Wilhelm Riphahn. Architekt in Cologne
17 September 2004 to 6 March 2005
As an architect Wilhelm Riphahn (25.7.1889 – 27.12.1963) is of outstanding importance for the city of Cologne. He put his stamp on large areas of the city in which he was born with individual buildings and groups of buildings which have an important place in the history of architecture. At the same time, he was exceptionally versatile and his buildings include villas, estates, high rise buildings, theatres, factories and a church. During his lifetime people in Cologne already spoke of the “Riphahn era”.
The plans for the overall design of the Hahnenstrasse with the British Council building (“Die Brücke”, 1950), the Lichtspiellhaus (cinema) (1948), the “Turmhaus” in the Schildergasse (1956) and above all, the Opera House and Theater are a testimony to his impressive creativity. A number of private houses, among them the house of the collector Josef Haubrich, were equally uncompromisingly functional and of bold design. He was awarded the “Großer Kunstpreis von Nordrhein-Westfalen” (art prize of North Rhine-Westphalia) in 1953, a tribute to both Riphahn the man and his work.
The Museum für Angewandte Kunst (museum of applied art) is for the first time devoting a comprehensive exhibition to Riphahn’s work. Original plans and drawings from his estate, photographs by such Cologne photographers as Werner Mantz, Hugo Schmölz and August Sander and archtiectural models provide a fascinating insight into the the life and work of this Cologne architect. Throughout his life Riphahn sought to express spatial and constructional ideas in his buildings. He created outstanding avantgarde architecture in Cologne both in the Expressionist style and in the Bauhaus tradition.
The plans for the overall design of the Hahnenstrasse with the British Council building (“Die Brücke”, 1950), the Lichtspiellhaus (cinema) (1948), the “Turmhaus” in the Schildergasse (1956) and above all, the Opera House and Theater are a testimony to his impressive creativity. A number of private houses, among them the house of the collector Josef Haubrich, were equally uncompromisingly functional and of bold design. He was awarded the “Großer Kunstpreis von Nordrhein-Westfalen” (art prize of North Rhine-Westphalia) in 1953, a tribute to both Riphahn the man and his work.
The Museum für Angewandte Kunst (museum of applied art) is for the first time devoting a comprehensive exhibition to Riphahn’s work. Original plans and drawings from his estate, photographs by such Cologne photographers as Werner Mantz, Hugo Schmölz and August Sander and archtiectural models provide a fascinating insight into the the life and work of this Cologne architect. Throughout his life Riphahn sought to express spatial and constructional ideas in his buildings. He created outstanding avantgarde architecture in Cologne both in the Expressionist style and in the Bauhaus tradition.