New Form, New Material and Color Scheme, the Exposed Concrete Phenomenon—The Centennial Hall in Wrocław

Jerzy Ilkosz,Ryszard Wójtowicz,Jadwiga Urbanik

doi:10.3390/arts11010017

Abstract

The aim of the article is to present the remarkable changes in architecture that took place in the 20th century. They can easily be called a revolution regarding the architectural form and the color scheme. Progress was being made through the development of reinforced concrete production methods. In the German Empire (Deutsches Kaiserreich), this material quickly found applications in more and more interesting solutions in architectural structures. In Wrocław (formerly Breslau), then located in the eastern German Empire, exceptional architectural works were realized before and after the First World War using new technology. In 1913, an unusual building was erected—the Centennial Hall, designed by Max Berg (inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2006). Berg’s work was inspired by the works of both Hans Poelzig and Bruno Taut. On the one hand, it was a delight with the new material (the Upper Silesian Tower at the exhibition in Poznań, designed by H. Poelzig) and, on the other hand, with the colorful architecture of light and glass by B. Taut (a glass pavilion at the Werkbund exhibition in Cologne). Max Berg left the concrete in an almost “pure” form, not hiding the texture of the formwork under the plaster layer. However, stratigraphic studies of paint coatings and archival inquiries reveal a new face of this building. The research was carried out as part of the CMP (Conservation Management Plan—prepared by the authors of the article, among others) grant from The Getty Foundation Keeping It Modern program. According to the source materials, the architect intended to leave the exposed concrete outside of the building, while the interior was to be decorated with painting, stained glass, and sculpture. The stratigraphic tests showed that the external walls were covered with a translucent yellowish color coating. Thus, the Centennial Hall shows a different face of reinforced concrete architecture.

Highlights

The history of twentieth-century architecture abounds in so many dramatic events, surprising works, original artists, and controversial ideas that getting to know these phenomena becomes a fascinating adventure.Certainly, one of these surprising, original, and controversial projects is the CentennialHall, designed by Max Berg and built in 1910–1913 as the main building of the ExhibitionGrounds in Wrocław.This is a unique example of the innovative use of reinforced concrete
The Centennial Hall shows a different face of reinforced concrete architecture
The Centennial Hall is a work of architecture that arouses interest because The Centennial Hall is a work of architecture that arouses interest because of its unique structure, material, and innovative form and because of what was not of its unique structure, material, and innovative form and because of what was not realized, which was, for the time, a daring artistic project

Summary

Introduction

The history of twentieth-century architecture abounds in so many dramatic events, surprising works, original artists, and controversial ideas that getting to know these phenomena becomes a fascinating adventure.Certainly, one of these surprising, original, and controversial projects is the CentennialHall, designed by Max Berg and built in 1910–1913 as the main building of the ExhibitionGrounds in Wrocław.This is a unique example of the innovative use of reinforced concrete. The history of twentieth-century architecture abounds in so many dramatic events, surprising works, original artists, and controversial ideas that getting to know these phenomena becomes a fascinating adventure. One of these surprising, original, and controversial projects is the Centennial. Hall, designed by Max Berg and built in 1910–1913 as the main building of the Exhibition. This is a unique example of the innovative use of reinforced concrete. The project has not been fully implemented, the novelty of the idea should be appreciated For this reason, in 2006, the Centennial Hall (Figure 1) was inscribed on the UNESCO

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