Mensa Stuttgart-Mitte (facade)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Facade mosaic of the Stuttgart-Mitte cafeteria, 1956.

The facade of the Stuttgart-Mitte cafeteria was clad with a mosaic of clinker tiles in 1956 based on a design by the painter and sculptor Hans Bäurle . The right-angled, varied arrangement of 2 panel sizes in 3 shades of gray merges into an abstract tapestry that rhythmically animates the long, monotonous facade.

description

The Stuttgart-Mitte canteen is located in Stuttgart at Holzgartenstrasse 11, between the high-rise of the Max-Kade-Haus student residence, the Hoppenlaufriedhof and two institutes of the University of Stuttgart . The cafeteria building has the shape of a lying cube. It rises on an area of ​​35 × 44 meters (width × depth) and consists of 3 floors and a basement.

The avenue trees on the street side largely obstruct the view of the building, the east facade of which is one of the lesser-known sights of the city. The ground floor facade consists of red brickwork and a glazed entrance area. The facade of the two upper floors is covered with a 35 meter wide and 8.5 meter high mosaic, which is partially continued on the south facade opposite the Max-Kade-Haus. The mighty facade wall was originally windowless, 5 windows were only installed in the 1980s.

  •  

  • East facade of the cafeteria, 1956.

  • South facade (left) and east facade of the cafeteria, 2017.

The mosaic consists of around 20,000 clinker tiles (split tiles), which are divided into two sizes, wide tiles of 244 × 116 mm and half-width tiles of 244 × 50 mm. The supplier of the panels was the ceramics manufacturer Buchtal (today Agrob-Buchtal). The vast majority of the plates are in a medium gray tone, a smaller number in light and dark gray. The horizontally and vertically arranged panels, stacked one above the other and next to one another, abut at right angles and form a seamless surface filling. Light and dark gray plates are clustered in smaller groups, resulting in a seemingly random, island-like distribution. The constant alternation between the different panel formats and colors and in the arrangement of the panels creates a lively, rhythmic structure of the facade that counteracts the monotony of the large wall surface. The conventional way of laying the panels on the rear provides a counter-image.

Part of the south facade and the clinker walls on the ground floor were the victims of extensive graffiti. The square metal plates (5 × 5 cm) between individual panels of the facade were subsequently attached in the 1980s as anchors to prevent the panels from falling. The renovation of the building and the restoration of the clinker facade are currently being planned (June 2017).

Emergence

The architects of the refectory building, Wilhelm Tiedje and Ludwig Hilmar Kresse , wrote in a contribution for the festschrift for the inauguration of the refectory:

“On the street side, the hall shows itself as a windowless, mighty wall. An area of ​​this size required special means of design. The question of the rhythmic structure was the subject of a competition among five younger artists. The board of trustees, advised by specialist judges, decided on the design by the young painter Bäurle, which was also implemented. The attempt to achieve a lively design with standardized industrial panels in two sizes and in three shades can be described as a success. "

Hans Bäurle first took part in a student competition at the Stuttgart Art Academy , in which he won first prize. His design consisted of an area filling made of thick dots of color, which was divided into various rectangular fields by horizontal and vertical stripes.

  •  

  • 1st prize in the student competition of the Stuttgart Art Academy, black and white photo of the design.

The Studentenwerk Stuttgart (today Studierendenwerk Stuttgart ) announced an internal competition for the facade design of the front of the cafeteria and invited 5 Stuttgart artists to participate: Hans Bäurle, Hans Dieter Bohnet , Ernst Kibler, Eckart Mosny and Herwig Schubert. “Commercially available split tiles were stipulated as the material, wide and half tiles, in a certain ratio. Due to the long delivery times, they were ordered in advance. If possible, only two slightly differentiated shades should be used. It was allowed to glaze a small number of plates with a third darker color matt. ”Hans Bäurle's design on a scale of 1:20 was awarded first prize in the competition.

Hans Bäurle translated his competition design into an implementation design on a scale of 1:10. The design was covered with a wire mesh and the resulting rectangular fields were photographed. “The wires were measured on the building and marked there with cords so that each field of the photograph corresponded to the large field in natural size. So it was easy for the executing craftsmen to transfer the system of the design exactly into reality, without dimensions, so that the executor still has enough leeway that the liveliness is guaranteed. "

  •  

  • Execution draft 1:10 with wire mesh for transferring the design to the building.

