Düsseldorf, Germany
European Prize for Architecture Laureate Christoph Ingenhoven, in close cooperation with the Department for the Protection of Historic Buildings, refurbishes the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus built in 1970 according to plans by Bernhard Pfau, the Schauspielhaus theatre in Düsseldorf, together with the neighboring Dreischeibenhaus high-rise, forming one of the most important ensembles of postwar architecture.
Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus has recently been awarded a 2022 International Architecture Awards Honorable Mention by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
The façade and roof – the latter now covered with greenery – were modernized, as were the public areas, including lighting and furnishings.
Contemporary additions are elegantly restrained in matte black.
Expressive curtains designed by Petra Blaisse add further character to the walls.
The greatest structural change is the new main entrance, which was redesigned to interweave the Schauspielhaus and the surrounding urban space.
Pfau originally planned for the main entrance to face Hofgarten park.
Under pressure from the city planning department, however, he moved it to the plaza side of the building, but without rearranging the interior layout.
Now the ticket booth, which was added later, has been removed and replaced by an airy glass pavilion opening onto the plaza, Gustaf-Gründgens-Platz.
A new glass lobby reorganizes the main entrance.
The original bronzed glazing on the ground floor has been replaced by clear glass, allowing views to meander far through the building to the Hofgarten park with its magnolias.
The Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus was founded in 1904 by Louise Dumont and Gustav Lindemann as a private theatre with an affiliated drama school.
It soon became one of the leading stages during the German Empire and later in the Weimar Republic.
During the Second World War, the main building, designed by Bernhard Sehring and built-in 1905, was completely destroyed.
The theatre itself was revived in 1951 in the former Operettenhaus as an independent public institution of the city of Düsseldorf.
Gustaf Gründgens, one of Dumont and Lindemann’s most prominent students before the war, was appointed its general director.
Over the next several years, the Schauspielhaus became one of the most important German-language theatres in Europe, retaining this position well into the tenure of Gründgen’s successor, Karl-Heinz Stroux.
The Schauspielhaus was a regular participant at the annual Berlin Theatertreffen, the most prestigious theatre festival in West Germany until the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989.
Famous actors and directors who shaped the postwar era, such as Elisabeth Bergner, Paula Wessely, Maria Wimmer, Ernst Deutsch, Fritz Kortner, and Bernhard Minetti, were under contract at the Schauspielhaus.
Former Schauspielhaus actor Wolfgang Langhoff went on to become a notable theatre director in Berlin.
The regional, national, and European success of the Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus led to the commission for a new building built in 1965 and designed by Bernhard Pfau, who won the multi-stage competition.
Project: Düsseldorfer Schauspielhaus
Architects: Ingenhoven Architects
Lead Architect: Christoph Ingenhoven
Design Team: Oliver Ingenhoven, Max Grams, Veronika Przybyla, Vincent Jeanson, Anette Büsing, Dariusz Szczygielski, Ursula Koeker, and Ulrich Hochgürtel
General Contractor: Ingenhoven Architects
Original Architect: Bernhard Mathäus Pfau (1902-1989)
Client: Neue Schauspiel GmbH / Landeshauptstadt Düsseldorf
Photographers: Hans-Georg Esch, HGEsch Photography
