Bruno Lambart. Architektur im Wandel der Bonner Republik
Cover
Alexandra Apfelbaum’s solid monograph of German architect Bruno Lambart. All typography uses Neutraface Display and Text (House Industries). The alternate ‘schoolbook’ a is used for body copy.
Public construction in post-war Germany is shaped by the determination of identity and expresses the attempt by a society to create a new national existence. The construction-cultural legacy of the Bonn Republic, that style of architecture which has arisen since 1949 in the Federal Republic of Germany using glass, stone and concrete, tells a great deal about the change that occurred in the course of these years.
One of those who dedicated himself to the reconstruction of public building projects is the architect Bruno Lambart. He has been particularly interested in school and university buildings. So among his creations over around fifty years there are countless examples of work documenting his cautious handling of these tasks.
The architecture historian Alexandra Apfelbaum has opened up what Bruno Lambart has left us. Using plans, drawings and photographs she has for the first time exhaustively documented his construction projects between 1949 and 1990, thus creating a remarkable reference work.
Since she has traced his biography and focused on Lambart’s established concept of architecture set in that era, she has succeeded in creating a magnificent monography which should appeal to the professional and layman alike. — JAC Gestaltung
Introduction
Curriculum Vitae
Subhead
3 Comments on “Bruno Lambart. Architektur im Wandel der Bonner Republik”
Can I ask why you chose Neutraface for this book? Neutra’s architecture seems more expressive than the more functional approach of his colleague Lambert. To me, the typeface named after Neutra evokes associations with 1930s / USA, rather than the Bundesrepublik — so I find it a surprising choice!
For what it’s worth, similar styles were common in modernist architectural lettering in Germany (and elsewhere) as well. Here are two examples from post-war (West) Berlin:
Those are beautiful, and indeed not unlike Neutraface! I’ve learned another thing or two. Also that Neutra spent his last years in Germany. I think my mental image of the “BRD style” was (mis)shaped by the solemn faces of Horst Tappert and Helmut Kohl…