Study of architecture in Berlin, DAAD (GAES) research fellowship in Tokyo, research assistant at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar, foundation of a practice in Berlin, professor at Fachhochschule Potsdam, two children: Heike Handa’s career speaks for itself. Working together with Prof. Benedict Tonon, last year she ourperformed 536 participants to win the international competition for the new Bauhaus Museum building in Weimar. Heike Hanada in conversation with Gabriela Oroz.
At the moment, your work often takes you to Weimar. Do you remember the first time you came to the city? What impressions do you recall?
For me, Weimar was never an unknown quantity because my grandmother comes from Thuringia. Although my parents moved to the west before the Berlin Wall was built, we visited Thuringia every summer and also frequently travelled to Weimar. Even in those days, the Ilmpark with its lovely, romantic and charming landscape was what impressed me the most. The second decisive moment for me in Weimar came in the summer of 1999, when I met Prof. Karl-Heinz Schmitz for an interview at the faculty of design and building studies II at Bauhaus-Universität Weimar. That year, Weimar was the European Capital of Culture, and a thrilling place to be. My conversations with the students were often fascinating and exciting, because many of them had grown up in the GDR. Working in Prof. Karl-Heinz Schmitz’s department is still the most formative experience that I’ve had. Then, in 2012, the faculty of architecture asked me to be a member of the jury for the graduation exhibition. I was very pleased about this “return” to my former place of work.
From Weimar you then went straight to Berlin, where you set up your own office. How did your first steps into self-employment go?
While I was at the university I made a conscious decision not to set up my own office, because I thought the pressures of the demanding job there combined with my family would be too much. When I stopped working at the university in 2006, setting up my own office was more of a stopgap. I was unemployed and took a seminar on setting up a business with the only project that was on the table: a highly adventurous competition entry for an extension to the municipal library in Stockholm. To my mind, it’s still a small miracle: to win first place with my first competition, which allowed me to set up my own business. The project gained a lot of attention in the press, although it was not realised for a number of reasons. That made it easier for me to take part in other projects and competition. I still run my office on my own, but I work with other architects on specific projects.
You did so for the competition entry for the Bauhaus Museum. How did your collaboration with Benedict Tonon come about? How do you divide your workload?
I first began on my own, working on the concept. I knew Benedict Tonon from before, when I worked in his office in the 1980s. And after working successfully together on a competition project in Potsdam I spoke to him about the competition for the Bauhaus Museum. We had a clear division of labour from the start. Benedict Tonon’s strengths, which I value highly, lie in concept development and urban development. Because we are both strong designers, we always set out a 60 per cent vote in advance, so that we avoid endless discussions. Benedict Tonon lends conceptual support for the Bauhaus Museum project, but most of the work happens in my office.
What convinced you to participate in the competition for the Bauhaus Museum?
I participate in around two or three competitions per year. The first question is invariably whether we’re allowed to participate, because open competitions are a rarity these days. And then it comes down to the context. I look specifically for themes that interest me. The competition for the Bauhaus Museum was one of the major open competitions of 2011. It interested me to think about how we look at modernism, what relationship I have to it, and how this relationship might be reflected in the building itself. This is a critical question, irrespective of whether one has lived in Weimar or not.
The decision in favour of your design was made in summer 2012. At what stage in its realisation are you now?
In summer 2012, the municipality of Weimar also decided to issue a development plan for the grounds of the Bauhaus Museum. The development plan provides security that my design will actually be realised. The municipality and Klassik Stiftung Weimar are currently focusing above all else on establishing the foundations for the development plan. At the same time, Klassik Stiftung Weimar has commissioned me, based on my competition entry, to complete the design documentation for the Museum by spring 2014.
Do you see architects as role models?
There are many architects, whom I find influential. Peter Zumthor, for example, has successfully built high quality and sustainable architecture. When I was studying in Berlin in the 1980s, it was plain to see how architecture was suffering. To my mind, the change came in the 1990s with the Swiss architects. Apart from a number of contemporary architects, classical modern architects such as Mies van der Rohe and Louis Kahn appeal to me. I am also often drawn to independently-minded architects, such as Álvaro Siza. The list could go on and on. In any case, I try to look at major works of architecture with an eye to where their strengths lie and what I can learn from that.
What message would you have for today’s students of architecture?
I don’t believe that it’s important to become self-employed as quickly as possible. To want to be one’s own boss is understandable, but I think that these years of learning, which one needs in order to reach a certain level of maturity, are really important. Today, this step seems to be taken too fast, which means that one lacks foresight. Often, the point where one wishes to be is found by chance, rather than by design, and in the process a certain objective can be missed. I would advise today’s students to give themselves time find their feet, work in a good office for a some time, all the while keeping their own career in view.
Many thanks for your time and the insights into your work!
The interview appeared in Bauhaus.Journal 2012/2013, published by Bauhaus-Universität Weimar.
Facts and figures: Bauhaus Museum Weimar
Location: Platz am Weimarhallenpark, total floor space: 3,716 m2
Investment volume: 22.6 million euros from the special investment programme of the German federal government and the State of Thuringia.
Museum collection: Currently ca. 10,000 exhibits on the background, history and lasting influence of the Staatliches Bauhaus
Further information: www.bauhausmuseumweimar.de