The exhibition, which takes place in the "Kulturforum" and organized by the Library of Arts and the Architectural Museum of the Technical University of Berlin, is timed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of Messel's death - just like the conference that took place this spring. The purpose of these events is to draw public attention to the leading architect of the German capital at the turn of the century, almost unknown to the general public today. One of the reasons for oblivion is the sad fate of most of its buildings: to date, only about 20 of its buildings have survived in Berlin, and initially there were 4 times more of them.
His style also played a role: until his death in 1909, Messel built representative, often large-scale buildings in the mainstream of historical styles, and after the First World War, eclecticism was replaced by a "modern movement", and the public's attention turned to him. At the same time, Messel was not a retrograde: despite their lush decor, a cast-iron frame was used in his buildings, and glazing was widely used for facades.
Among its buildings is the famous Wertheim department store, which was built in two stages, so part of its huge complex with an area of more than 100,000 m2 was made in the neo-Gothic style, and part was a neoclassical version. At the time of construction, it was the largest store in the world, bringing to Germany from the USA a type of large shopping center with a glazed atrium, expensive finishes and electric lighting. Messel also built representative bank buildings, city mansions and country villas, developed competitive projects for master plans for the Museum Island in Berlin and the World Exhibition in Paris.
The most famous building of Alfred Messel - the Pergamon Museum (project of 1907) - was erected after the death of the author. His restrained neoclassical solution clearly manifested the "imperial" line of German architecture, which again turned out to be relevant at the time of the museum's opening in 1930.
The exhibition "Alfred Messel - Visionary of the Big City" will run until 02.02.2010.
