Sixty years of architecture: Retrospect and outlook with Peter Haimerl

Our understanding of architecture has changed significantly over the past six decades. In particular, technologies and construction types have continued to develop. Detail has documented this development over time. On the occasion of our 60th anniversary, we review the past and look into the future with Peter Haimerl.


What is the legacy of the 1960s? 

Surprisingly, the 1960s had relatively little impact on architecture. The modernist structures of the postwar era had already broken with tradition. A vestige of the general liberation from conventions and commerce can be seen only in the back-to-nature movement of the 1980s. 

Where will architecture be 60 years from now? 

It’s hard to say. Certainly, the trend towards shifting interior spaces from analog to digital worlds will be unstoppable. Sixty years from now, maybe we’ll be spending half our time in digital spaces. One thing is sure: the change will be greater than we can imagine.

When did you first encounter Detail? 

During my studies at the Munich University of Applied Sciences. International fellow-students told me that Detail was the only architecture magazine that was read around the world and that stood for the quality of German architecture.