Professor of Architectural History
Room 217
Holzstraße 36
55116 Mainz
Tel. +49 (0) 6131 – 628 ‑1234
Fax +49 (0) 6131 – 628 ‑91234
Profile
Art and architectural historian, 1982 – 1988 studied art history, modern history and didactics of the arts at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU) Munich, 1988 Magister Artium with the thesis Das Lustschlösschen Favorite in Ludwigsburg, 1992 doctorate with the thesis Studien zu Waren- und Geschäftshäusern Erich Mendelsohns in Deutschland, both LMU Munich.
1993 – 1999 Researcher and freelancer at the State Palaces and Gardens of Baden-Württemberg and the State Gazette for Baden-Württemberg GmbH, Stuttgart, 1995 – 1999 Lecturer at the Institute for Architectural History at the University of Stuttgart, 2000 – 2008 Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of History and Theory of Architecture at the Technical University of Darmstadt and 2011 Habilitation in Architectural History and Theory by the TU Darmstadt. Since 2008 professor for the history of architecture and urban development at the Hochschule Mainz.
Her research focuses on the history of architecture between 1850 and 1950, and in particular on the Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt with Joseph Maria Olbrich and Friedrich Pützer, as well as the architecture of Neues Bauen. Erich Mendelsohn’s life and work in three continents is a particular focus of her work. 2013 – 19 Member of the Advisory Boards „Aufbau Denkmalschutzzentrum Weiße Stadt Tel Aviv“, and 2014 – 2021 „World Heritage Application Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt“. Since 2017, member of the Independent Historical Commission „Bauen und Planen im Nationalsozialismus. Preconditions, Institutions, Effects“ of the BMUB. 2021 Co-initiator of the transnational Erich Mendelsohn Initiative Circle.
Member of the Deutscher Werkbund, the Association of German Art Historians, the German National Committee of ICOMOS, Trusted Lecturer of the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes
Curriculum Vitae
| 2022 | Project management of the second international, interdisciplinary workshop „Social Housing“ in Dessau and Tel Aviv, a cooperation of Mainz University of Applied Sciences with the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem, the Warsaw University of Technology, the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation and the White City Center Tel Aviv. |
| 2022 | Conception and organisation of the two-day international symposium on Erich Mendelsohn on 21 and 22 March 2022 together with Jörg Haspel, ICOMOS Germany, and the Berlin Brandenburg Chamber of Architects, in cooperation with ICOMOS Israel |
| 2021 | Together with Jörg Haspel, President ICOMOS Germany, initiator of the transnational initiative group to prepare the nomination of selected buildings by Erich Mendelsohn for UNESCO World Heritage. The members of the initiative group come from the eight countries where Mendelsohn’s buildings are located today: Germany, Poland, Russia, Norway, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Israel and the USA. |
| 2018 – 2019 | Project management of the international, interdisciplinary workshop „From Dessau to Tel Aviv“, a cooperation of the Hochschule Mainz with the TU Braunschweig, the University of Innsbruck, the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design and the Hebrew University, both Jerusalem, as well as the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation and the White City Center Tel Aviv. Funded by the BBSR on behalf of the BMI. |
