Bernd Grimm (born 1962) is a German

product design Product design as a verb is to create a new product to be sold by a business to its customers. A very broad coefficient and effective generation and development of ideas through a process that leads to new products. Thus, it is a major aspect of n ...

er,

architectural model An architectural model is a type of scale model made to study aspects of an architectural design or to communicate design intent. They can be made from a variety of materials such as paper, plaster, plastic, resin, wood, glass and metal. They ...

builder and artist. He became known through the creation of architectural models of historical and antique buildings. Ten of his models belong to the collection of the

architectural icon Architectural icon is a term from Architecture criticism and designates buildings that are or were groundbreaking or claim uniqueness because of their design. Definition These outstanding buildings and ensembles meet several of the following cri ...

s of the architect

Oswald Mathias Ungers Oswald Mathias Ungers (12 July 1926 – 30 September 2007) was a German architect and architectural theorist, known for his rationalist designs and the use of cubic forms. Among his notable projects are museums in Frankfurt, Hamburg and Colo ...

Biography

Grimm was born in Ellwangen an der Jagst, Germany. He studied

Industrial Design Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical Product (business), products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advan ...

from 1983 to 1989 at the Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg with Lambert Rosenbusch and graduated as a designer. During his studies he developed an interest in the field of

architectural theory Architecture is the art and technique of designing and building, as distinguished from the skills associated with construction. It is both the process and the product of sketching, conceiving, planning, designing, and constructing buildings ...

. Together with his fellow student Jan Christophe Kraege, he carried out scientific research on historical buildings such as the

Temple of Clitumnus The so-called Temple of Clitumnus ( it, Tempietto del Clitunno) is a small early medieval church that sits along the banks of the Clitunno river in the town of Pissignano near Campello sul Clitunno between Spoleto and Trevi, Umbria, Italy. In 201 ...

near Spoleto (1985) and produced a model of it. He also investigated the functionality of the

proportional compass The sector, also known as a proportional compass or military compass, was a major calculating instrument in use from the end of the sixteenth century until the nineteenth century. It is an instrument consisting of two rulers of equal length joi ...

developed by

Balthasar Neumann Johann Balthasar Neumann (; 27 January 1687 (?) – 19 August 1753), usually known as Balthasar Neumann, was a German architect and military artillery engineer who developed a refined brand of Baroque architecture, fusing Austrian, Bohemian, Ita ...

. During his studies, the German Archaeological Institute commissioned him to create a model of the

Temple of Mars Ultor The Temple of Mars ''Ultor'' was a sanctuary erected in Ancient Rome by the Roman Emperor Augustus in 2 BCE and dedicated to the god Mars in his guise as avenger. The centerpiece of the Forum of Augustus, it was a peripteral style temple, on th ...

at the

Forum of Augustus The Forum of Augustus ( la, Forum Augustum; it, Foro di Augusto) is one of the Imperial fora of Rome, Italy, built by Augustus (). It includes the Temple of Mars Ultor. The incomplete forum and its temple were inaugurated in 2 BC, 40 years after ...

in Rome (1987). After completing his studies, Grimm worked from 1990 to 2007 as a free-lance designer in the architectural office of

, where he was responsible for the creation of architectural models of historically significant buildings. The idea was to create a kind of "three-dimensional collection". Over the years, ten architectural icons of the Ungers Collection were created, which Grimm produced after intensive research from Alabaster gypsum. The model thus becomes a high-quality cultural item. Since 2007 Grimm is

artistic director An artistic director is the executive of an arts organization, particularly in a theatre or dance company, who handles the organization's artistic direction. They are generally a producer and director, but not in the sense of a mogul, since the ...

''Archive for Architectural Research''. From 2012 to 2014 he was an academic staff member at the Atelier

Gerhard Richter Gerhard Richter (; born 9 February 1932) is a German visual artist. Richter has produced abstract as well as photorealistic paintings, and also photographs and glass pieces. He is widely regarded as one of the most important contemporary German ...

in Cologne. In 2015 he received a practical scholarship of the Villa Massimo in Rome.

