Konnen wir noch Kirchen bauen?’ / ‘Possiamo ancora costruire chiese?

Emil Steffann und sein / e il suo Atelier

by Tino Grisi

Book cover: Konnen wir noch Kirchen bauen?’ / ‘Possiamo ancora costruire chiese?

Extent: 288 pages

Publisher: Schnell & Steiner

Subjects: Architecture, Religious Studies

Series: Bild - Raum - Feier

Series volume number: 15, 15

Language: German

Paperback (Out of print)

(September 2014)

ISBN: 9783795428723

6.65 x 9.45 inches

Price: $64.00

Out of stock

As in hardly any other country, church building in Germany experienced a golden age after World War II. The work of architects like Rudolph Schwarz or Emil Steffann was stylistically influential and is viewed from various perspectives as a benchmark in which reduction and concentration were used to highlight what is considered to be essential in a building. The post-war modernist style, especially in its concentrated form associated with Emil Steffann, has received new currency in the 21st century, which is mirrored in contemporary alterations to existing church buildings or new church designs. Fulfilling a long-standing gap in the scholarship, Tino Grisi offers in this book a critical examination of the work of Emil Steffann and his architectural partners.


English summary: As in hardly any other country, church building in Germany experienced a golden age after World War II. The work of architects like Rudolph Schwarz or Emil Steffann was stylistically influential and is viewed from various perspectives as a benchmark in which reduction and concentration were used to highlight what is considered to be essential in a building. German description: Wie in kaum einem anderen Land erlebte der Kirchenbau in Deutschland nach dem Zweiten Weltkrieg eine Blutezeit. Die Architektur z.B. von Rudolf Schwarz oder Emil Steffann war stilbildend und gilt in mancher Hinsicht bis heute als Maastab, der die Reduktion und Konzentration auf das Wesentliche zur Maxime erhebt. Come quasi in nessun altro Paese, in Germania, dopo la II guerra mondiale, e fiorita la costruzione di nuove chiese. Larchitettura, per esempio, di Rudolf Schwarz ed Emil Steffann ha creato un filone originale che, in certo qual modo, vale ancora oggi come modello di riduzione e concentrazione espressiva. Die Nachkriegsmoderne erhalt, insbesondere in ihrer konzentrierten Auspragung durch Emil Steffann, im 21. Jahrhundert eine neue Aktualitat, die sich in Kirchenneu- und umbauten der jungsten Zeit widerspiegelt. Eine neuere Auseinandersetzung mit dem bedeutenden Werk Emil Steffanns und seines Buros stand bislang aus – eine Lucke, die Tino Grisi mit seinem Band nun ausgefullt hat. L’architettura del Novecento, soprattutto quella improntata allessenziale di Emil Steffann, ritorna oggi dattualita nella costruzione, cosi come nelladeguamento, degli edifici per il culto cristiano. E pero mancata, finora, unillustrazione completa dellimportante opera di Steffann e del suo atelier – una lacuna colmata da questo volume di Tino Grisi. Er begibt sich dabei in mehrfacher Hinsicht auf Spurensuche: Zum einen hat Grisi alle Objekte eingehend besichtigt und dokumentiert, zum anderen konsultierte er Archive und fuhrte Gesprache mit Zeitzeugen. Ihm gelingt eine Binnensicht der Kirchenkonzeption Steffanns, indem er den geistlichen Gehalt der Bauwerke in ihrem architektonischen und religiosen Kontext offenlegt. L’autore ha condotto uninvestigazione molteplice, visitando e documentando tutte le chiese, consultando gli archivi e parlando con testimoni coevi. In questo modo e riuscito a presentare una prospettiva profondamente interna al lavoro di Steffann, svelandone il contenuto spirituale nel contesto religioso e architettonico.

  • By (author) Tino Grisi
  • Edited by Albert Gerhards
  • Edited by Thomas Sternberg
  • Edited by Walter Zahner
  • Edited by Frank Gunther Zehnder