| 2015 | Collaboration on the exhibition and editor of the catalogue: Friedrich Pützer – „In die Umgebung hineingedichtet“ – Bauten und Projekte, Kunsthalle Darmstadt; curator of the presentations at the Landesmuseum Mainz and the Lutherkirche Wiesbaden. |
| 2014 | Curator of the permanent exhibition Erich Mendelsohn – Architect in Germany, England, Palestine and the USA, State Museum of Archaeology smac, Chemnitz. |
| 2013 – 2015 | Research on Friedrich Pützer, editor of the exhibition catalogue Friedrich Pützer – Architect, University Teacher, Monument Conservator, Kunsthalle Darmstadt, 2015 |
| 2011 | Habilitation and Venia Legendi for Architectural History and Theory by the Department of Architecture at the Technical University of Darmstadt. |
| 2009 – 2010 | Curator of the retrospective: Joseph Maria Olbrich – Architect and Designer of Early Modernism, Institut Mathildenhöhe, Darmstadt, and Museum Leopold, Vienna |
| since 2008 | Deputy Director of the IProD/AI MAINZ, initially with Prof. Dipl.-Ing. Emil Hädler, since 2018 with Prof. Dr. Piotr Kuroczynski |
| since 2008 | Professor for the History of Architecture and Urban Development at the University of Applied Sciences Mainz |
| 2000 – 2002 & 2005 – 2008 | Postdoc at the Department of History and Theory of Architecture at the Technical University of Darmstadt, Prof. Dr. Werner Durth |
| 2000 – 2013 | Curator of the touring exhibition of the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa), Stuttgart: Erich Mendelsohn – Dynamics and Function. Accompanied the exhibition to almost thirty venues in European and non-European countries (set-up and opening) |
| 1999 | Parental leave |
| 1995 – 1999 | Lecturer at the Institute for Architectural History at the University of Stuttgart, Prof. Dr. Dieter Kimpel. Courses partly in cooperation with the IDG (Institute for Representation and Design), Prof. Wolfgang Knoll: scientific supervision of the architectural model construction for the architecture exhibitions Giovanni Salucci 1769 – 1845. Court Architect to King Wilhelm I of Württemberg 1817 – 1839, Stuttgart 1995, commissioned by the State Palaces and Gardens, and: Erich Mendelsohn. Dynamics and Function. Realised Visions of a Cosmopolitan Architect, commissioned by the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations. |
| 1998 – 1999 | Subject editor State Palaces and Gardens of Baden-Württemberg (SSG) at the Staatsanzeiger für Baden-Württemberg GmbH, Stuttgart, conception and realisation of the publications of the SSG |
| 1993 – 1998 | Researcher and freelancer at the State Palaces and Gardens of Baden-Württemberg (SSG), Stuttgart, development of the central photo archive of the SSG in Ludwigsburg Palace and, among other things, study on the range of goods in the museum shops in German palaces |
| 1992 | PhD with the dissertation Studien zu Waren- und Geschäftshäusern Erich Mendelsohns in Deutschland (Studies on Erich Mendelsohn’s Department Stores and Office Buildings in Germany) by the Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich. Grant for the promotion of doctoral studies by the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, Sankt Augustin |
| 1989 – 1992 | Stay at Lake Maggiore, Lombardy/Italy |
| 1988 | Master of Arts, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität, Munich, Master’s thesis: The Favorite pleasure palace in Ludwigsburg |
| 1982 – 1988 | Studies of Art History, Modern History and Didactics of the Arts at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich |
Main research interests
Architectural history of the 19th and the first half of the 20th century, in particular:
- Architecture of Art Nouveau and early Modernism, including in particular Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt, Joseph Maria Olbrich and Friedrich Pützer.
