Simon Ungers

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Simon Ungers (born May 8, 1957 in Cologne ; † March 6, 2006 in Hürth ) was a German architect and artist .

Life

"Forum" in front of St. Peter (Cologne) (Photo: 2008)

Simon Ungers was born in 1957 as the son of the architect Oswald Mathias Ungers and Liselotte Gablers. In 1967 the family moved to the United States, where he attended high school . He then studied architecture from 1975 to 1980 at Cornell University in Ithaca , New York .

Simon Ungers lived and worked in New York and Cologne. In addition to some competition successes, he became known for his steel sculptures and light installations. Together with Tom Kinslow, he achieved international attention with the construction of the "T-House", a private house made of COR-TEN steel in Wilton , New York, and the "Cube House" made of concrete blocks in Ithaca, New York.

From 1981 to 1986 he was a professor at Syracuse University and from 1988 to 1992 at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy . He has also taught as a visiting professor at Harvard University , Cornell University and the University of Maryland .

In 1994 he received the sponsorship award from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia .

In 1995, his design for the Holocaust memorial in Berlin won one of two first prizes. The jury later preferred the other design that won the first prize in a casting vote. Later, however, neither of the two designs was realized, instead a new competition was announced. In 1999 the artist moved to Cologne.

He passed away on March 6, 2006 after a long illness.

reception

Numerous museums such as the Museum of Modern Art or the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art have objects by the artist in their collections.

Memorial to the deportation camp Cologne-Müngersdorf, erected posthumously in 2020 according to plans by Simon Ungers

In November 2018, the City Council of Cologne decided to implement the modified competition design for the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe and for the Topography of Terror Memorial in Cologne-Müngersdorf . The Wall memorial by Simon Ungers is a central component of a concept for a memorial site on the site of the former collection and deportation camp Fort V in Müngersdorf. The artist's sister, Sophia Ungers, worked with a landscape planner and designer, based on the wall design, a way of commemoration that symbolically connects the camp in Fort V with the barracks camp built by the National Socialists 200 m away. The completion took place in January 2020.

Important buildings


  • 1982 Hobbs Residence in Lansing, NY
  • 1983 "Herman J. Wiemer Vinyard Addition" in Dundee, NY
  • 1986 Knee Residence in Caldwell, NJ
  • 1986 "T-House" in Wilton, NY
  • 1998 Place in front of the library of the University of Halle
  • Sculpture “Forum” in Cologne
  • "Monolith" light sculpture in the Cologne Sculpture Park

literature

  • Henry Ubach, Gustau G. Galfetti: "Simon Ungers" , GG Editorial Gustavo Gill 1988, ISBN 84-252-1733-4
  • Simon Ungers, Jos Bosman: “Autonomy and dialogue” , Librìa Melfi 2005, ISBN 88-87202-62-1

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Bürgererverein Köln-Müngersdorf eV - "Wall" by Simon Ungers. Retrieved November 21, 2018 .
  2. ↑ Cologne receives a worthy place of remembrance. Retrieved November 21, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Uta Winterhager: A long story, a long wall. arge koelnarchitektur.de, February 6, 2020, accessed on March 19, 2020 (German).

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Ungers, Simon
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German architect and artist
DATE OF BIRTH May 8, 1957
PLACE OF BIRTH Cologne
DATE OF DEATH March 6, 2006
Place of death Huerth