclaw |
| topic | 20th century Germany German Empire Silesia Wroclaw Centennial Hall |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-0752/11/1/17 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jerzyilkosz newformnewmaterialandcolorschemetheexposedconcretephenomenonthecentennialhallinwrocław AT ryszardwojtowicz newformnewmaterialandcolorschemetheexposedconcretephenomenonthecentennialhallinwrocław AT jadwigaurbanik newformnewmaterialandcolorschemetheexposedconcretephenomenonthecentennialhallinwrocław |