- The architecture of modernism in the first half of the 20th century, in particular the life and work of Erich Mendelsohn
- The architecture and immigrant architects of the so-called White City of Tel Aviv, Jaffa and Jerusalem in the 1920s and 1930s
- Planning and building during the Time of National Socialism in Germany
- UNESCO World Heritage
Committees and memberships
| 2021 | Founding member of the Scientific Committee „20th Century Heritage“ of the German National Committee of ICOMOS as a mirror group to the ICOMOS International Scientific Committee on Twentieth Century Heritage (ISC 20C) |
| 2021 | Together with Jörg Haspel, President ICOMOS Germany, initiator and coordinator of the transnational initiative group to prepare the nomination of selected buildings by Erich Mendelsohn for UNESCO World Heritage. The members of the initiative group come from the eight countries where Mendelsohn’s buildings are located today: Germany, Poland, Russia, Norway, Czech Republic, Great Britain, Israel and the USA. |
| 2020 | Member of the jury Stadtfotograf Darmstadt of the Werkbund Academy Darmstadt |
| 2019 | Appointed to the Theatre Advisory Board of Staatstheater Mainz GmbH |
| 2017 – 2021 | Vice President for Studies and Teaching at Mainz University of Applied Sciences |
| 2017 | Appointed to the Independent Historical Commission „Planning and Building in National Socialism. Prerequisites, Institutions, Effects“ of the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) by Minister Barbara Hendricks, since 2018 Federal Ministry of the Interior, for Building and Home Affairs (BMI), since 2021 Federal Ministry for Building, Urban Affairs and Housing. |
| 2015 – 2017 | Vice Dean of the Faculty of Engineering at Mainz University of Applied Sciences. |
| 2015 – 2017 | Chairwoman of the Design Advisory Board of the Kunsthalle Darmstadt. |
| 2015 | Appointed to the Art Commission of the City of Darmstadt (Deputy). |
| 2014 | Appointed to the Historical Commission for Hesse, HIKO |
| 2014 | Member of the jury 60 years BDA Rhineland-Palatinate |
| 2014 – 2021 | Expert member of the Advisory Board for the World Heritage nomination „Artist´s colony Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt“, co-author of the nomination dossier, nomination successfully concluded by the inscription of Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt on the UNESCO World Heritage List in July 2021 |
| 2013 – 2019 | Expert member of the Advisory Board on the BMVBS Lighthouse Project White City Tel Aviv, Building Conservation Centre, in the Max Liebling House, Tel Aviv. Successfully completed in September 2019 with the opening of the Liebling Haus. |
| 2013 – 2015 | Member of the jury of the Sparkassen-Denkmalpreis Rheinland-Pfalz. |
| 2012 – 2015 | Dean of the Faculty of Technology at Mainz University of Applied Sciences |
| 2010 – 2011 | Expert member of the Mathildenhöhe Darmstadt Expert Forum |
| since 2009 | Expert member of the Landesdenkmalbeirat Rheinland-Pfalz (Rhineland-Palatinate Advisory Council on Monuments) |
| Member of the German Werkbund, the Association of German Art Historians and the German National Committee of ICOMOS. | |
| Trusted lecturer of the Studienstiftung des Deutschen Volkes. |
Selected Writings
- Unterwegs in die Moderne. Friedrich Pützer (1871 – 1922), Bauten Straßen Plätze in Darmstadt, (Hrsg. zusammen mit Wolfgang Lück), Ausstellungskatalog der Werkbundakademie, Berlin 2021
- More than Bauhaus – The Architecture of the White City Tel Aviv, (Hrsg.), Baunach 2019
- Die gebaute Architekturdebatte. Die Mathildenhöhe, der Großherzog und seine These von Ehrgeiz und Friktion“, in: „Eine Stadt müssen wir erbauen, eine ganze Stadt“. Die Künstlerkolonie Darmstadt auf der Mathildenhöhe, Arbeitshefte des Landesamts für Denkmalpflege Hessen, 30, 2017, S. 190 – 200
