A most unusual architect

An exhibition on view at the AA School of Architecture celebrates the legendary West Berlin architect of the 1960s presenting five projects through his drawings.

Ludwig Leo, Circulation Tank 2 (1967-74), Berlin. Photo Wilfried Roder-Humpert
“Ludwig Leo: a most unusual architect” is how Peter Cook, inspired by seeing the recently completed pink and blue Umlauftank (circulation tank) and the triangular DLRG headquarters in Berlin, entitled his 1975 article about Ludwig Leo.
“The buildings are so original and so expertly achieved” he said, “that in the long run, they MUST be exposed, they MUST be talked about, for there is so much crap around.”
“Ludwig Leo: a most unusual architect”, view of the exhibition
Top: Ludwig Leo, Circulation Tank 2 (1967-74), Berlin. Photo Wilfried Roder-Humpert. Above: “Ludwig Leo: a most unusual architect”, view of the exhibition

This never happened. Leo never built another building and he did not wish to talk about his past achievements. Forty years after Cook’s text, this exhibition is the first dedicated to this legendary West Berlin architect of the 1960s, who died in 2012.

Presented, through Leo’s remarkable drawings, are five projects: the Umlauftank, the DLRG headquarters, a brutalist sports hall and two unbuilt experimental schools. The film DLRG animates Leo’s drawings and shows how this unique lifeguard and boathouse building was originally used.



until June 6, 2015
Ludwig Leo: A most unusual architect
curated by Antje Buchholz, Jack Burnett-Stuart, Gregor Harbusch, Michael von Matuschka and Jargen Patzak-Poor
Architectural Association School of Architecture
36 Bedford Square, London

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