New German Architecture: A Reflexive Modernism

If new German architecture indeed reflects facets of the Zeitgeist, if, to paraphrase Nietzsche, it is supposed to be an architecture after the German soul, then the selection of buildings presented here shows one thing: Germany has finally entered an epoch free of grand narratives. From Axel Schulte's' Berlin crematorium, to Andra Poitiers' sports arena, and Ortner & Ortner's library for the University of Dresden, the new German architecture does not lend itself to being forced into formal or programmatic patterns, and cannot be classified into schools or tendencies. This lack of traditional clarity is not only the expression of a farewell to great ideologies but also indicative of a specifically heightened cultural sensitivity. Moderate, not overbearing, self-assuredly thoughtful, and undogmatic, new German architecture is the architecture of a self-critical, reflective contemporary country. Accompanied by essays from renowned German architectural scholars who discuss 26 state-of-the-art buildings and projects by 11 different German architectural firms from 1990 to the present, New German Architecture provides a comprehensive and intelligent overview of the most important movements in Germany since 1975.