Emergence and Legacy of 1980s Architecture in Bremen

To accompany the publication of the book "Bremen and its buildings. 1980–1994", the b.zb, together with the photo archive in Department 10 - Media and Education in the Digital World - of the Senator for Children and Education, is showing the photo exhibition “Departure and Legacy of Architecture in the 1980s in Bremen”. The exhibition underlines the themes of the book from a photographic perspective.

Original photos of the time, especially from the archive of the Senator for Children and Education, can be seen in dialogue with current, photographic re-enactments. They document the changes of that time and impressively show us the transformation of the city's appearance before our eyes today. Much of what was new back then has now become outdated, has already been redesigned or has even disappeared completely. The exhibition was curated by the Bremen photographers Kay Michalak and Nikolai Wolff, who have been photographing the architecture, cityscape and city life of Bremen for many years.

The Bremen Center for Building Culture has published "Bremen and its buildings. 1980–1994" by the architectural historian Eberhard Syring, former academic director of the b.zb and professor emeritus for architectural theory and building history at the School of Architecture at Bremen University of Applied Sciences. After 1900, 1952 and 2014, this is the fourth volume in the traditional series "Bremen and its buildings".

Bremen and its buildings, 1980–1994
The book presents the architectural and urban development of Bremen from 1980 to 1994. The "long" 1980s were a time full of contradictory discussions and ideas in architecture. In this phase of postmodernism, architects looked for historical models and new narratives. The functionally separated and car-friendly city of the post-war period was increasingly called into question. The "renaissance" of the European city was chosen as the new guiding principle, with its architectural heritage as a bearer of identity and with the attempt to find historical reference points for new things. Emerging environmental awareness and the desire for more participation and justice, expressed for example in the women's movement, changed the urban development discussions.

Significance of the book
Eberhard Syring unfolds the entire panorama of this time of upheaval for the first time and locates the developments in Bremen in the larger context of the general architecture and urban development discussions. Almost 1,200 photos document the structural changes, some of which still shape Bremen today, and show plenty of period color. In addition, 150 buildings are presented in short portraits that show the various tasks that the planners had to face at the time.