Message from Christoph Gantenbein's lecture in Prague

At the third spring lecture, the Circle managed to invite representatives of the youngest Swiss architectural scene to Prague's Světozor. In Christoph Gantenbein from the Basel office Christ & Gantenbein, many experts see a successor to the Basel studio Herzog & de Meuron.
For the title of his lecture "More than a hundred Years," Christoph Gantenbein borrowed the name of their exhibition, which he presented together with Stefano Graziani at last year's architectural biennale in Venice, where they sought to answer questions about the durability of form over time and to reflect on their own work with a perspective of fifty years. For Christ and Gantenbein, the future does not lie only in the search for novelties, but also in familiarizing themselves with the past and relating their designs to history (often intellectually only).
Christoph Gantenbein studied architecture at ETH Zurich and shortly after graduating, he established his own studio in Basel with his classmate Emanuel Christ. Shortly thereafter, they succeeded in several important competitions, and today their office employs 35 architects. At just thirty, they managed to win a competition for the extension of the National Museum in Zurich, which was ceremoniously opened last year. They diligently worked on the new building for a long fifteen years, during which the resulting monolithic form creates a sharp contrast to the historicizing building of the museum (1898). It helps to close the tour circuit and the overall layout, while also creating a dialogue between the old and new parts. From a structural point of view, the building represents a giant bridge spanning forty meters across a Baroque garden near Zurich's main train station. Moreover, no complicated structures were needed. The facade made of tuff concrete was also created based on the needs of the internal operation: giant circular windows were cut where required by the client.
Another of the eleven projects presented was surprisingly a book that emerged from their study trip to Italy. Thanks to a scholarship, the architects acquired a used car and set out to draw inspiration from the south of Europe. They drew equally from iconic buildings as well as from discovering the charm of ordinary spaces in anonymous structures. These images were then documented at an exhibition in Berlin five years ago, where they (sometimes provocatively) contrasted them with their own realizations. Throughout the evening, Gantenbein presented two more books that are the result of the scientific work of ETH students dealing with the typology of "boring architecture" that constitutes the majority of the world's metropolises. On these examples, he demonstrated their search for beauty in ordinary things and also that they attribute a similar significance to publishing as to building.
The first completed realization of Christoph Gantenbein was a family house located just ten meters from the railway track, which they designed with fresh impressions from their study trip to Italy (2001). In their design, they did not try to separate the railway, but instead made it a part of the everyday life of the residents.
The following projects were also related to the railway, where they managed to turn local constraints into an overall benefit for the building. Gantenbein gradually revealed the stories of other projects throughout the evening. Behind the prominent objects always lay the effort to logically connect with the place both formally and materially. The authors realize that their building does not have to be perfect at all costs. Just as boring repetition of identical and standardized elements can create the main motif of the entire design that attracts attention. Unexpected paths are also sought in new ways of utilizing spaces. With suitable spatial composition and choice of openings, they can imbue a cardboard garden container with the character of a magnificent palace. Through the extension of the art museum in Basel, they demonstrate that archetypal elements can still be approached in a new way: the frieze known from ancient temples can just as well serve to convey information on the façade of a contemporary museum. The potential of Christ and Gantenbein’s creation hides in the refined ability to interpret history in a new way.
On June 1st, you can look forward to the dean of Liberec, Zdeněk Franěk, and Polish architect Piotr Brzoza, who this time will appear in the abandoned functionalist monument DUP39 on Národní třída. In the fall, we can expect a number of creators from Greece, Portugal, and Hungary, who will perform in the Czech Republic for the very first time.