Culture
The Rhine Tower is a 240-meter-high television tower with an observation deck and restaurant in Düsseldorf. It was built in 1982 according to plans by Harald Deilmann. On the north side of the tower shaft is the artwork 'Lichtzeitpegel' by the artist Horst H. Baumann. To the right is the New Zollhof, an ensemble of three office buildings with different facades, built in 1999 according to plans by Frank O. Gehry. © Thomas Robbin
Buildings by American architectural firms on baukunst-nrw
Several well-known and globally active architectural firms from the USA have left their architectural marks in North Rhine-Westphalia. Selected projects by these firms are featured on baukunst-nrw under the section “in Focus” titled “Buildings by US Architectural Firms in NRW.” These projects are examined in greater detail and presented with key information, explanations, and photos.
These buildings are also included in a dedicated thematic route on baukunst-nrw, complete with an integrated route planner.
The Bielefeld Art Gallery was constructed in 1968 based on designs by Philip Johnson, realized by Cäsar Pinnau. It showcases contemporary art pieces. An outdoor sculpture garden initially planned in 1968 was only opened in 2008. © Thomas Robbin.
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM)
Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM), based in Chicago, is one of the world’s largest architectural firms known for designing numerous skyscrapers. They are responsible for the world’s tallest building, the Burj Khalifa in Dubai (UAE) (2010), standing at 828 meters. SOM also designed the tallest building in the United States, the 541-meter One World Trade Center in New York (2014), and the third tallest, the Willis Tower in Chicago (formerly the Sears Tower) from the 1970s.
Founded in 1936, SOM planned several consulates in Germany after World War II, including the American Consulate General in Düsseldorf in the International Style of Modernism. The architecture of this era was greatly influenced by architect Mies van der Rohe, born in Aachen. In 1938, he emigrated to the United States, where he established an architectural firm in Chicago. Six years later, he became an American citizen. Some of his notable works in Germany before his move to the USA include the groundbreaking Lange and Esters private houses (1930) and administrative and production buildings for the United Silk Weaving Company AG (Verseidag) in Krefeld, completed in the late 1930s.
Philip Johnson
The Bielefeld Art Gallery, completed in 1968, was designed by Philip Johnson and is his only museum building in Europe. The renowned American architect and architectural theorist studied at Harvard in the early 1940s under Walter Gropius and Marcel Breuer. Later, he headed the architecture department at the Museum of Modern Art (MOMA) in New York City.
"Neuer Zollhof" is an ensemble of three office buildings with distinct facades located in the Media Harbor (Medienhafen). © Thomas Robbin
MARTa Herford is a museum for contemporary art of the 21st century and design, with a focus on furniture design. © Thomas Robbin
Energie-Forum-Innovation in Bad Oeynhausen, built from 1992-95 according to plans by Frank O. Gehry. The building was constructed for the Elektriziätswerk Minden Ravensberg (EMR) as a network control center with administrative spaces, additional conference rooms, an auditorium, and a cafeteria. © Thomas Robbin
Frank O. Gehry
Around the turn of the millennium, several buildings in North Rhine-Westphalia were designed by the Canadian-American architect Frank O. Gehry, who resides in California and received the prestigious Pritzker Prize for architecture in 1989. Gehry’s deconstructivist architectural style, known worldwide, can be admired in the sculptural building ensemble “Neuer Zollhof” (1999) in the Media Harbor in Düsseldorf. These iconic office buildings, featuring three different facade materials, are also known as “Gehry Buildings” and have become landmarks of the Media Harbor and Düsseldorf. Another unmistakable Gehry creation is the MARTa Museum in Herford, built in 2005, with its dynamic structure and undulating roof surfaces. In Bad Oeynhausen, three buildings designed by Gehry stand tall: the Energie Forum Innovation (1995), the futuristic new building for the Municipal Water Works’ drinking water supply (1999), and the Ronald McDonald House (2001).
