'Neustadt' revives miniature versions of lost architecture

21 sculptures were en route for days on a river barge from Berlin to Duisburg, created in the studio of artists Julius von Bismarck (photo) and Marta Dyachenko. Two additional sculptures were cast in concrete on the spot. All of them represent buildings that have long since been demolished — some stood in the Ruhr region for more than a hundred years.

Flatbed trailers took the securely fastened sculptures from Duisburg's inland port to the Duisburg-Nord Landscape Park — a poetic name for an inhospitable site covered in excavation material where birches and other trees struggle to grow in a grove right next to the highway. The two artists deliberately chose the site for their "Neustadt" (New City) installation.

In addition to the modern skyscrapers and historic buildings, the installation includes three churches. This sculpture is of St. Joseph, a church built in 1904 that stood in Essen-Kupferdreh until 2015. The 20th-century cultural monument was also demolished. Today, Julius von Bismarck says, the building might not have been torn down but converted into a hotel or apartments.

The sculptures may look fragile at first glance, but they weigh tons. The mini version of St. Joseph weighs 1,800 kilograms (3968 pounds), other concrete objects weigh more than 10 tons. The artists needed a heavy-duty crane to place the mini buildings in their new location on Emscherkunstweg (the Art Route on the Emscher River) — precision work for the team and site manager every time.

An international team from Ukraine, Spain, France and Switzerland accompanied the sculptures from Berlin. On site in Duisburg, they were joined by local construction experts. Time to set up the installation was short. Bad weather meant some of the concrete foundations had to be poured in hail and rain.

The sculptures are made of various materials including steel, stainless steel, aluminum and a lot of concrete. Some of the mini skyscrapers have hallways and windows like any regular building. Cleaning silicone residue from the concrete cast still stuck to the facades and acrylic glass panes kept the team busy.

All of the buildings are reminders of an era when the industrial boom attracted tens of thousands of workers to the Ruhr region. People lived in residential towers and skyscrapers. Back then, relaxing and having a good time in water parks like the one in the city of Schwerte played an important role.

What was modern in the 1960s and 1970s is now considered outdated. Many buildings had to be renovated to remove asbestos. Some architectural gems in the Ruhr region were unsalvageable, and were demolished using explosives or simply torn down. Pleased with the "Neustadt" installation, curator Britta Peters leans on the mini version of the "House of Adult Education" that once stood in Essen.