15 years of "Wege zur Architektur"
Books from Brakel

After 15 years, "Wege zur Architektur" comes to a close. As the final volume of the FSB Edition, the recently published Book No. 13, dedicated to Tatiana Bilbao, joins an illustrious circle that began with Peter Zumthor and has since brought together an international selection of renowned architects.

The series itself originated in 2003 through a fortunate coincidence. Brigitte Labs-Ehlert, founder and until 2016 director of the distinguished literature and music festival "Wege durch das Land" in East Westphalia-Lippe, had invited Swiss architect Peter Zumthor to deliver a lecture.

In collaboration with FSB as sponsor, the idea quickly emerged to publish the speech in book form. From that point on, the annual Architecture Lecture became a fixture of the festival program, each one subsequently released as a volume in the series.

The list of speakers underscores the event’s considerable prestige. Following appearances by Mario Botta and Moshe Safdie, for example, Japanese architect Ryue Nishizawa of SANAA traveled to East Westphalia in 2008 to speak about the relationship between interior and exterior spaces and the crossing of boundaries.

FSB published his lecture under the title “Play of Opposites.” It was followed by contributions from Pritzker Prize laureates Eduardo Souto de Moura and Rafael Moneo, and most recently by Indian architect Anupama Kundoo, whose publication bears the title “Building Knowledge, Building Community.”

In 2017, the invitation went to Mexican architect Tatiana Bilbao, who spoke at the Marta Museum in Herford on “The Architecture of Others.” In her lecture, she focused on two interdisciplinary projects – the master plan for infrastructure developments in Jalisco, Mexico, and the redesign of the Botanical Garden in northwestern Mexico – as well as on social housing.

In addition, a portrait and an in-depth interview offer insight into Tatiana Bilbao’s thinking and working methods. “The most important driving force in my work is people,” she says, for example. This conviction is reflected in her projects, which are built around the collective and consistently seek dialogue. In her view, architecture “cannot be conceived in isolation.” For each building and plan, she therefore develops a new approach, resulting in an exceptionally diverse portfolio. “The Architecture of Others” captures this diversity.

Publishing books has a long tradition at FSB. The catalyst more than 30 years ago was none other than designer Otl Aicher. In the mid-1980s, FSB Managing Director Jürgen W. Braun approached Aicher to design a new catalog. Aicher initially declined, instead challenging Braun to reflect on the underlying philosophy of FSB. Braun took that challenge seriously. One year later, his reflections resulted in the publication “Greifen und Griffe,” ("Grasping and Handles") which in turn gave rise to a series of 16 books, most of which are now out of print.

Over the past 15 years, the “Ways to Architecture” edition has continued this publishing tradition with a renewed focus. With its 13th volume, dedicated to Tatiana Bilbao, the series reaches a fitting conclusion. It remains to be seen what comes next.