Andreas Kofler

Weltgebraus is a German compound word describing the (incessant) roaring of the world. With no direct translation in the English language, even its use in German is rare and may be exclusive to the motto “Steh fest mein Haus im Weltgebraus” (Stand steady, my house, amidst the roaring of the world) by lyricist Richard Dehmel. A sort of godspeed that Peter Behrens decided inscribe on the facade of his house on the Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt, wishing it may be “vaccinated” against the altering conditions evolving around it. Yet, Weltgebraus doesn’t necessarily imply a scale, form, or intensity through which the roaring of the world is broadcasted. We like to rather imagine it as tinnitus or an effervescent sound — much like an aspirin pill dissolving in a glass of water — an overlay of everything.

Andreas Kofler is an architect-urbanist, writer and curator. He has worked for several offices: STAR, TD, OMA/AMO, l’AUC, and Dominique Perrault’s DPA, before co-founding Weltgebraus with Marcello Tavone (ON CITIES) in 2013. Most of his projects imply a multidisciplinary declension, such as the work on Greater Paris (DPA), Greater Moscow (l’AUC), Prada (AMO), and the exhibition The Image of Europe (TD/AMO) for the European Union. His curatorial projects include Japanese architectures in Paris, 1867–2017 and the first exhibition about Armando Ronca, both accompanied by homonymous publications. He loves fonts, regularly contributes to L’Architecture d’Aujourd’hui, is an associate professor at the E.N.S.A.Versailles, and curator and deputy artistic director at the Swiss Architecture Museum (S AM).