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| Associations with a budding flower, a steamer through to the churning ocean: There are no limits on fantasy when it comes to discovering something familiar in the new MARTa Museum in Herford. Star architect Frank O. Gehry has created sculptural architecture that has caused a stir. The clinker surfaces typical of the Herford region could be realised in the upper part – with a surface slope at 68 degrees – due to a pre-mounted facade system. Photograph: artur/Caparol Farben Lacke Bautenschutz |
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MARTa: Architecture that is out of the ordinary
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Capatect VHF System A realises Frank O. Gehry's material concept
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East Westphalia-Lippe has a new architectonic highlight. After a four-year construction period MARTa was opened in Herford on the 7th May 2005 – a house for furniture, art and ambience and is therefore "more than just a museum," says Art Director Jan Hoet.
After the Energy Forum in Bad Oeynhausen and the McDonald's Home also located there, MARTa is the third structure created in East Westphalia by the American architect Frank O. Gehry.
Apart from a museum for art and design, MARTa is also a centre for holding events and the headquarters of the trade associations of the wood, furniture and plastics industries and of the furniture testing organisation. Five galleries with a total area of 2000 square metres offer space for temporary exhibitions.
Curved wall surfaces using the same materials
Those participating in the construction felt that they were confronted with a special challenge. Following a citation from Constantin Brancusis, "Real architecture is sculpture", Gehry's work is an artistic feast for the eyes, which often seems to defy the force of gravity. The 22 metre high sculptural architecture "MARTa" is – as is usual in the Herford region – clad with clinkers. They are fitted to the walls in the upper part, the outward slope of which is 68 degrees – very interesting for a visual effect and feeling of space. "The architects' wishes of realising the convex and concave wall surfaces in the same material were able to be fulfilled with the Capatect VHF System A," reports Rullkötter. Realising curved wall surfaces in the same material was formerly not possible with conventional building systems. Gehry's material concept was however able to be realised through the use of a building-specific, modified VHF A system from Caparol. |
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