GFZK-2

Design of an Exhibition Building

Design and realization of a new exhibition building for the GfZK, Galerie für Zeitgenössische Kunst, Leipzig, by as-if berlinwien (Grundei, Kaindl, Teckert) 2001-2005

A project by as-if berlinwien

as-if berlinwien (Paul Grundei, Stephanie Kaindl, Christian Teckert) designed a single-storey structure based on a polygonal configuration of spatial segments for the new building of the GFZK Leipzig.

As a whole, these segments form a changeable infrastructure for a contemporary practice of exhibiting and curating, where the social and spatial parameters of the institution become a main focus. The simultaneous and side-by-side presence of different programs allow for visual and thematic relationships, which can be re-configured by means of sliding walls and curtains for each specific exhibition. Also, the different spaces can be re-configured according to the specific needs of a given program. Nonetheless the flexibility of the structure is deliberately limited in order to render visible the specific alterations and changes within a set of spatial possibilities.

Thus a stage floor is established in which, on the one hand, the curatorial as well as the artistic statements again and again. On the other hand, the visitors are drawn into an activated relationship to the space itself. Gaps, openings and unexpected views throughout the building draw attention to the politics of visibility. In opposition to the idea of the classical notion of the "White Cube" – which at the same time neutralizes the social implications as well as it produces an atmosphere of aura – the design enhances a principle of permanent engagement and a dialogue with the institutional parameters and its architectural representation.

The cinema space functions as a link inside the building and connects either to the exhibition concourse or is otherwise appropriated by the cafe. The cinema also associates the surfaces of the stage-like display-elements appearing throughout the building with the material of the facade, which is clad with rubber panels. This material is likewise used on the ceiling, the wall and the floor in the cinema space and is treated in the same manner as the brighter "display" zones.

 "Shifting GFZK-2", 5,39 min, 2006

In 2011 a book on the building process as well as its appropriation by artists and curators of subsequent exhibitions: Negotiating Spaces. The New Exhibition Building of the Museum of Contemporary Art in Leipzig by as-if berlinwien. More information here.