The Goetheanum, located in Dornach, in the

canton of Solothurn The canton of Solothurn or canton of Soleure (; ; ; ) is a Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Switzerland. It is located in the northwest of Switzerland. The capital is Solothurn. History The village of ''Salodurum'' was founded in the time of t ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, is the world center for the anthroposophical movement. The term refers to two structures, the first was in use 1919 to 1922 and destroyed by fire; the second was completed in 1928 and is in use since. The building was designed by

Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (; 27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century ...

and named after

Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Johann Wolfgang (von) Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German polymath who is widely regarded as the most influential writer in the German language. His work has had a wide-ranging influence on Western literature, literary, Polit ...

. It includes two performance halls (1500 seats), gallery and lecture spaces, a library, a bookstore, and administrative spaces for the Anthroposophical Society; neighboring buildings house the society's research and educational facilities. Conferences focusing on themes of general interest or directed toward teachers, farmers, doctors, therapists, and other professionals are held at the center throughout the year. The Goetheanum is open for visitors seven days a week and offers tours several times daily.

First Goetheanum

The First Goetheanum, a timber and concrete structure designed by

,Patrice Goulet, "Les Temps Modernes?", ''L'Architecture D'Aujourd'hui'', Dec. 1982, pp. 8-17. was one of seventeen buildings Steiner designed between 1908 and 1925.David Adams, "Rudolf Steiner's First Goetheanum as an Illustration of Organic Functionalism", ''The Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians'', 51(2), 182–204, June 1992
Abstract
/ref> It was intended as a ''

Gesamtkunstwerk A ''Gesamtkunstwerk'' (, 'total work of art', 'ideal work of art', 'universal artwork', 'synthesis of the arts', 'comprehensive artwork', or 'all-embracing art form') is a work of art that makes use of all or many art forms or strives to do so. ...

'' (the synthesis of diverse artistic media and sensory effects) infused with spiritual significance. Begun in 1913 to house the annual summer theater events of the Anthroposophical Society,Beate Steinberg, ''Sculptural Architecture: Rudolf Steiner's Goetheanum at Dornach, from wood to concrete'', Master's thesis, California State University, 1976, AAT 1308149. it rapidly became the center of a small colony of spiritual seekers located in Dornach and based around Steiner.Anna Sokolina, ed., co-author, ''Architecture and Anthroposophy'', "Part One: Origins", "Part Two: New Impulses", 1st and 2nd edition, M: KMK, 2001, 2010. 268p. 348 ills. 2001 , 2010 . Numerous visual artists contributed to the building: architects created the unusual double-dome wooden structure over a curving concrete base, stained glass windows added color into the space, painters decorated the ceiling with motifs depicting the whole of human evolution, and sculptors carved huge column bases, capitals, and architraves with images of metamorphoses. Already during the construction, musicians, actors, and movement artists began performing a wide variety of pieces in a neighboring workshop. When the Goetheanum hall was completed, in 1919, these performances moved onto the stage located under the Goetheanum's smaller cupola. The auditorium was located under the larger cupola. The building was opened on September 26, 1920.Paull, John (2020)
The First Goetheanum: A Centenary for Organic Architecture
Journal of Fine Arts. 3 (2): 1-11 This building was destroyed by

fire Fire is the rapid oxidation of a fuel in the exothermic chemical process of combustion, releasing heat, light, and various reaction Product (chemistry), products. Flames, the most visible portion of the fire, are produced in the combustion re ...

on New Year's Eve, December 31, 1922 – January 1, 1923, and some claim by

arson Arson is the act of willfully and deliberately setting fire to or charring property. Although the act of arson typically involves buildings, the term can also refer to the intentional burning of other things, such as motor vehicles, watercr ...

,Bernadette (Becky) Schwarz, ''A Study of Rudolf Steiner's First Goetheanum'', M.A. thesis, Michigan State University, 1983. but that is not proven.

Second Goetheanum

In the course of 1923, Steiner designed a building to replace the original. This building, now known as the Second Goetheanum, was built wholly of cast

concrete Concrete is a composite material composed of aggregate bound together with a fluid cement that cures to a solid over time. It is the second-most-used substance (after water), the most–widely used building material, and the most-manufactur ...

. Begun in 1924, the building was not completed until 1928, after the architect's death. It represents a pioneering use of visible concrete in architecture and has been granted protected status as a Swiss national monument. Art critic Michael Brennan has called the building a "true masterpiece of 20th-century expressionist architecture".Michael Brennan
Rudolf Steiner
artnet Magazine 3/18/98 The present Goetheanum houses a 1000-seat auditorium, now the center of an active artistic community incorporating performances of its in-house theater and eurythmy troupes as well as visiting performers from around the world. Full remodelings of the central auditorium took place in the mid-1950s and again in the late 1990s. The stained glass windows in the present building date from Steiner's time; the painted ceiling and sculptural columns are contemporary replications or reinterpretations of those in the First Goetheanum. In a dedicated gallery, the building also houses a nine-meter-high wooden sculpture, ''The Representative of Humanity'', by Edith Maryon and

.Paull, John (2018
A Portrait of Edith Maryon: Artist and Anthroposophist
Journal of Fine Arts, 1(2):8-15.

Architectural principles

Steiner's architecture is characterized by a liberation from traditional architectural constraints, especially through the departure from the right-angle as a basis for the building plan. For the first Goetheanum he achieved this in wood by employing boat builders to construct its rounded forms; for the second Goetheanum by using concrete to achieve sculptural shapes on an architectural scale. The use of concrete to achieve organically expressive forms was an innovation for the times; in both buildings, Steiner sought to create forms that were spiritually expressive. Steiner suggested that he had derived the sculptural forms of the first Goetheanum from spiritual inspirations. Architects who have visited and praised the Goetheanum's architecture include Henry van de Velde,

Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...

Hans Scharoun Bernhard Hans Henry Scharoun (; 20 September 1893 – 25 November 1972) was a German architect best known for designing the (home to the Berlin Philharmonic) and the Schminke House in Löbau, Saxony. He was an important exponent of Organic arc ...

, and

Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry ( ; ; born February 28, 1929) is a Canadian-American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become attractions. Gehry rose to prominence in th ...

.Reinhold Johann Fäth
''Rudolf Steiner Design – Spiritueller Funktionalismus Kunst''
Diss. University of Konstanz (2004)
as PDF
) Steiner designed approximately 12-13 other built structures, including both institutional structures and residences in and around Dornach.Werner Blaser, ''Nature in Buildings: Rudolf Steiner in Dornach 1913-1925'',

References

External links

*

* ttp://www.rsarchive.org/Architecture/ Architecture Section at the Rudolf Steiner Archive, An Online Librarybr>Architecture and Anthroposophy. (Arkhitektura i Antroposofiia. bilingual ed.)
Anna Sokolina, ed., co-author. 1st and 2nd edition. 268p. M.: KMK Scientific Press. 2001, . 2010, . Official book website. *Ákos Moravánszky
"The Rudolf Steiner Goetheanum: An architecture report from Dornach"
''Domus'', February 2011 {{Authority control Buildings and structures in the canton of Solothurn Monuments and memorials in Switzerland Expressionist architecture Organic architecture Architecture in Switzerland Buildings and structures completed in 1919 Buildings and structures completed in 1928 Rudolf Steiner Johann Wolfgang von Goethe Anthroposophy Tourist attractions in the canton of Solothurn Articles containing video clips Art Nouveau architecture in Switzerland Art Nouveau theatres 20th-century architecture in Switzerland