AEG Turbinenhalle

AEG Turbine Hall

Forerunner of modern industrial design

Description

The AEG Turbine Hall - a turbine production factory built in 1909 for the German electronic giant "AEG" - is deemed to be one of the most revolutionary architectural constructions of the early twentieth century. With its visible steel supports and enormous glass windows, the factory celebrates its function as an industrial workplace rather than hiding behind a mock neo-baroque facade. The huge steel building was designed by architect Peter Behrens (1868-1940), who is credited as being the forefather of modern industrial design. Behrens designed numerous other classic buildings, but the AEG Turbine Hall is regarded as his most important work. Behrens worked on the design of the building together with other influential turn-of-the-century architects such as Walter Gropius and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, designer of the Neue Nationalgalerie.