A Design Sets a Precedent

Description

At Peterskirchplatz in Basel stands a light blue school building, built in 1928/29 by architect Hans Mähly. It could have turned out differently. In the running was a competition entry that was to make architectural history: the design for the Petersschule by architects Hannes Meyer (1889–1954) and Hans Wittwer (1894–1952). Hannes Meyer built the pioneering cooperative settlement Freidorf in Muttenz from 1919-1924 and was appointed director of the Bauhaus Dessau in 1928 as successor to Walter Gropius. Dismissed there for political reasons, he emigrated to the Soviet Union in 1930. The revised design of the Petersschule was one of the boldest concepts of new school building in the 1920s. The unusual form of the school building, a skeleton system made of steel and concrete, and its internal organization represented the dawning new era with architectural means. The architects sought a design solution that would serve the educational ideal of a comprehensively educated youth. The exhibition shows the life and work of Hannes Meyer: from his childhood and youth in Basel through his study trips, the time in Dessau, in the Soviet Union and in Mexico to his last years, which he spent in Ticino. The centerpiece of the exhibition is the model of the Petersschule Basel, built for the exhibition on the occasion of his hundredth birthday “Hannes Meyer - 1898-1954 - architect urbanist teacher.” Exhibition team
Curator: Ernst Spycher
Exhibition graphics: stutz grafik + design The exhibition was supported by:
swisslos-Fonds Basel-Stadt
Ernst Göhner Stiftung
Swiss Society of Engineers and Architects Basel Section
Association of Swiss Architects
Hans and Renée Müller-Meylan Foundation Basel
As well as anonymous foundations and private companies.

Highlights

• 100 years Petersschule design by Hannes Meyer and Hans Wittwer
• Exhibition about the life and work of Hannes Meyer
• Model of the Petersschule as the centerpiece of the exhibition

General Information

The exhibition at the University Library Basel is dedicated to the 100th anniversary of the architectural competition for the Petersschule. It highlights the life of architect Hannes Meyer and shows his innovative approaches to school building in the 1920s.

Location

Schönbeinstrasse 18/20, 4056 Basel, Switzerland

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