Dieter Cöllen

ARCHITECTURE CABINET

After completing the cork model of the , ARCH OF DRUSUS Dieter and Malgorzata integrated it into the architecture cabinet in the old Jesuit library in Passau – In good company…

THE ART OF RECONSTRUCTION

is the title of a workshop by Dieter and Malgorzata in the RAUTENSTRAUCH – JOEST – MUSEUM in Cologne. Using the example of the Temple of Bel in Palmyra, children will try to recreate the porticus of the temple from the remains of the destruction (here: cork fragments) and make the personal experience that destruction is easier to do than reconstruction. Dieter and Malgorzata give the children complete freedom in their work. Ibrahim and Rosslin from Syria are also there. They had to leave their country from violence, and now they feel like „ambassadors“ between cultures… Many thanks to everyone – we adults also learned a lot!!!

SYRIEN – GEGEN DAS VERGESSEN

The RAUTENSTRAUCH – JOEST – MUSEUM in Cologne is showing a unique exhibition on the great loss of Syrian culture in times of peace. The curator JABBAR ABDULLAH has spared no effort in bringing together artefacts, films and photos that have never been shown before. Dieter’s cork model of the TEMPLE OF BEL can also be seen here. The model was started a few days after its violent destruction in 2015 and completed a year later.

AGAINST DESTRUCTION

As we know, targeted activism is the best medicine for mental paralysis brought on by human stupidity… Inspired by their trip to Rome, Dieter and Malgorzata work diligently on the construction of the Pantheon. As the video shows, the shell of the model is almost complete. Fly with us and maybe enjoy the great architecture of the old masters, which can still bring us closer to the beauty of human creativity even after 2000 years…

THE PANTHEON IN ROME

For most people, the mere memory of visiting the PANTHEON in Rome arouses great emotional feelings, combined with a longing to return to this magical place. So why not bring the object to the viewer?! Dieter and Malgorzata will face this great challenge. They plan over a year to produce a cork model scale 1:50, which should also show the complete interior with its elaborate equipment. Let’s watch the two of them at work and follow the single steps of this forgotten craft until completion…


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BACK TO THE FUTURE

A new designed building by the Berlin studio KAHLFELD ARCHITECTS is the base for the next cork model from Dieter and Malgorzata. The task is to turn the time further into the future and to capture the imaginary decay in maybe 2000 years – an interesting perspective from two points of view …

_Perspektive Blick v.d. StraßeDieter Cöllen, Korkmodell 1zu50, Dellbrückstrasse (2)Dieter Cöllen, Korkmodell 1zu50, Dellbrückstrasse (3)Dieter Cöllen, Korkmodell 1zu50, Dellbrückstrasse (7)Dieter Cöllen, Korkmodell 1zu50, Dellbrückstrasse (8Dieter Cöllen, Korkmodell 1zu50, Dellbrückstrasse (6)

TIVOLI

Until today, the round temple of Tivoli is considered as the ideal of Romanticism for artists and architects. It was modeled in various interpretations by the grand masters of “phelloplastics” and carried across the Alps. Today Dieter and Malgorzata not only restore the few preserved objects, but they also create new cork models of the temple for various requirements. With this they not only keep a forgotten craftsmanship alive, but also try to redirect the viewer’s gaze to perfect proportions and beauty …

D. Cöllen, Korkmodell M 1 zu 50, Rundtempel in Tivoli (62)Herunterladen

COLOUR

Malgorzata uses natural pigments from the ROUSSILLON in France, which can be found in the landscape there, for the surface of the model. This work takes a lot of time because the paint is applied in several layers in order to achieve the desired result. After that, the pillars must be fixed. A final „make-up“ follows to highlight the contours …

THE TIME OF PHARAOHS

Dieter’s cork model of the Great Pyramid has safely crossed the Atlantic … It will be on view in an exhibition at the Utah-Museum / Salt Lake City from May 20th, 2020 – January 2nd, 2021.

Exhibition title: EGYPT THE TIME OF PHARAOHS

“Let´s hit the dusty trail!”…

LIVING FOR BEAUTY

A new project by BEN PENTREATH poses a major challenge for Dieter and Malgorzata. They have to create an object of his design that touches the viewer’s emotions and shows that real beauty never dies. Cork seems to be the right material for this purpose. Let’s watch them at work …

THE PHAROS OF ALEXANDRIA

The cork model of the Pharos of Alexandria was built by Dieter in 2015 for an exhibition in the Kunsthalle Leoben / Austria, with the scientific support of Prof. Dr. Michael Pfrommer . Now an exhibition team is working on a new presentation. We are all very excited and will report on the development of the efforts on the blog …

Dieter Cöllen, Korkmodell Pharos von Alexandria (2)Herunterladen

ARCHITECT OF RUINS

The current book with the cork models by Dieter Cöllen from the JEFF KLOTZ VERLAG in German and English

Why do ruins never cease to provide refreshing shade, despite of their turbulent past?

