Bollinger + Grohmann – Behind the Scenes
DAM 2013. 06. 15. – 09. 01.

Spectacular structures such as the European Central Bank in Frankfurt/Main, the Rolex Learning Center at the E´cole Polytechnique Fédérale (EPFL) in Lausanne, and the new Louvre Museum in the French town of Lens would not be possible without the engineers “behind the scenes”. Klaus Bollinger and Manfred Grohmann are two structural engineers who set up their own company in Frankfurt/ Main 30 years ago. Since then they and their team have worked on challenging projects together with several international architectural firms, such as Coop Himmelb(l)au, Renzo Piano, and Zaha Hadid. The company’s work focuses on construction and design, design development and enhancement, as well as on-site implementation. The exhibition reveals the processes that ordinarily take place behind building site fences.

THINK GLOBAL, BUILD SOCIAL! Architectures for a Better World
DAM 08. 06 – 01. 09. 2013, AZ Wien 12. 03. – 30. 06. 2014

In the form of the resulting structures, architecture influences the society that creates it. However, over the past few decades the discipline has only marginally addressed the question of its social relevance: Until recently, global conflicts, political and ecological migration, overpopulation and the explosive formation of slums were not of central importance neither in schools of architecture nor architectural firms. But now a small number of architects have taken it upon themselves to apply their services in a new way, planning and successfully implementing projects that are committed to helping those people who normally would not have access to specialist designers. In the exhibition DAM is showcasing some 20 different positions and concepts that convey a new view of the role architecture plays in society. The architects presented are activists who plan and design, putting themselves and their knowledge at the service of society. The structures they have realized meet high ecological standards while fulfilling a social purpose, and thus have an on-going positive impact.