Filmreihe ARCHITEKTUR UND FILM "Wir bauen in den USA"

In the organizer's words:

Architecture and film 2024

"We are building in the USA"

The first German settlement on the soil of what is now the USA dates back to the 17th century. It was 13 Mennonite families from Krefeld who settled in Pennsylvania at that time. The world on the other side of the Atlantic has been coveted by imperialist nations for centuries since the first violent colonial conquests. The North American continent in particular was occupied by countless Europeans and associated with the prospect of professional opportunities and financial success. In times of crisis, architects and engineers left Europe for the USA for economic or political reasons, often without returning. The film series "We Build in the USA" tells stories about the architecture of these emigrants. From Johann Augustus Röbling in the 19th century to Karola Bloch, Cornelia Oberlander, Marcel Breuer and Mies van der Rohe in the 20th century, the selected documentaries tell of the lives of these people and their architectural works in the USA, some of which are still admired today as icons of the US urban landscape. From New York to Chicago, from New Hampshire to Massachusetts and finally across the border to Canada, the cinematic journey takes us from bridges to skyscrapers and from apartment complexes to private homes. It paints a broad picture of Europe's architectural heritage in the USA.

Brooklyn Bridge

USA 1981 - 58 min - OF

The Brooklyn Bridge is an icon of the New York cityscape that can be admired again and again in the film like a never-aging superstar. Less well known is the fact that it was designed by a German architect and emigrant. Johann Augustus Röbling (1806-1869), who had studied architecture and bridge building at the Berlin Bauakademie, among other things, emigrated to the USA in 1831, where he bought land in Pennsylvania with other Germans and founded the settlement known to this day as Saxonburg Germania. After constructing numerous aqueducts and suspension bridges, John A. Roebling - who used an anglicized form of his name when he became a naturalized citizen in 1837 - planned the Brooklyn Bridge from 1865, which was to connect the boroughs of Brooklyn and Manhattan via the East River. After his death, his son Washington Roebling took over the project, but fell ill with caisson disease. In the end, his wife Emily Warren Roebling was able to secure the construction until completion. The award-winning documentary tells the story of how the world's longest suspension bridge was built.

Displacement of the Oberkassel Bridge

D 1976 - 13 min - without sound

Amateur filmmaker Jupp Jäger documents the spectacular relocation of the Oberkassel Bridge on April 7 and 8, 1976 in Düsseldorf. The complete superstructure of the bridge, including pylon and stay cables with a total weight of 12,500 tons, was moved 47.5 meters downstream to the site of the old bridge.