This question occupied my mind from a young age, when I was a boy searching for lizards in the cracks of ruinous walls. Fortunately, to this very day I did not receive an answer – instead, it inspired my curiosity, humbleness and dreams as well as the wish to erect a monument for these patient witnesses of deterioration.

“Quercus suber” (CORK OAK) made the realisation of these dreams literally “easy”. All the cracks, fractions and damages of stone are already inherent in the cork´s bark and invited me to uncover them.

It is a work against all reasons and custom, only focused on preserving the most authentic picture of ageing; to acquire and transmit a rare monument of undisturbed awe – because in the blink of an eye, it´s like nothing ever happened.

OPENING UP THE SOANE

The Sir John Soane’s Museum in London is one of the most beautiful and interesting museums in the world. Soane collected many cork models during his lifetime, which can still be admired today in a wonderful ambience. Dieter Cöllen had the honor of completing and restoring the famous „model stand“. Together with his friend Hannes Fischer and many other specialists he worked on completing Soane’s dream and living space. Here Dieter invites you to follow him at work in a VIDEO https://www.soane.org/collections/videos/creating-cork-architectural-model

BIRTHDAY

After all parts have been fixed in place and the pigment layers have been applied, Dieter and Malgorzata photograph the cork model in optimal daylight. The southern French evening sun, which brings the object to life in warm tones, is ideal for this purpose …

HEAVENS GATE

The cella is the sanctuary of the temple and was only accessible to the priests through a more than 6m high bronze portal. Dieter and Malgorzata try to reproduce the effect of this monumental entrance as precisely as possible. They do the same with the roof tiles…

AERODUCT

04_20200805_184031Next to it Dieter builds another cork model of an antique aeroduct. The first visualization is created in collaboration with Florian Dombois…

AERODUCT

The ancient Romans are known for their viaducts, pathways, and aqueducts, watercourses, with which they directed and shaped spring water over many kilometres and led it into their cities. Similarly, aeroducts direct and shape the wind, while at the same time guiding it in a circle to study its behaviour. In aeroducts, phenomena such as thought resistance or torsional wind can be simulated and understood in order to, for example, optimise ventilation or underfloor heating in houses. The research facility is also suitable for extended contexts when, in urbanism (cf. Vitruvius‘ „10 Books of Architecture“), attempts are made to improve the human climate by intelligently setting building volumes and creating spaces in between. Today these facilities are called wind tunnels.

In the attached photos, an excavation site of such an aeroduct is reconstructed according to drawings by the artist Florian Dombois. Dombois himself runs a wind tunnel laboratory on the roof of the Zurich University of the Arts  AERODUCT  and realized, among other things, a wind tunnel for the Research Pavilion in Venice from found building materials from the lagoon. For the Day of the Monument in September 2020, he will realize an aeroduct as a 1:1 model made of mudbricks in Allschwil, Switzerland, together with Martin Burr and the Fachwerk Association.

 

JUST A SOUVENIR

In the 18th century, a cork model of the Castor and Pollux temple in Rome was a popular sovenir for travelers of the „Grand Tour“
Today Dieter and Malgorzata create a new interpretation of this ruin scale 1:50.                   Let’s look over their shoulder at work …

Diter Cöllen Korkmodell Tempel der Dioskuren

It all starts with a solid foundation

LIKE A ROCK

The Pont du Gard is founded on solid rock. To visualize this perfectly in the model Dieter uses 9 years grown cork bark from selected oaks in Portugal. After gluing the cork 02_20200203_10473101_20200203_105254he will treat the material like a sculpture to imitate the beauty of nature as best as possible…

LOVE-KNOWLEDGE-SUPPORT

With every new project Dieter is supported by many people in the background. First there are the cork workers in Portugal, who provide him with the best material. In Germany, he can rely on Mr. Engels for the woodwork with his knowledge and experience. Dieter himself fell in love with cork in 1962 – until today …KorkernteDieter Cöllen, Herr EngelsMy beautiful picture

PLEASURE AND SADNESS

As always when a project after a long time of working comes to its end we feel pleasure and sadness at the same time. Now that the Colosseum is finished its time to open the view to further projects.

Lets wait for while and see

what Dieter is planing next…

THE FINAL STEPS

Today Dieter shows us for the last time the inner construction of the Colosseum. After that he will fix it on the wooden base to prepare the object for the final photo shooting. Meanwhile Malgorzata glues the last cork block where it belongs

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THE „NEW“ COLOSSEUM

Since Luigi Carotti built the last cork model of the Colosseum in 1840 nobody toughed that theme again. Today Dieter Cöllen decided to create another object of this incredible monument. He calls his project “Homage á Luigi Carotti” and wants to discover if his artwork can exist beside the quality of the ancient master. The audience is invited to decide…

After getting the plans Dieter starts first to form the oval walls of the Colosseum. Here you can see him working on that basic part. With the assistance of Malgorzata he builds the support structures…