Building the Future: The Architecture of von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp)

Under the aegis of the German Consulate General, gmp collaborated with Istanbul Bilgi University and Arkitera on an exhibition entitled “Building the Future: The Architecture of von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp)” aimed at illustrating the diversity of building projects that the architects handle. The intention was to look at outstanding examples of an approach to architecture that sees architecture as art within the social fabric.

The wish to make this comprehensible also to a lay public was a major consideration in prompting gmp’s founding partners Meinhard von Gerkan and Volkwin Marg to send the exhibition on tour.

The exhibition thus showed an exemplary selection of their entire forty-year oeuvre. The architectural illustrations were transferred to aluminum-coated plates using a special, costly printing process. The impression that these create gave the exhibition its unique character, underlining the high standards the architects aim for. Sketches and drawings illustrated the first conceptual ideas, while films show the urban context. Models conveyed the draft concept in three-dimensional form as miniature architecture.

The exhibition was divided up according to the different construction tasks in urban and public areas, ranging from the transport infrastructure via cultural, sports and research institutions to places of assembly and commercial ensembles.

The exhibition was open to visitors between 25 November and 20 December 2009 at  santralistanbul  Gallery 1. Accompanying the exhibition were specialist lectures and panel discussions on topics to do with the globalization of urban planning infrastructure.