The abbot's residence and the veneration of relics

As an alternative to a traditional design assignment, the chair offers a project that combines object-oriented scholarly research, the development of presentation strategies for matters of architectural history and the actual design of exhibition settings into one comprehensive course.

The project examines the former Imperial Abbey of Kornelimünster near Aachen. In particular, it focuses on the elaborate residence on the edge of the actual convent, which the prince abbot of the monastery used to ceremonially welcome aristocratic pilgrims before their visit to the biblical relics originating in Charlemagne's collections.

After having comprehensively documented and researched the abbey in the first part of the two-semester course, the students will now participate in the preparation of an exhibition that, on the occasion of the tercentenary of the baroque abbey buildings in 2021, illuminates the history of the abbey from various perspectives. To this end, each participant will not only transform the personal research findings into a specific section of the exhibition, but also develop the design concept for the overall display, which they will then practically implement in collaboration with the kunsthaus nrw.

The M2 project started in the winter term 2020/21 and will be continued in the current summer term.