Architectural models

Architectural model An architectural model is a type of scale model made to study aspects of an architectural design or to communicate design intent. They can be made from a variety of materials such as paper, plaster, plastic, resin, wood, glass and metal. They ...

s can perform various functions. The architect can use a ''sketch model'' to check the realisability of his ideas. ''Presentation models'' can be submitted to competitions, more extensive models can show how a planned building integrates into the existing environment. In the field of

, models are also used as teaching and learning models to illustrate the aesthetics and construction of historical buildings. Against this background, Grimm's works can be understood as ''models after built architectures'' or ''memory models''. Every model building project by Grimm starts with scientific research; old sketches and measured drawings are consulted and literature on the respective buildings are analyzed. Usually this is followed by local investigations, e.g. Grimm spent several months in Rome for the model of the

and photographed and measured the temple. Only after this extensive preparatory work can he make decisions about how the respective model should be designed: "First of all, I'm developing a mindset. What are the basics? What best describes the core and essence of a building? Two things are always decisive: reduction and interpretation." For the representation of the Tempietto del Bramante it had to be considered that originally a circular courtyard surrounded by columns was planned, whereas the courtyard today is square and without surrounding columns. Steps also originally led to the temple, so that the observer could see the building from below. Grimm designed the pedestal historically correct as a circular surface and made it so high that the underside of the building, mediated by the steps of the temple, became visible. In the reconstruction of ancient temples such as the

Pantheon Pantheon may refer to: * Pantheon (religion), a set of gods belonging to a particular religion or tradition, and a temple or sacred building Arts and entertainment Comics *Pantheon (Marvel Comics), a fictional organization * ''Pantheon'' (Lone St ...

or Parthenon, fundamental decisions had to be made as to which phase of the respective building should be represented – the ideal state or an image of what the temples look like today. Finally, a scale had to be chosen that illustrates the essential elements of the architecture without getting lost in details. Bernd Grimm Modell des Parthenon.jpg, Model of the Parthenon,
Model in scale 1:50,
Architectural icon model collection by

, Cologne Bernd Grimm Modell Tempietto di Bramante.jpg, Model of the Tempietto del Bramante,
Model in scale 1:15
Architectural icon model collection by Oswald Mathias Ungers, Cologne Bernd Grimm Modell des Kenotaph für Isaac Newton.jpg, Model of the
Kenothaph for Isaac Newton,
Model in scale 1:400
Architectural icon model collection by Oswald Mathias Ungers, Cologne Grimm manufactures all his architectural models in pure-white Alabaster gypsum., as this material has a neutral effect and is well suited for the presentation of fine details due to its properties. For recurring parts of buildings, such as columns, he creates silicone moulds. He also works with templates and develops his own tools if necessary. As plaster is heavy, the models have a wooden substructure. For the model of the Parthenon alone, Grimm needed 200 kilograms of gypsum. and over a year to complete the construction. While one always imagines something small with the word ''model'', Grimm's works are by no means small: For example, the model of the Pantheon measures 74 × 170 × 97 cm and his other models also have similar dimensions. "After a long period of work, an architecture emerges as a sculpture that is as unique as ancient figures – just like the techniques of working with plaster, which only a few have mastered and which require a great deal of experience." The magazine ''

Architectural Digest ''Architectural Digest'' is an American monthly magazine founded in 1920. Its principal subjects are interior design and landscaping, rather than pure external architecture. The magazine is published by Condé Nast, which also publishes internati ...

'' refers to Grimm as the ''Cologne Model–Michelangelo'' in its theme book ''Best of Germany''.

Bronze reliefs in public space

Since 2011 Grimm has been documenting the landscape and structural change in the Cologne district Vogelsang, Cologne from the rural area to the industrial park "Triotop". The contractor for this work was the businessman Anton Bausinger (construction company Friedrich Wassermann). The bronze reliefs are each 1 × 1 metre in size and are positioned at the Belvedere Bridge in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the List of cities in Germany by population, fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 m ...

. The spatial situations from the following years are depicted in detail: 1893, 1926, 1934, 1975, 2000, 2010 and 2025. So far (2019) six of the bronze sculptures have been realized and can be viewed on location. Bernd Grimm Bronze Sculpture 1975.jpg, Transformations - The history of an area in Cologne-Vogelsang
(1893–2010), here depiction of the situation in 1975, bronze relief Bernd Grimm Bronze Sculpture 2010.jpg, Transformations - The history of an area in Cologne-Vogelsang
(1893–2010), here depiction of the situation in 2010, bronze relief Bernd Grimm Bronze Skulpturen Übersicht.jpg, Transformations - The history of an area in Cologne-Vogelsang
(1893–2010), here general view of the hitherto existing reliefs, bronze relief

Reconstruction "Scala del Bramante"

During his time as a practice scholarship holder at Villa Massimo in Rome in 2015, Bernd Grimm did research on the ''Scala del Bramante'' of the architect Donato Bramante, which is located in the

Vatican Museums The Vatican Museums ( it, Musei Vaticani; la, Musea Vaticana) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of ...

