July 20, 2018 | Talk Emil Steffann

The work of Emil Steffann
Past, present, future - 50 years from his death

 
The architect Emil Steffann (1899-1968) is one of the most important church designers of his generation.  In the short period between 1950 and 1968, together with his workshop he built around 40 churches and monasteries – all responding directly to their specific situation, yet expressive of an unmistakeable and highly personal architectural language. The focus of his activity lay in North Rhine-Westphalia: here, in Bonn-Mehlem, he ran his office and here he realized the majority of his buildings.
 
To mark the fiftieth anniversary of Steffann’s death later this month, the Chair of Architectural History of RWTH Aachen University and the association „Dialograum Kreuzung an St. Helena“ invite you to an evening of lectures in the church of St. Helena, Bonn, built at the beginning of the 1960s by Emil Steffann himself and Nikolaus Rosiny.
 
Four short talks will recall the life, work and impact of that quiet, reserved architect and reflect on the increasing changes of use of liturgical spaces, thus linking Steffann’s work to the present. In addition, a small exhibition will show a number of architectural models made by RWTH students, illustrating the fundamentals of Steffann's design thinking.
 
The talk is sponsored by Rheinischer Verein für Denkmalpflege und Landschaftsschutz, StadtBauKultur NRW, BDA Landesverband NRW and BDB Bonn-Rhein-Sieg.
 
Stadtgespräche NRW is an initiative of StadtBauKultur NRW.
 
 
7:00pm | Welcome and Introduction

Talks | Lectures by Georges Paul, Dr. Caroline Helmenstein, Dr. Tino Grisi, Dr. Martin Bredenbeck

8:30pm | Discussion and conclusion