Braunschweig mourns the loss of architecture pioneer Kristin Feiss-Commerell

Braunschweig mourns the loss of architecture pioneer Kristin Feiss-Commerell

Braunschweig, Deutschland - The Technical University of Braunschweig mourns the loss of her honorary doctor Kristin Feissi-Commerell, who died on May 19, 2025. With her work, she shaped the architectural discourse in Germany and internationally for decades. Feiss-Commerell was an outstanding architectural curator, author and editor who always campaigned for the mediation between architecture, public and science. Her career began studying history and philosophy at the Johann Wolfgang Goethe University in Frankfurt.

In 1980, together with Helga Retzer, she founded the AEDES architectural gallery in Berlin, which is the first private architecture gallery in Europe. Under her leadership, Aedes developed into a worldwide forum for architecture that made national and international architectural trends visible. The gallery still offers exhibitions and debates with renowned personalities today. Her visionary work also included the management of the Nederland Architectuur Instituut in Rotterdam, where she dealt intensively with urban transformation processes.

a life for architecture

Kristin Feiss-Commerell not only committed herself in a practical way, but also as a guest lecturer, juror and author for interdisciplinary debates on architecture and urban development. She focused on the dialogue between actors from architecture, politics, culture and science. Her honorary doctorate from the Technical University of Braunschweig in 2007 distinguished her performance for decades as a bridge builder of architectural research and the public.

Your commitment was recognized by numerous honors, including the Fritz Schumacher Prize. Feiss-Commerell was an advocate of openness, independence and intellectual curiosity. This was also reflected in their publications, which dealt with the relationship between people and architecture as well as urban habitats. Works such as "Blank. Architecture, Apartheid and After" and "Architecture in Times of Need" underline their extensive research and critical view of current social challenges.

architecture in the social context

In the past three decades, architecture has increasingly gained social attention. These developments are characterized by changed architectural styles and the economic and cultural transformation of cities. Architecture is used strategically today to create city brands and shape social spaces. However, this instrumentalization also has socially selective effects that certain groups can marginalize. Social inclusion and exclusion processes are part of the current discourse, whereby architects and urban builders are required to find solutions that reduce barriers instead of creating new ones.

FeissiS-Commerell's vision, architecture and city as important factors of everyday life in the awareness of a broader public remains central to the architectural discourse. Your work and initiatives, such as the Aedes Campus Network Berlin, promote the exchange between students and teachers and set the foundations for future -oriented architectural mediation.

Kristin Feiss-Commerell leaves a significant legacy that will continue to serve as a model for the academic world and everyone who is interested in architecture and urban development.