. It is a

spiral staircase Stairs are a structure designed to bridge a large vertical distance between lower and higher levels by dividing it into smaller vertical distances. This is achieved as a diagonal series of horizontal platforms called steps which enable passage ...

built in 1512 to connect the Pope's Palace with the city of Rome. It was built as a stepless ramp (Italian ''Rampa''), therefore Grimm calls his research report ''Rampa del Bramante''. The staircase is housed in a square tower and has 36 columns of different types. Grimm received permission from the Vatican to measure and photograph the stairs in detail. He subsequently drew up his report. Part of the investigation was the "decoding of the mathematical and geometrical basic structure" of the ramp. In addition, Grimm investigated the structural composition of the columns. In the

Classical antiquity Classical antiquity (also the classical era, classical period or classical age) is the period of cultural history between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD centred on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ...

and since the

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history marking the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and covering the 15th and 16th centuries, characterized by an effort to revive and surpass ideas ...

, so-called order of columns formed an important architectural system with a hierarchy of different types of columns. Grimm in his report revealed that Bramante did not strictly adhere to this system in the construction of his staircase. Thanks to a scholarship from the ''Rolf Linnenkamp-Stiftung'' he was able to produce a three-dimensional model of the staircase in stainless steel and birch multiplex in 1:20 scale. Bernd Grimm Konstruktionsprinzip der Treppe.jpg, Mathematical-geometric structural analysis of the Scala del Bramante, drawing and model in scale 1:20 Bernd Grimm Modell der Treppe für Ausstellung2016 Martin-Gropius-Bau.jpg, Presentation on the occasion of the exhibition "10 Years Villa Massimo at Martin-Gropius-Bau", Berlin 2016 Bernd Grimm Detail des mathematisch-geometrischen Modells der Treppe.jpg, Detail of the mathematical-geometric model of the staircase The construction and structure of the staircase were made evident by the fact that the columns were only reproduced as outlines in stainless steel. To illustrate the dimensions of the building, Bernd Grimm gave the measurements in centimetres as well as in ''piedi'' and ''digiti'', Ancient Roman units of measurement which were also used in the Renaissance – and came to the result: :"The Rampa (Scala) del Bramante is designed and built from a single point. Based on a simple geometric structure that always allows a reference to the center, a high precision in the positioning of the components is achieved. ..The exceptional quality of the spiral ramp lies in its strong core design idea, namely to combine simple and ideal geometric shapes with column orders, as an important element of architectural design." :(In German: "Die Rampa (Scala) del Bramante ist von einem einzigen Punkt aus konzipiert und verwirklicht. Auf der Grundlage einer einfachen geometrischen Struktur, die immer einen Bezug zum Zentrum ermöglicht, ist eine hohe Präzision in der Positionierung der Bauelemente erreicht. ��Die außergewöhnliche Qualität der Wendelrampe liegt in ihrem starken entwurflichen Kerngedanken, nämlich einfache und ideale geometrische Formen mit den Säulenordnungen, als wichtiges Element baukünstlerischer Gestaltung, zu verbinden.")

Other building surveys and reconstructions by Grimm

* 1987:

Palazzo Spada The Palazzo Spada is a palace located on Piazza di Capo Ferro #13 in the rione Regola of Rome, Italy. Standing very close to the Palazzo Farnese, it has a garden facing towards the Tiber river. The palace accommodates a large art collection, th ...

, Perspective Colonnade, Rome, Italy * 1987: L’edicola di Leone X.,

Castel Sant'Angelo The Mausoleum of Hadrian, usually known as Castel Sant'Angelo (; English: ''Castle of the Holy Angel''), is a towering cylindrical building in Parco Adriano, Rome, Italy. It was initially commissioned by the Roman Emperor Hadrian as a mausol ...

, Rome, Italy * 1989: ,

Ellwangen (Jagst) Ellwangen an der Jagst, officially Ellwangen (Jagst), in common use simply Ellwangen () is a town in the district of Ostalbkreis in the east of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It is situated about north of Aalen. Ellwangen has 25,000 inhabitants. ...

, Germany * 1989–1990:

, Measurement of the capital, Rome, Italy * 1995: , Cologne * 1997:

St. Kolumba, Cologne St. Kolumba was one of the largest parish churches in medieval Cologne, dating back to 980, and dedicated to Columba of Sens. The original Romanesque church was replaced by a Gothic church. Artworks in it included the Saint Columba Altarpiece by ...

