Contributions appreciated

“The new Museum (Modern Art) is intended to be a 20th century container for contemporary works of art and an integral element in historic Düsseldorf. The design of the new building is meant to harmonize the diverging forms of the St. Andreas Church, the monumental Land-Court building, the houses along Neubruck Strasse and the civic buildings on Heinrich Heine Alle. In addition to this (perhaps impossible) task it is hoped to achieve an architectural appearance that is as individual as the older buildings in contrast to the oversimplified appearance and overblown scale associated with modern architecture (i.e., the box, the slab).”

— James Stirling Michael Wilford and Associates. James Stirling, Buildings and Projects. p197.

The Creator's Words

“Both ‘representational’ and ‘abstract’ were present in this competition project, where a neo-classical type entrance pavilion is, as it were, pulled out from a circular void to symbolise and represent the whole museum which, to minimise its impact on the historic centre, is otherwise buried in the city block.

‘Neo-classical’ as there are several such buildings nearby and because I think there is an identifying association still attached to 19th century museums. The main building may be ‘abstract’ but the pavilion is more ‘representational’, that is to do with tradition, history and familiarity, and maybe archeology and memory as prior to the war a building of about the same size had stood on this actual spot for centuries and within it were exhibited the city”s art treasures.”

— James Stirling, Michael Wilford and Associates. James Stirling. p200.