- Das Mainzer Schloss – Glanz und Elend einer Kurfürstlichen Residenz, in: Werkbrief, September 2016, Deutscher Werkbund Rheinland-Pfalz
- „In die Umgebung hineingedichtet“. Bauten und Projekte des Architekten, Städtebauers und Hochschullehrers Friedrich Pützer (1871 – 1922), Hrsg. im Auftrag der TU Darmstadt, Katalog der gleichnamigen Ausstellung, Baunach 2015
- Planen und Bauen zwischen Rekonstruktion und Neuanfang, in: Außenansichten – Innenansichten. 60 Jahre BDA Landesverband Rheinland Pfalz, hrsg. vom BDA Rheinland-Pfalz, Mainz 2014
- EMA – Erich Mendelsohn Archiv der Kunstbibliothek Staatliche Museen zu Berlin und des Getty Research Institutes, Los Angeles. Wissenschaftliche Bearbeitung und Kommentierung des Briefwechsels von Erich und Luise Mendelsohn,
http://ema.smb.museum/de/impressum, Berlin 2014 - Joseph Maria Olbrich – Architekt und Gestalter der frühen Moderne, Hrsg. mit Ralf Beil, Katalog der gleichnamigen Ausstellung des Instituts Mathildenhöhe, Darmstadt, und des Museums Leopold, Wien, Ostfildern-Ruit 2010
- Inspirationsquelle Natur, Kunst und Musik – Erich Mendelsohns ungewöhnliche Wege zum Entwurf, in: Das architektonische Erbe der Avantgarde, Icomos. Hefte des Deutschen Nationalkommitees XLVIII, hrsg. Jörg Haspel im Auftrag der Arbeitsgruppe Kultur des Petersburger Dialogs, 2010, S. 51 – 55
- En torno a 1930. Visiones, proyectos y edificios de Erich Mendelsohn, in: Maestros de la arquitectura moderna en la Residencia des Estudiantes. Primeras conferencias del ciclo correspondencias europeas ofrecidas en al Residencia de Estudiantes entre enero y abril de 2009, hrsg. Salvador Guerrero, Madrid 2010,
S. 67 – 102 - Ungeliebt und abgerissen – vom Umgang mit der Architektur der Nachkriegsmoderne im wiedervereinigten Deutschland, in: Vom Sinn und von der Schwierigkeit des Erinnerns. 6. kleiner Universitätstag Ahaus, Bd. 7, hrsg. Claus Urban und Joachim Engelhardt, Berlin 2008, S. 114 – 123
- „Die Inszenierung der Nacht – Licht in der Architektur der 1920er und 1930er Jahre“, in: Building America – Die Erschaffung einer neuen Welt. Kulturexport“, hrsg. Anke Köth, Kai Krauskopf und Andreas Schwarting in Zusammenarbeit mit Hans-Georg Lippert, Dresden, SFB Institutionalität und Geschichtlichkeit, Dresden 2008,
S. 207 – 224 - Theo Pabst (1905 – 1979). Architektur im Kontinuum über alle Zeiten, Hrsg., erarbeitet von Studierenden am Fachgebiet Geschichte und Theorie der Architektur der Technischen Universität Darmstadt, Baunach 2008
- „Hermann Muthesius´ Studien in England und „Das englische Haus“ 1904“, in: 100 Jahre Deutscher Werkbund 1907 – 2007, Kat. Ausstellung Architekturmuseum München 2007, hg. Winfried Nerdinger in Zusammenarbeit mit Werner Durth, München 2007, S. 23 – 24
- Erich Mendelsohn. Wesen Werk Wirkung, Hrsg., Beiträge zu den Erich Mendelsohn Symposien in Berlin, Akademie der Künste und Manchester, Ostfildern 2006
- Luise und Erich Mendelsohn. Eine Partnerschaft für die Kunst, Hrsg. mit Ita Heinze-Greenberg, Ostfildern-Ruit 2004
- Erich Mendelsohns Bauten heute. Architekturführer zu seinen Bauten in Deutschland, Polen, Russland, Norwegen, Großbritannien, Israel und in den Vereinigten Staaten von Amerika, Hrsg., erarbeitet von Studierenden am Fachgebiet Geschichte und Theorie der Architektur der Technischen Universität Darmstadt, mit einem Vorwort von Werner Durth und Regina Stephan, Darmstadt/Berlin 2004
- Erich Mendelsohn. Gedankenwelten. Unbekannte Texte zu Architektur, Kulturgeschichte und Politik, Hrsg. mit Ita Heinze-Greenberg, Ostfildern-Ruit 2000
