The barns and sheds are undoubtedly some of the little noticed structures in our landscape. They would have so much to tell us about good and gentle building, about sustainability and about structural aesthetics. “They are the simplest of the simple,” says the author Dieter Wieland, who once caused a sensation with his TV programs about building in the country. And yet every barn is different, “they are individuals with their own character,” says Wieland. It is very fortunate that Büro Wilhelm, a publisher from Amberg, has now dedicated an illustrated book to this touching topic (Scheunen der Oberpfalz, Büro Wilhelm Verlag, 29.90 euros). The Wilhelm office has never lacked original ideas. Wilhelm Koch, one of the heads of the publishing house, has long made a name for himself as an artistic visionary with projects such as the Amberg Air Museum, the Glyptothek Etsdorf and most recently with the equestrian statue of Angela Merkel. And 20 years ago his publisher published the documentation “Stille Örtchen der Oberpfalz”, a classic among the Bavarian illustrated books.
Koch says he’s always open to important things. And the barn project is important, “it’s the result of a meaningful futility,” he says. For him, the volume is a classic architecture book because the subject teaches you what sensible architecture can be created with modest means.
When the barns were built, whatever material was used was once used. Old roof tiles, Eternit and of course boards, the simplest building material there is, they can easily last 50 to 60 years. The barns, barns and sheds are simple, but practical. Four walls, one roof, it is practically the original home in the landscape. Dieter Wieland, who wrote the accompanying text, is fascinated by the rural imagination and the unrestrained desire to do it yourself that is expressed there. He speaks of the charm of building without a permit, without architects and without building plans, as the building code makes possible in the paragraph “Privileged building in the outdoor area”. “In the last few decades, however, we have learned to fear this rural privilege,” says Wieland. With industrial prefabricated stables and biogas plants, this rural freedom has not necessarily given the landscape a new beauty.
The barns are completely different. They tell of the intuition that grandfathers had decades ago when they were looking for a place for a barn. As inconspicuous as they may be, these barns shape the landscape, which is underlined by the atmospheric photos by the documentary artist Rudi Wilhelm. In addition, as nature usually plays along wonderfully. Almost not a single barn stands there without a tree: oaks, alders, wild cherries or even just an old elder bush. In almost all cases, shit by the birds. The trees connect the buildings harmoniously with the wide landscape. “It couldn’t be nicer,” says Wieland.
The only downer: Unfortunately, they are farewell pictures. Many of these wooden huts are no longer needed, they are falling into disrepair and are quietly dying to themselves in the shadow of industrial agriculture.