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