- Erich Mendelsohn. Dynamik und Funktion. Realisierte Visionen eines kosmopolitischen Architekten, Kat. Ausstellung Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (ifa), Ostfildern-Ruit 1999, erweiterte Katalogausgabe von Erich Mendelsohn. Gebaute Welten. Arbeiten für Europa, Palästina und Amerika, Hrsg., Ostfildern-Ruit 1998 (Zugleich: Erich Mendelsohn. Dynamics and function. Realized visions of a cosmopolitan architect, Ostfildern-Ruit 1999; Erich Mendelsohn Dynamika i funkcja, Textbuch Hrsg. in Zusammenarbeit mit dem Architekturmuseum Breslau, Muzeum Architektury we Wroclawiu, Wroclaw 2001)
- Altes und Neues Schloß Stuttgart mit ihrer Umgebung, Amtlicher Führer der Staatlichen Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg, Heidelberg 1998
- Erich Mendelsohn. Gebaute Welten. Arbeiten für Europa, Palästina und Amerika, Hrsg., Ostfildern-Ruit 1998 (Zugleich: Eric Mendelsohn. Architect 1887 – 1953, Hrsg., New York, 1999; Erich Mendelsohn 1887 – 1953, (Hrsg.), Mailand, 2004)
- Schloß Favorite in Ludwigsburg, Amtlicher Führer der Staatlichen Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg, Ulm 1997
- Die Grabkapelle auf dem Württemberg, Amtlicher Führer der Staatlichen Schlösser und Gärten Baden-Württemberg, Schwetzingen 1997, zweite überarbeitete Auflage Stuttgart 2017
- Stuttgart 21: Entwürfe für die neue Stadt, (Bearb.), Hrsg. Landeshauptstadt Stuttgart, Stuttgart 1996
- Giovanni Salucci – Hofbaumeister König Wilhelm I. von Württemberg 1817 – 1839, Mitarbeit am Katalog, Autorin mehrerer Aufsätze sowie Betreuung des Modellbaus für die Ausstellung, Stuttgart 1995
- Studien zu Waren- und Geschäftshäusern Erich Mendelsohns in Deutschland, München, Diss. LMU München, 1992
- Neue Forschungen zu Schloß Favorite in Ludwigsburg, in: Jahrbuch der Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen in Baden-Württemberg, Band 27/1990, S. 72 – 90
Selected exhibitions
| 2019 | Curator of the touring exhibition More than Bauhaus. The Architecture of the White City Tel Aviv, of Mainz University of Applied Sciences with results of the international and interdisciplinary workshop „From Dessau to Tel Aviv“, carried out together with the TU Braunschweig, the University of Innsbruck, the Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design and the Hebrew University, both Jerusalem, as well as the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation and the White City Center Tel Aviv. Funded by the BBSR on behalf of the BMI, presented in 2019 at the LUX Pavilion of Mainz University of Applied Sciences, the Architecture Gallery of the TU Braunschweig, planned for 2021: Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, Jerusalem, and White City Center Tel Aviv. |
| 2015 | Conception and editing of the catalogue as well as collaboration on the exhibition Friedrich Pützer – Architect, Professor, Monument Conservator, Kunsthalle Darmstadt, 2015, curator of the presentation and additions to the exhibition for the Landesmuseum Mainz 2016 as well as Lutherkirche Wiesbaden 2016. |
| 2014 | Permanent exhibition Erich Mendelsohn – Architect in Germany, England, Palestine and the USA, State Museum of Archaeology smac, Chemnitz |
| 2010 | Retrospective Joseph Maria Olbrich – Architect and Designer of Early Modernism, Institut Mathildenhöhe, Darmstadt, and Museum Leopold Vienna |
| 2008 | Architecture in Continuum across the Ages – Theo Pabst, Kunsthalle Darmstadt 2008 subsequently presented at the Evangelische Akademie Arnoldshain/Taunus, Stadtsparkasse Passau and Neustädter Rathaus in Hanau |
| 2000 – 2012 | Touring exhibition Erich Mendelsohn – Dynamics and Function of the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations, first presentation at the Kunsthalle Tübingen, subsequently presented in over thirty venues worldwide |
