draw love build / sauerbruch hutton tracing modernities is to be understood as a double exhibition in which the monographic retrospective of a contemporary architecture studio meets a multifaceted selection of historical visions from the architectural archive (Baukunstarchiv) of the Akademie der Künste. The mutual points of reference revolve around the question of modernity, that is the critical consideration of the natural, technical and socio-cultural context of their respective times, which lie up to 100 years apart.

The credo draw, love, build describes the design philosophy according to which sauerbruch hutton has been realising sustainable and specific solutions for some 35 years. It stands for the conceptualisation of an intervention in its respective context (draw), the aim to inhabit planet earth in a sustainable way (love) and the creation of a sensually stimulating place (build).

sauerbruch hutton tracing modernities is the result of an exploration of the Baukunstarchiv, which essentially dates back to Hans Scharoun, the first post-war president of the West Berlin Academy of the Arts. Consequently, many items in the collection date from the early 20th century, the period of ‘heroic’ modernism in architecture. Carefully selected documents from this archive, compiled by Louisa Hutton, Matthias Sauerbruch and Tom Geister together with curator Dirk van den Heuvel (TU Delft), form the thematic backbone of the exhibition.

A glimpse into the archive offers a direct comparison with some of the fundamental guiding principles of diverse modernities and thus allows various continuities, affinities as well as deviations to be traced. The archive serves both as an inspiration and a point of reference.

The exhibition will be on display at the Akademie der Künste, Hanseatenweg, Berlin, from 25 October 2024 to 19 January 2025.