The tiling company Gustav Schaefer in Stetten took over the execution . The wall on which the panel mosaic was attached is a concrete structure covered with Ytong panels. In order to compensate for possible material tensions, some elastic joints were made, which can be seen as horizontal and vertical lines.

The Liederhalle near the cafeteria , which was built at the same time, is known, among other things, for the imaginative facade design by Blasius Spreng . The clinker brick facades of the Silchersaal could suggest that there was an artistic exchange between Blasius Spreng and Hans Bäurle, but neither was known to each other, so that mutual influence is excluded.

reception

Hans Bäurle's mosaic facade was recognized in several newspaper articles in the year of completion in 1956:

  • "The jury decided on the design by Hans Bäurle, a finely coordinated, rhythmic surface structure that gives the impression of a stone, monumental carpet and fits in perfectly with the architectural whole of the cafeteria."
  • “Bäurle's design divides the surface with a large, asymmetrical line structure; the whole wall is given a purely ornamental rhythm and animation with the available panel formats and colors. "
  • “This wall is an attempt, both technically and artistically. Opinions are divided, but generally positive. We are convinced that it is a path that opens up new possibilities. The amazing thing is that it was possible with this material, whose advantages lie in the evenness and accuracy, to conjure up such a tension-laden life of the composition. "

literature

  • Collection of documents by Hans Bäurle. Filed with: Assets and Construction Baden-Württemberg, Section 41: Art in Architecture.
  • Golnaz Tofighi Boroujeni: Object N: Mensa, Holzgartenstrasse 11. In: Klaus Hentschel (editor): Historical campus guide of the University of Stuttgart, Part I: City center. Diepholz: Verlag für Geschichte der Naturwissenschaften und der Technik, 2010, pages 103-106.
  • Wilhelm Tiedje ; Ludwig Hilmar Kresse : The cafeteria. In: Albert K. Riester: Festschrift for the inauguration of the cafeteria of the Stuttgart Student Union: on November 16, 1956. Ludwigsburg: Eichhorn, [1956], pages 31–36.
  • Elisabeth Szymczyk-Eggert: The University Campus Stadtmitte. In: Norbert Becker (editor): The University of Stuttgart after 1945: history, developments, personalities. Stuttgart: Thorbecke, 2004, pages 85-94, here: 85-87.

Web links

Commons : Mensa Stuttgart-Mitte  - Collection of pictures, videos and audio files

Footnotes

  1. ↑ #Tiedje 1956 , pages 32, 34.
  2. ↑ #Document collection , page 2: newspaper article “1. Prize for master builder students. How is the east facade of the cafeteria designed? ”, 1956, unknown source.
  3. ↑ email information by architect Manfred Pagel, Universitätsbauamt Stuttgart and Hohenheim, July 3, 2017th
  4. ↑ #Tiedje 1956 .
  5. ↑ email information by architect Manfred Pagel, Universitätsbauamt Stuttgart and Hohenheim, June 28, 2017th
  6. ↑ #Tiedje 1956 , page 34.
  7. ↑ #Document collection , page 8.
  8. ↑ #Dokumentensammlung , page 5: newspaper article, 1956, unknown source.
  9. ↑ #Document collection , page 7–8.
  10. ↑ #Dokumentensammlung , page 5: newspaper article, 1956, unknown source.
  11. ^ Website of the company Konz & Schaefer .
  12. ↑ #Dokumentensammlung , page 5: newspaper article, 1956, unknown source.
  13. ^ Telephone information from Hans Bäurle, June 29, 2017.
  14. ↑ #Document collection , page 2: Newspaper article “Stone carpet. The design of the east facade of the cafeteria ”, 1956, unknown source.
  15. ↑ #Document collection , page 2: newspaper article “1. Prize for master builder students. How is the east facade of the cafeteria designed? ”, 1956, unknown source.
  16. ↑ #Dokumentensammlung , page 5: newspaper article, 1956, unknown source.

Coordinates: 48 ° 46 ′ 51.7 ″  N , 9 ° 10 ′ 11 ″  E