The global architecture firm gmp has announced the lineups for two new talks in October to accompany the dialogue spurred by their award-winning exhibiiton, UMBAU. Nonstop Transformation, opening October 9th at Goethe Institute in New York City. Speakers at the two talks on October 10th and 16th include Jeanne Gang, Andrés Jaque, Jhaelen Eli-Hernandez, Dan Bergsagel and András Szántó.

Details follow below on the show, which debuted last year in Venice, and both of the talks. To attend the panel discussions or the VIP opening reception for UMBAU, please contact C.C. Sullivan and we’ll arrange for press registration.

Wednesday, October 9, 6:30pm
Opening reception for UMBAU. Nonstop Transformation
Goethe Institute, 30 Irving Place, New York, NY 10003
Register here: https://tinyurl.com/56rvy35u

Thursday, October 10, 6:30pm
Panel: "Cultural Transformations: Rethinking Spaces & Places for Art”
Goethe Institute

• Jeanne Gang, FAIA, FRIBA, Studio Gang
• Jhaelen Eli-Hernandez, vice president, Capital Projects, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
• András Szántó Ph.D, worldwide advisor on cultural strategies
• Stephan Schütz, gmp Architects

In this era of reinvention and adaptive reuse, leading cultural institutions are increasingly rethinking their settings and approaches to delivering visual and performing arts resources to their audiences. Seen in museum, library and music projects around the world, the framework of umbau — which includes conversions, renovation and adaptive reuse — is considered a sustainable approach that builds on community touchstones in creative ways. This design panel shows how this architectural evolution integrates overlays and new suppositions into this future-looking process, nothing less than nonstop transformation of the cultural realm.
 >>Please register for the panel here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cultural-transformations-rethinking-spaces-places-for-art-tickets-1014865779867?

+
Wednesday, October 16, 6:30pm
Panel: "A Greener Path: Adaptive Reuse & Sufficiency”
Goethe Institute

• Magdalene Weiß, Executive Partner, gmp
• Tobias Keyl, Associate Partner, gmp
• Dan Bergsagel, Sustainability Lead, sbp
• Andrés Jaque, Dean and Professor, Columbia University Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP), and Founder and Principal, Office for Political Innovation, known as OFFPOLINN

Adaptive reuse is seen as a key to sustainability and more successful decarbonization. This panel examines the case for sufficiency through the use of conversions, renovation and adaptive reuse — collectively, umbau in German — with a multidisciplinary panel representing the various areas of expertise needed for effective transformations of existing buildings and places. Sustainability is cast as a structural quality in an overarching sense — systematically gauging the effects of planning decisions on project lifecycle overall. As seen in the companion exhibition, a selection of gmp’s 60-plus umbau projects demonstrate how structures can be flexibly used, reused, expanded, and sustainably fortified.
     >>Please register for this program here:
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/a-greener-path-adaptive-reuse-sufficiency-tickets-1014872971377?

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

UMBAU. Nonstop Transformation
A New York exhibition with an international focus

UMBAU, or conversion, means the continuous transformation of existing structures. Considering today’s climate goals, UMBAU must move from being the exception to becoming the rule. The exhibition contributes to this by discussing projects by the architects von Gerkan, Marg and Partners (gmp) as instructive case studies of conversion practices from the 21st century dealing with the architectural heritage of the modern movement. What the projects have in common is a conceptual approach to UMBAU, which, starting from a comprehensive inventory of the existing fabric, continues and develops the old as an architectural evolution. Practice shows that UMBAU must also integrate new settings and superimpositions. UMBAU is not unique, but continues into the future as a nonstop transformation — as a collaboration spanning generations.

6 UMBAU Stories: 

Chao Hotel, Beijing
UMBAU 2012-2016 | Built 1990

Kunsthalle Mannheim
UMBAU 2014-2017 | Built 1907 
Original design by Hermann Billings

Gasteig HP8 Isarphilharmonie, Munich
UMBAU 2018–2021 | Built 1929
Original work by Hermann Leitenstorfer/ Fritz Beblo

Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid
UMBAU 2019–2024 | Built 1947

Shanghai Academy of Fine Arts
UMBAU since 2021 | Built 1986

Staatsbibliothek Berlin
UMBAU since 2019 | Built 1978 
Original architecture by Hans Sharon