Gesamtkunstwerke. Architecture by Arne Jacobsen and Otto Weitling in Germany

Arne Jacobsen is known in Germany above all for his appealing and functional designs – in his chairs, cutlery, clocks. Yet he was proficient within the entire design spectrum, from forks to town halls, from the small and subtle to the large and monumental. In close collaboration with his fellow countryman Otto Weitling, Arne Jacobsen realized a series of diverse buildings, including in Germany.

The book Gesamtkunstwerke presents seven of their eight major projects there: the bright Arne Jacobsen Foyer in Hanover, a group of atrium houses in Berlin’s Hansaviertel neighborhood, Mainz Town Hall, the Christianeum in Hamburg, the HEW high-rise in Hamburg’s City Nord district, the Castrop-Rauxel Forum, and the Burgtiefe holiday resort on the island of Fehmarn. The range of uses includes private houses, hotel complexes, and office buildings to public buildings, such as schools or town halls, and an entire complex that includes a civic center and sports hall.

The history of these buildings – and how they were received – reveals much to this day about the time they were built in the 1960s and 1970s as well as their concepts, but also about the close connection of architecture, place, and politics. The Scandinavian Functionalism of the two architects is, at the same time, a reflection of the visions of the former Federal Republic, and their designs and commissions encompassed democracy, prestige, and efficiency.

The history of these buildings is thus both exciting and topical. Architecture, especially where public buildings are concerned, is exposed to all kinds of scrutiny and judgment: Pros and cons would be a positive sign because a building that isn’t talked about is usually not worth talking about.

This richly illustrated book, with well-informed essays by the editors Jan Dimog and Hendrik Bohle and other experts on architecture, is published to mark the German-Danish Cultural Year of Friendship in 2020 and the fiftieth anniversary of Arne Jacobsen’s death in 2021. It accompanies a touring exhibition of six locations.
>> Click here for more information on the exhibition tour.


About the Editors

Hendrik Bohle, project architect (with magma architecture, et al), urban researcher, and author of specialist publications. His  architecture guides, Istanbul (2014), United Arab Emirates (2016), and Slovenia (2018), are published by DOM publishers, all of them co-authored by Jan Dimog, the journalist with whom he also operates THE LINK. This online publication links architecture and travel and has successfully collaborated with partners. More on his work and urbanism research can be found at www.studiohbohle.com.

Jan Dimog, reporter, (photo-)journalist and screenplay writer for publishers in Germany and abroad, and institutions and projects in Germany, Europe, and Afghanistan. His documentary film Countdown Afghanistan (director: Manuel Fenn, co-director: Jan Dimog) was broadcast by arte in 2014. DOM publishers have brought out the following architecture guides by Jan Dimog: Kabul (2017), Istanbul (2014), United Arab Emirates (2016), and Slovenia (2018) – the last three are co-authored by Hendrik Bohle, the architect with whom he also operates the successful digital platform THE LINK. Jan Dimog has known Burgtiefe, the holiday lettings designed by Arne Jacobsen and Otto Weitling, since childhood – he grew up in Burg on Fehmarn.