«What Was What Will Be» in Hamburg

Vernissage: June 20, 2022, 7 pm with a SalonTalk with Meinrad Morger, Henning König and Martin Klein

Symposium «Attitude vs. Handwriting»: July 1, 2022, 1–7 pm

Exhibition duration: June 21 to August 5, 2022

Location: AIT-ArchitekturSalon, Bei den Mühren 70, 20457 Hamburg, Germany
Opening hours: Mon–Wed, Fri 10am–6pm, Thu 10am–8pm, 1st Sat of the month 1pm–6pm and by appointment

Supporting program: On July 1, 2022, the topic of the generational change will be examined in greater detail during the half-day symposium «Attitude vs. Handwriting» with contributions from Staab Architekten, Pool Architekten, Eisenschmidt Consulting Crew, Hild und K, Morger Partner Architekten, Steidle Architekten and O & O Baukunst, among others. There is a lot of talk about when starting an architectural practice. But what happens when its founders retire tends to remain undiscussed, even though the last of all deadlines affects every office at some point and the options for dealing with it are surprisingly diverse.

A generational change is currently underway in many renowned architectural firms. With it comes the question of how the firm’s identity can continue to stand out and evolve. This is particularly relevant for architects who have designed iconic works or made notable contributions on specific issues in the past. The question gains further significance against the backdrop of the radically changing priorities in construction that have been taking place for the past ten years or so, which also have an enormous influence on the role of architects in society.

Morger Partner uses the exhibition to address and advance this development process. An impromptu project was initiated, in which each of the architects selected a project from the firm’s 33-year history and developed a design and usage scenario for its future. They investigated how the buildings might respond to the ecological, economic, demographic, and political changes of the coming decades, putting nothing less than their resilience potential to the test. From a wider perspective, the exhibition also makes it clear that redevelopment of the existing building fabric will likely be the most important task of architecture in the 21st century. Scenographically, Was War Was Wird (What Was What Will Be) reinterprets the legendary display easels Lina Bo Bardi designed for the Museu de Arte de São Paulo. Each module presents a project, showing both the original project and its proposed conversion on the front and back. The modules are complemented by interviews with the different generations at Morger Partner Architekten and a publication. The exhibition was curated by Andreas Ruby and first shown at the Architektur Galerie Berlin.

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