Richard Meier
In addition to Gehry, another US-American Pritzker Prize laureate and star architect, Richard Meier, contributed to North Rhine-Westphalia’s architectural landscape. Known for his elegant, white, and light-filled buildings with strict geometric forms, Meier was commissioned by the textile conglomerate Peek & Cloppenburg to design their flagship store in Düsseldorf (2001). Peek & Cloppenburg also had other flagship textile department stores, known as the “Weltstadthäuser,” designed by renowned architects in cities like Cologne and Wuppertal.
Furthermore, in Düsseldorf, you can find another architectural masterpiece by Richard Meier, the Grohe Corporate Center.
The "Weltstadthaus," part of the textile retail company Peek & Cloppenburg, located in Düsseldorf, was built in 2001 based on designs by Richard Meier.
Murphy/Jahn Architects
The renowned US architectural firm Murphy/Jahn Architects also left its architectural marks in NRW. Originally, the US firm was known as C.F. Murphy Associates in Chicago before it was renamed Murphy/Jahn in the early 1980s and then JAHN in 2012. The internationally acclaimed German architect Helmut Jahn, who passed away in 2021, joined the firm in 1967 and took over as head of the office in the 1980s.
One of Murphy/Jahn Architects’ most famous buildings in North Rhine-Westphalia is undoubtedly the Post Tower in Bonn, which, at 162 meters, is currently the tallest building in NRW. Other projects by Murphy/Jahn Architects in NRW include Terminal 2 at Cologne/Bonn Airport (2000), Cologne/Bonn Airport Station (2004), and the Sign! skyscraper (2010) in Düsseldorf’s Medienhafen.
Daniel Libeskind
In the state capital on the Rhine, you’ll also find the “Kö-Bogen I” complex, opened in 2013, designed by Daniel Libeskind, another world-renowned US-American architect. Libeskind, of Polish origin, originally studied music and was also a musician before transitioning to architecture. He lived in Germany, particularly Berlin, for a time and taught at several universities in Europe, including Germany.
Another architectural work by Libeskind in NRW is the Villa Libeskind in Datteln, a prefabricated house prototype from 2009 that now serves as the reception building for the Rheinzink company.
Post Tower, headquarters of Deutsche Post AG and DHL (formerly Deutsche Post World Net), was built in 2002 according to plans by Murphy & Jahn, located on the edge of the Rheinauenpark.
Post Tower, the headquarters of Deutsche Post AG and the DHL parcel service (formerly Deutsche Post World Net), was constructed in 2002 according to designs by Murphy & Jahn, situated on the outskirts of the Rheinauenpark. © Thomas Robbin
About baukunst-nrw
The Baukunstführer is an internet-based platform that provides an overview of high-quality and historically relevant architecture, interior design, landscape architecture, urban planning objects, as well as works of structural engineering in North Rhine-Westphalia.
Each object’s detail page in the guide offers comprehensive information about architecture and structural engineering in NRW. In addition to key details such as location, year of construction, author, and client, each structure is accompanied by a textual description, object photos, and geolocation via GoogleMaps. The comment function on the object allows users to discuss a structure directly or add additional information and experiences.
A core feature of the online platform is the extensive detailed search, which offers numerous combinable search criteria in addition to free-text search, as well as a proximity search that suggests interesting buildings and monuments in the vicinity.
Editorially curated route suggestions serve as another entry point, organized by region, architectural style, construction task, and individuals. Objects from individual routes are integrated directly into a customizable route planner. This allows users to plan their visits from within a single application—an ideal starting point for regional architectural culture outings.
The bookmarking function at the object level also enables users to create their own lists and display them on GoogleMaps via integrated route planning.
In principle, “baukunst-nrw” is a platform to which anyone interested can contribute. Suggestions for objects to be included can come from members of the chambers, their clients, and contractors, as well as from third parties. In practice, many associations, organizations, and institutions in the fields of architecture, urban planning, monument preservation, and architectural culture contribute to the project. The decision to include an object is made by a specialized advisory board composed of renowned individuals.
