MAßSTÄBLICH

The exhibition "Scale" presents a selection of the more than one hundred architectural models of C&A stores from the Draiflessen Collection in Mettingen, Westphalia, home to the Brenninkmeijer family and corporate collection.

The selection of models and photographs in the exhibition illustrates how the architecture of department stores has changed over the decades, how it has shaped city centers, but also adapted to urban development conditions. Historical photographs of the first C&A stores, built before the Second World War, provide an introduction to the history. Most of them were designed by the Nattler architectural firm in Essen, formerly E. A. Gärtner/Ric Stiens. Over the decades of collaboration between C&A and the Essen firm, over 170 department stores have been planned and built since the 1950s. These have been remodeled several times to date, and some have already been converted or demolished.

The models presented in the exhibition date mostly from the 1970s to the 1990s. Photographs by Hans Georg Esch, commissioned for the exhibition and the catalogue, transport the models into contemporary reality.

Opening: 2.7.2025, 7 pm
Speakers:
Dr. Corinna Otto, Draiflessen Collection, Mettingen
Nicola Borgmann, Architekturgalerie München