, Enclosure walls * 2002: Putbus Palace, Putbus, reconstruction and model in alabaster gypsum, model in scale 1:50 * 2009: Santa Maria del Priorato Church, Rome, Italy, Architect Giovanni Battista Piranesi, Model in scale 1:50

Architectural icons of the Oswald Mathias Ungers Collection

* 1993: Parthenon, Athens, 447–438 BC, model in scale 1:50 * 1995: Pantheon Rom, 118–128 BC, model in scale 1:50 * 2000:

Cheop's pyramid The Great Pyramid of Giza is the biggest Egyptian pyramid and the tomb of Fourth Dynasty pharaoh Khufu. Built in the early 26th century BC during a period of around 27 years, the pyramid is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World ...

, Giza, Completion ca. 2580 BC, model in scale 1:250 * 2001: Castel del Monte by Friedrich II,

Apulia it, Pugliese , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = , demographics1_footnotes = , demographics1_title1 = , demographics1_info1 = , demographic ...

, 1240–1250, model in scale 1:70 * 2001: Tiempietto del Bramante, Rome, 1502, Architect: Donato Bramante, model in scale 1:15 * 2002: Kenotaph for Isaac Newton, 1784, Architect:

Étienne-Louis Boullée Étienne-Louis Boullée (12 February 17284 February 1799) was a visionary French neoclassical architect whose work greatly influenced contemporary architects. Life Born in Paris, he studied under Jacques-François Blondel, Germain Boff ...

, model in 1:400 scale * 2002: Casa del Fascio,

Como Como (, ; lmo, Còmm, label=Comasco dialect, Comasco , or ; lat, Novum Comum; rm, Com; french: Côme) is a city and ''comune'' in Lombardy, Italy. It is the administrative capital of the Province of Como. Its proximity to Lake Como and ...

, Architect:

Giuseppe Terragni Giuseppe Terragni (; 18 April 1904 – 19 July 1943) was an Italian architect who worked primarily under the fascist regime of Benito Mussolini and pioneered the Italian modern movement under the rubric of Rationalism. His most famous work is the C ...

, model in scale 1:60 * 2003:

Mausoleum at Halicarnassus The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus or Tomb of Mausolus ( grc, Μαυσωλεῖον τῆς Ἁλικαρνασσοῦ; tr, Halikarnas Mozolesi) was a tomb built between 353 and 350 BC in Halicarnassus (present Bodrum, Turkey) for Mausolus, an ...

Bodrum Bodrum () is a port city in Muğla Province, southwestern Turkey, at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Its population was 35,795 at the 2012 census, with a total of 136,317 inhabitants residing within the district's borders. Known in ancient t ...

, circa 370–350 BC, model in scale 1:66 * 2004:

Mausoleum of Theoderic The Mausoleum of Theodoric ( it, Mausoleo di Teodorico) is an ancient monument just outside Ravenna, Italy. It was built in 520 AD by Theodoric the Great, king of the Ostrogoths, as his future tomb. Description The mausoleum's current structure ...

Ravenna Ravenna ( , , also ; rgn, Ravèna) is the capital city of the Province of Ravenna, in the Emilia-Romagna region of Northern Italy. It was the capital city of the Western Roman Empire from 408 until its collapse in 476. It then served as the cap ...

, circa 520 AD, model in scale 1:20 * 2005: Villa Capra "La Rotonda" (Villa Almerico Capra Valmarana),

Vicenza Vicenza ( , ; ) is a city in northeastern Italy. It is in the Veneto region at the northern base of the ''Monte Berico'', where it straddles the Bacchiglione River. Vicenza is approximately west of Venice and east of Milan. Vicenza is a th ...

, 1565–1569 AD, architect:

Andrea Palladio Andrea Palladio ( ; ; 30 November 1508 – 19 August 1580) was an Italian Renaissance architect active in the Venetian Republic. Palladio, influenced by Roman and Greek architecture, primarily Vitruvius, is widely considered to be one of th ...

, model in scale of 1:20

Lecturing experience

* 1993–2000:

Fachhochschule Köln Cologne University of Applied Sciences, officially called TH Köln – University of Applied Sciences (''german: Technische Hochschule Köln'', abbreviated TH Köln) is an institute of higher education located in Cologne, Germany, established in ...

