A stark contrast: Ulm Stadthaus set to host a retrospective exhibition of Richard Meier & Partners

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Working plan of the Ulm Stadthaus in-situ next to the imposing Lutheran minster
The New York-based Richard Meier & Partners Architects' 'Picture, Tower, Building – Richard Meier and the Ulm Minster' is set to open at the Ulm Stadthaus Exhibition and Assembly Building, Germany on 8 July. Pictured: working plan of the Ulm Stadthaus in-situ next to the imposing Lutheran minster.
(Image credit: Courtesy of Richard Meier & Partners Architects)

A new exhibition on the work of New York-based Richard Meier & Partners Architects is set to open at the Ulm Stadthaus Exhibition and Assembly Building in Ulm, Germany on 8 July. 

'Picture, Tower, Building – Richard Meier and the Ulm Minster' is a retrospective on the lauded American architect, whose mannered use of natural light and sensitive spatial awareness – 'creating sublime spaces of aesthetic illumination and enlightened cultural values' – has made him one of America’s most respected contemporary practitioners for the past half century. He is a winner of the Pritzker Architecture Prize, and has received Gold Medals from both the American Institute of Architects and RIBA. 

The exhibition – which runs until 22 November – includes original models, sketches, schematic drawings and photographs of past Meier projects, including the Smith House in Darien, Connecticut; the house he designed for his parents in Essex Falls, New Jersey; Mexico City’s Reforma Towers; and unbuilt competition proposals for the New York Historical Society and Madison Square Gardens. 

Inevitably, the main draw of the show is the Ulm Stadthaus itself – a project completed 22 years ago, ‘conceived as a programmatic and cultural complement to Ulm’s Münsterplatz and the historic mass of its cathedral’ and which Meier posits as wholly representative of the eponymous firm’s design philosophy. 

‘While architecture is forever providing us with volumes about where we have been, it is at the same time offering us clues about where we may still be able to go,' the architect explains. 'It is an honour to have some of our early and current projects on display in a country where we are about to start several new architectural projects.'

Reforma Towers in Mexico City

The retrospective includes original models, sketches, schematic drawings and photographs of past Meier projects, such as the Reforma Towers in Mexico City (pictured). 

(Image credit: Courtesy of Vize)

Working model of the Reforma Towers

This processional material gives a fascinating insight into the work of one of America's most respected architectural firms. Pictured: working model of the Reforma Towers.  

(Image credit: Courtesy of Richard Meier & Partners Architects)

Nuanced and sensitive understanding of the importance of physical space

The material reveals Meier's nuanced and sensitive understanding of the importance of physical space...  

(Image credit: Courtesy of Richard Meier & Partners Architects)

Sketch of how the natural light come inside the building

... and natural light.  

(Image credit: Courtesy of Richard Meier & Partners Architects)

House meier in essex fells

Other featured projects include the house Meier designed for his parents in Essex Fells, New Jersey. 

(Image credit: Photography: ESTO)

A modernist pile in a neighbourhood of pseudo-colonial house

This house was Meier's first commission in private practice, a modernist pile in a neighbourhood of pseudo-colonial houses. 

(Image credit: Courtesy of Richard Meier & Partners Architects)

The Essex Fells house's interior light

The Essex Fells house's interior light was provided via skylights and clerestories. 

(Image credit: Photography: ESTO)

Meier created 'sublime spaces of aesthetic illumination

The Smith House in Darien, Connecticut, is one of the firm's most recognisable designs; Meier created 'sublime spaces of aesthetic illumination'. 

(Image credit: Courtesy of Richard Meier & Partners Architects)

New York Historical Society

The exhibition also includes designs and imagery of unbuilt structures, such as for the New York Historical Society (pictured)...

(Image credit: Courtesy of DBOX)

Models for the redevelopment of New York's Madison Square Gardens

... and these imposing prospective models for the redevelopment of New York's Madison Square Gardens. 

(Image credit: Courtesy of ESTO)

Exhibition of Richard Meier & Partners

'While architecture is forever providing us with volumes about where we have been,' Meier explains, 'it is at the same time offering us clues about where we may still be able to go.'  

(Image credit: Courtesy of Richard Meier & Partners Architects)

ADDRESS

Ulm Stadthaus Exhibition and Assembly Building
Münsterplatz 50 89073
Ulm, Germany&a

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Tom Howells

Tom Howells is a London-based food journalist and editor. He’s written for Vogue, Waitrose Food, the Financial Times, The Fence, World of Interiors, Time Out and The Guardian, among others. His new book, An Opinionated Guide to London Wine, will be published by Hoxton Mini Press later this year.