Coop Himmelb(l)au
Encyclopedia
Coop Himmelbau (est. 1968) is a cooperative
architectural design firm primarily located in Vienna
, Austria
and which now also maintains offices in Los Angeles
, United States
and Guadalajara
, Mexico
. In German, "coop" has a similar meaning to the English "co-op." "Himmel" means sky or heaven in German, and "blau" means "blue" while "bau" means "building." So, the name can be interpreted as "Blue Heaven Cooperative" or "Sky Building Cooperative"
Coop Himmelblau was founded by Wolf Prix, Helmut Swiczinsky and Michael Holzer and gained international acclaim alongside Peter Eisenman
, Zaha Hadid
, Frank Gehry
with the 1988 exhibition, "Deconstructivist Architecture" at the Museum of Modern Art
. Their work ranges from commercial buildings to residential projects.
Cooperative
A cooperative is a business organization owned and operated by a group of individuals for their mutual benefit...
architectural design firm primarily located in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
, Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and which now also maintains offices in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Guadalajara
Guadalajara, Jalisco
Guadalajara is the capital of the Mexican state of Jalisco, and the seat of the municipality of Guadalajara. The city is located in the central region of Jalisco in the western-pacific area of Mexico. With a population of 1,564,514 it is Mexico's second most populous municipality...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
. In German, "coop" has a similar meaning to the English "co-op." "Himmel" means sky or heaven in German, and "blau" means "blue" while "bau" means "building." So, the name can be interpreted as "Blue Heaven Cooperative" or "Sky Building Cooperative"
Coop Himmelblau was founded by Wolf Prix, Helmut Swiczinsky and Michael Holzer and gained international acclaim alongside Peter Eisenman
Peter Eisenman
Peter Eisenman is an American architect. Eisenman's professional work is often referred to as formalist, deconstructive, late avant-garde, late or high modernist, etc...
, Zaha Hadid
Zaha Hadid
Zaha Hadid, CBE is an Iraqi-British architect.-Life and career:Hadid was born in 1950 in Baghdad, Iraq. She received a degree in mathematics from the American University of Beirut before moving to study at the Architectural Association School of Architecture in London.After graduating she worked...
, Frank Gehry
Frank Gehry
Frank Owen Gehry, is a Canadian American Pritzker Prize-winning architect based in Los Angeles, California.His buildings, including his private residence, have become tourist attractions...
with the 1988 exhibition, "Deconstructivist Architecture" at the Museum of Modern Art
Museum of Modern Art
The Museum of Modern Art is an art museum in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, on 53rd Street, between Fifth and Sixth Avenues. It has been important in developing and collecting modernist art, and is often identified as the most influential museum of modern art in the world...
. Their work ranges from commercial buildings to residential projects.
Selected projects
- The European Central BankEuropean Central BankThe European Central Bank is the institution of the European Union that administers the monetary policy of the 17 EU Eurozone member states. It is thus one of the world's most important central banks. The bank was established by the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1998, and is headquartered in Frankfurt,...
in FrankfurtFrankfurtFrankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...
(Under construction) - Musée des Confluences, LyonLyonLyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
(Under construction) - Hotel - 55th Street55th Street (Manhattan)55th Street is a two-mile-long, one-way street traveling east to west across Midtown Manhattan.-Sutton Place South:*The route officially begins at Sutton Place South which is on a hill overlooking FDR Drive....
& 8th Avenue, New York City (proposed) - Busan Cinema Center, BusanBusanBusan , formerly spelled Pusan is South Korea's second largest metropolis after Seoul, with a population of around 3.6 million. The Metropolitan area population is 4,399,515 as of 2010. It is the largest port city in South Korea and the fifth largest port in the world...
, South Korea (2008–2011) - Akron Art MuseumAkron Art MuseumThe Akron Art Museum is an art museum in Akron, Ohio, USA.The museum first opened its doors on February 1, 1922, as the Akron Art Institute. It was located in two borrowed rooms in the basement of the public library...
addition (2007) - High School for the Visual and Performing ArtsHigh School for the Visual and Performing ArtsRamon C. Cortines School Of Visual And Performing Arts is a $232 million high school in the Los Angeles Unified School District. It is located on the site of the old Fort Moore at the corner of Grand Avenue and Cesar E...
with HMC Architects (Los Angeles Area High School #9, California, USA) (2002–2008) - BMW WorldBMW WeltBMW Welt , is a multi-functional customer experience and exhibition facility of the BMW AG, located in Munich, Germany...
(BMW Welt) Munich, Germany (2001–2007) - Great Egyptian Museum, Cairo, Egypt (2002–2003)
- Arteplage in Biel/Bienne from Swiss Expo.02
- The Media Pavilion at the 6th International Architecture Exhibition, Biennale di Venezia (1995)
- UFA-Cinema Center in Dresden (1993–98)
- Groninger MuseumGroninger MuseumThe Groninger Museum is a museum of modern and contemporary art in Groningen, Netherlands.-Background:Although not as well known as other Dutch institutions of fine art, the Groninger Museum was founded in 1894...
, Groningen (city), Netherlands (1993–1994) - Academy of Fine Arts Munich (1992/2002-2005)
- Gasometer, ViennaGasometer, ViennaThe Gasometers in Vienna are four former gas tanks, each of 90,000 m³ storage capacity, built as part of the Vienna municipal gas works Gaswerk Simmering in 1896–1899. They are located in the 11th district, Simmering. They were used from 1899 to 1984 as gas storage tanks...
, Austria (1999-2001)
Awards
- 2008 RIBA European Award for BMW World
- American Architecture Awards 2005
- The Chicago Athenaeum, Illinois
- Akron Art MuseumAkron Art MuseumThe Akron Art Museum is an art museum in Akron, Ohio, USA.The museum first opened its doors on February 1, 1922, as the Akron Art Institute. It was located in two borrowed rooms in the basement of the public library...
, Ohio, USA (2001-2006)
- Annie Spink Award for excellence in architectural education, RIBA, London, UK, 2004
- Gold Medal for merits to the federal state of Vienna, Austria 2002