, Department of Design * 2002–2004:

Braunschweig University of Art The Braunschweig University of Art (Hochschule für Bildende Künste Braunschweig, HBK) is the second largest College of Fine Arts in Germany. History The history goes back to the “Zeichnen-Instithut” (Drawing Institute) founded by the Brun ...

, Department of Industrial Design * 2005:

Leibniz University Hannover Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz University Hannover (german: Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Universität), also known as the University of Hannover, is a public research university located in Hanover, Germany. Founded on 2 May 1831 as Higher Vocational Sc ...

, Department Architectur * 2008:

Technical University of Dortmund TU Dortmund University (german: Technische Universität Dortmund) is a technical university in Dortmund, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany with over 35,000 students, and over 6,000 staff including 300 professors, offering around 80 Bachelor's an ...

, Faculty of Construction Engineering * 2016:

HafenCity University Hamburg The HafenCity University Hamburg (german: HafenCity Universität Hamburg, abbreviated ''HCU'') — also known as the University Of The Built Environment And Metropolitan Development — is a public university in Hamburg, Germany which is focuse ...

, Summer Studio "The Rural in the City" * 2018:

University of the Arts Bremen The University of the Arts Bremen (German: Hochschule für Künste Bremen, HfK Bremen) is a public university in Bremen, Germany. It is one of the most successful arts institutions, and its origins date back to 1873. The University of the Arts Br ...

, Department of Industrial Design

Group exhibitions (selection)

* 1999: ''O. M. Ungers: Zeiträume – Architektur – Kontext'', Kunsthalle Köln, Cologne, Germany * 1999: ''Bauaufnahme Ursulinenkirche Köln'',

University of Fine Arts of Hamburg The ''Hochschule für bildende Künste Hamburg (HFBK Hamburg)'' is the University of Fine Arts of Hamburg. It dates to 1767, when it was called the ''Hamburger Gewerbeschule''; later it became known as ''Landeskunstschule Hamburg''. The main build ...

, Hamburg, Germany * 2000: ''Von der Renaissance zur Gegenwart'', University of Fine Arts of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany * 2003: ''ZwischenRaumZeit'', gallery suitcasearchitecture, Berlin, Germany * 2003: ''Via Culturalis'',

Romano-Germanic Museum The Roman-Germanic Museum (RGM, in German: ''Römisch-Germanisches Museum'') is an archaeological museum in Cologne, Germany. It has a large collection of Roman artifacts from the Roman settlement of ''Colonia Claudia Ara Agrippinensium'', on whi ...

, Cologne, Germany * 2004: ''ArchiSkulptur'', Beyeler Foundation, Basel, Switzerland * 2006: ''O. M. Ungers: Kosmos der Architektur'',

Neue Nationalgalerie The Neue Nationalgalerie (New National Gallery) at the Kulturforum is a museum for modern art in Berlin, with its main focus on the early 20th century. It is part of the National Gallery of the Berlin State Museums. The museum building and its ...

, Berlin, Germany * 2012: ''Das Architekturmodell – Werkzeug, Fetisch, kleine Utopie'', German Architecture Museum, Frankfurt/Main * 2015: ''Abschlusspräsentation der Stipendiaten'', Deutsche Akademie Villa Massimo, Rome, Italy * 2016: ''Das Architekturmodell – ein Medium in Theorie und Praxis'',

ETH Zurich (colloquially) , former_name = eidgenössische polytechnische Schule , image = ETHZ.JPG , image_size = , established = , type = Public , budget = CHF 1.896 billion (2021) , rector = Günther Dissertori , president = Joël Mesot , ac ...

, Department Architecture, Zürich, Switzerland * 2016: ''10 Jahre Villa Massimo, Vorstellung des Forschungsberichts Scala del Bramante'', Martin-Gropius-Bau, Berlin, Germany * 2017: ''Globes. Architecture & Sciences explorent le monde'', Cité de l'Architecture et du Patrimoine, Paris, Frankreich

References

External links

Website of Bernd Grimm

Online edition of the magazine ''AA-Files'', Volume 73, published on July 27, 2018
], containing article by Thomas Weaver ''Model–Maker Grimm'' (page 94–100)
Online edition of the magazine ''Archimaera'', issue: March 2021, published March 15, 2021
containing article by Bernd Grimm: ''Reverse spiraled. The Rampa (Scala) Bramante in the Vatican'' (page 199–216) {{DEFAULTSORT:Grimm, Bernd 1962 births People from Ellwangen 20th-century German sculptors 20th-century German male artists 21st-century German sculptors 21st-century German male artists German designers Architectural theoreticians Architecture educators Living people