Progressive Design for a Progressive Journal: Verner Panton's Interiors for the Spiegel Building in Hamburg

Abstract

In the 1960s, the weekly journal Der Spiegel was one of the most influential and progressive political periodicals in Germany. Under the leadership of Rudolf Augstein, the publisher, Der Spiegel was able to dominate weekly journalism with its exposés, which led to the downfall of many a political career. In 1967 the philosopher Karl Jaspers wrote: “If we imagine an existence without the Spiegel, the truth in Germany would be far poorer and far less powerful.”1 The Spiegel publishing company was and is still located in the Hanseatic city of Hamburg. In the mid-1960s, the publisher decided to amalgamate its offices, which had been distributed across the city, in one central structure. To this end, a multistory building—then under construction—was rented in the south of Hamburg’s old town. The wellknown architectural firm of Kallmorgen & Partner had designed the building in 1963 (Fig. 1).2 The ground plan consists of two equal-sized, interlocking rectangles, which are positioned together. Thus, a fixed core is produced, in which the four elevators and the two stairwells are situated. A two-story pavilion is located on the north side of the main building. The two buildings are connected via a corridor at ground level. The pavilion is composed of four rectangular segments set back progressively from one another. As a result of the position of the pavilion in front of the main building, a small internal courtyard, sheltered from the road, is created in which the entrance is located. The Spiegel building is constructed on a reinforced concrete frame. Peculiar to the design, this structure is visible on the exterior: the weight-bearing frame and the recessed glass façade are noticeably independent of each other. The architect, Werner Kallmorgen’s colleague Helmut Dierks, selected a construction grid with dimensions alternating between 85 and 170 cm (331⁄2 and 67 in.) between the axes. These dimensions were advantageous in that they allowed a flexible division of interior space; when construction began, the future tenants had not yet presented themselves. Because of the external structure, narrow, gallery-