Early on, he made a splash in Westphalia. As early as the mid-1950s, Werner Ruhnau made his mark with the construction of the city theater. In the middle of the historic city center, he created a modernist theater building here together with colleagues, which incorporated the ruins of the Romberger Hof, thereby leaving room for history. And that was just the beginning. Soon after, Ruhnau would achieve worldwide fame with his innovative music theater in the Revier for Gelsenkirchen.
The exhibition in the Architecture Archive in Dortmund now surveys the work of the master builder born in 1922, for whom architecture always remained a field of experimentation. Drawings, photos, and original models from Ruhnau's estate, which is preserved on site, are presented. For example, one learns about the administrative building of Herta GmbH realized in Herten from 1968 to 1972, which Ruhnau designed as a terraced work and break landscape. Insights are also provided into the concept of the German pavilion at the World Exhibition in Montreal or the idea of the "play street," which Ruhnau implemented for the Olympics in Munich in 1972.
In parallel with the exhibition in Dortmund, there are guided tours of the extraordinary theater buildings: through the city theater in Münster and especially through the Gelsenkirchen music theater in the Revier. Early on, Ruhnau involved artists in the planning here, as he wanted not just art on the building, but a total work of art. Norbert Kricke's tube sculptures and the kinetic works of Jean Tinguely are just as much a part of this as the blue sponge reliefs by Yves Klein. The exchange with progressive theater people was also essential, whose ideas Ruhnau incorporated into his new architecture, playfully dissolving the boundaries – between inside and outside, actors and audience, play and reality.
Guided tours of the music theater in the Revier in Gelsenkirchen on May 17, 2025, and June 14, 2025, each at 2:00 PM.
Under the title "Werner Ruhnau's Democratic Theater Concepts - History and Relevance," the Architecture Archive NRW will host an event at the "Theatertreff" of the Theater Münster on July 6, 2025, at 6:00 PM.
