Past exhibition

Alternatives for Living
Blueprints for Haus Lange Haus Esters
Haus Esters, Haus Lange

Living and dwelling go hand in hand. Countless different forms of domestic interiors are situated between the beautiful living environments featured in lifestyle magazines and public housing, between individual home design and visionary social models. In the late 1920s, the international star architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886–1969) designed Haus Lange and Haus Esters in Krefeld—two villas that merge the personal style of their inhabitants and the architect’s own utopian aspirations.

How did one live in these houses in the past, how mobile is our present-day society and what forms of living can be expected in the future are the main themes of the “Alternatives For Living” project. For this the Mies villas will be converted into discussion platforms and fab labs. 16 international artists, architects and designers will realize innovative living and dwelling concepts for the two houses as well as the garden area.

Like in a play, the individual acts will be presented in an excitingly composed sequence over the course of a whole year.

The exhibitions are at the heart of this yearlong project. Utopian forms of living come about in Haus Lange while notions of social mobility are reflected in works in the garden area and inhospitable dystopian world drafts unfurl in Haus Esters. A summary of the year’s activities will be presented in January 2020. Protagonists and public come together one more time at a final Bauhaus celebration.

The “Alternatives For Living” project is the contribution of the Kunstmuseen Krefeld to the Germany-wide Bauhaus100 program in 2019, marking the centennial anniversary of the Bauhaus.

Opening: Sunday, March 17, 2019 at 11:30 am (Haus Lange Haus Esters)

Curators: Katia Baudin, Magdalena Holzhey, Sylvia Martin

The “Alternatives For Living” project has been made possible with the generous financial support of the Sparkassen-Kulturstiftung Krefeld, Sparkassen-Kulturstiftung Rheinland, Kunststiftung NRW, IKEA-Stiftung and Canon Deutschland GmbH.

online catalogue

On January 26, 2020, the extraordinary experimental project found on https://anders-wohnen.online an equally exceptional format. Alternatives for Living. Blueprints for Haus Lange and Haus Esters was transitioned into an online catalogue where it will remain freely accessible on a permanent basis.

Installationsansicht, Akt: 2 Anders Wohnen, Haus Lange Haus Esters, Krefeld, Andreas Schmitten, Fragile Konstruktionen, 2019. Courtesy Andreas Schmitten, König Galerie, Berlin (Koproduktion), Foto: Dirk Rose
Installationsansicht, Akt: 2 Anders Wohnen, Haus Lange Haus Esters, Krefeld, Andreas Schmitten, Fragile Konstruktionen, 2019. Courtesy Andreas Schmitten, König Galerie, Berlin (Koproduktion), Foto: Dirk Rose
Installationsansicht Akt 1: Utopie. Anders Wohnen, Olaf Holzapfel, Rückgabe Reimbursement Cells – Cellulare Dialektik, 2019, Haus Lange, Krefeld, Foto: Dirk Rose
Installationsansicht Akt 1: Utopie. Anders Wohnen, Olaf Holzapfel, Rückgabe Reimbursement Cells – Cellulare Dialektik, 2019, Haus Lange, Krefeld, Foto: Dirk Rose
© 5 × 10, raumlaborberlin, 2019, erworben 2020
© 5 × 10, raumlaborberlin, 2019, erworben 2020
Innenansicht Haus Lange, Kunstmuseen Krefeld, © VG Bildkunst Bonn 2019, Foto: Dirk Rose
Innenansicht Haus Lange, Kunstmuseen Krefeld, © VG Bildkunst Bonn 2019, Foto: Dirk Rose
Außenansicht Haus Esters, Kunstmuseen Krefeld, Foto: Dirk Rose
Außenansicht Haus Esters, Kunstmuseen Krefeld, Foto: Dirk Rose
Installationsansicht Akt 1: Utopie. Anders Wohnen, Franck Bragigand, 2019, Haus Lange, Krefeld, Foto: Dirk Rose
Installationsansicht Akt 1: Utopie. Anders Wohnen, Franck Bragigand, 2019, Haus Lange, Krefeld, Foto: Dirk Rose
Modell, Andreas Schmitten, Fragile Konstruktionen, 2019, Haus Lange, Krefeld, Foto: Dirk Rose
Modell, Andreas Schmitten, Fragile Konstruktionen, 2019, Haus Lange, Krefeld, Foto: Dirk Rose
Installationsansicht Akt 1: Utopie. Anders Wohnen, Franck Bragigand, The Restoration of the Daily Life, 2019, Haus Lange, Krefeld, Foto: Dirk Rose
Installationsansicht Akt 1: Utopie. Anders Wohnen, Franck Bragigand, The Restoration of the Daily Life, 2019, Haus Lange, Krefeld, Foto: Dirk Rose
Installationsansicht, Akt: 2 Anders Wohnen, Haus Lange Haus Esters, Krefeld, Didier Fiúza Faustino, Global Warming, 2019, Foto: Dirk Rose
Installationsansicht, Akt: 2 Anders Wohnen, Haus Lange Haus Esters, Krefeld, Didier Fiúza Faustino, Global Warming, 2019, Foto: Dirk Rose
Installationsansicht, Akt: 2 Anders Wohnen, Haus Lange Haus Esters, Krefeld, Didier Fiúza Faustino, Global Warming, 2019, Foto: Dirk Rose
Installationsansicht, Akt: 2 Anders Wohnen, Haus Lange Haus Esters, Krefeld, Didier Fiúza Faustino, Global Warming, 2019, Foto: Dirk Rose
Installationsansicht, Akt: 2 Anders Wohnen, Haus Lange Haus Esters, Krefeld, Andrea Zittel, Fluid Panel State (carpet), 2019, Foto: Dirk Rose
Installationsansicht, Akt: 2 Anders Wohnen, Haus Lange Haus Esters, Krefeld, Andrea Zittel, Fluid Panel State (carpet), 2019, Foto: Dirk Rose
Installationsansicht, Akt: 2 Anders Wohnen, Haus Lange Haus Esters, Krefeld, Andrea Zittel, Planar Composition in wood #1 (table), 2019 Planar Composition in wood #2 (stools), 2019, Foto: Dirk Rose
Installationsansicht, Akt: 2 Anders Wohnen, Haus Lange Haus Esters, Krefeld, Andrea Zittel, Planar Composition in wood #1 (table), 2019 Planar Composition in wood #2 (stools), 2019, Foto: Dirk Rose

Past related programme