Museen Haus Lange und Haus Esters

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The two villas that make up Haus Lange and Haus Esters are one of the architectural highlights of New Building in Germany, and even today they give a truly impressive sense of the Bau-haus idea: the unity of space and subject, together with the interaction between spirit and craftsmanship.
In 1927, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe (1886-1969) presented his clients Hermann Lange (1874-1942) and Josef Esters (1884-1966) with an initial ground plan. Mies van der Rohe had just com-pleted his work at the Deutscher Werkbund exhibition "The Ap-partment" in Stuttgart (Weissenhof Estate); in 1929 he was to be responsible for the so-called Barcelona Pavilion, an exhi-bition space for Germany at the World Exposition in Barcelona. Haus Lange and Haus Esters assume an interim position between the rational, geometrical approach to space that Mies took with his apartment block in Stuttgart and the open space con-cept behind the Barcelona Pavilion.

In 1955 Haus Lange - followed in 1981 by Haus Esters - started to be used by the Kunstmuseen Krefeld as a contemporary art space. In 1966 Ulrich Lange (1905-1972), the son of the origi-nal client, generously donated his house to the City of Kre-feld, allowing it to became a permanent location for contempo-rary art in Krefeld.
Following a private initiative by a number of residents in Krefeld and backed by the State of North Rhine-Westphalia, the two houses underwent extensive refurbishment in 1998 and 2000.

Today works by Ludger Gerdes ("Ichs", 1989), Richard Long ("Turf Circle", 1969/70), Ulrich Rückriem ("Granite", 1985) and Richard Serra ("Eleva-tions for Mies", 1985) brighten up the small park. Also lo-cated in the lawned areas in front of the houses are works by Claes Oldenburg ("Cross-Section of a Toothbrush with Paste", 1981-1983) and David Rabinowitch ("Metrical (Romanesque) Con-structions in 5 Masses and 2 Scales VI", 1977/78). The utility yard at Haus Esters also contains the bronze "Woman" (2000) by Thomas Schütte , and Lawrence Weiner 's text "SPANNUNG GENUG / EINEN STEIN ZU HALTEN / ÜBER DEM RHEIN" (ENOUG TENSION / TO KEEP A STONE / ABOVE THE RHINE) (1985) over the entrance to the same house.
The museums Haus Lange and Haus Esters are open for temporary exhibitions. Both houses remain closed between exhibitions.