"I am only interested in construction tasks with social relevance!"
Interview with Jan Hinnerk Meyer, Managing Director of Meyer Architekten GmbH
For many decades, Meyer Architekten GmbH from Düsseldorf has been involved in the construction of laboratory buildings, educational institutions, and cultural sites. Owner Jan Hinnerk Meyer could not imagine working in any other field and is motivated by a strong cultural and civic commitment, as is his team. His current food for thought: a new home for the German Photography Institute in the former Düsseldorf Opera.
"I am exclusively interested in construction tasks with high social relevance," summarizes Düsseldorf architect Jan Hinnerk Meyer about the approach of his office, which he has been leading for 20 years now in its 3rd generation, having taken over from his father in 2005. Even then, the focus of the work was on the design of laboratory buildings - "where each object is unique," Jan Hinnerk Meyer sums up the special challenges: "By now, we have completed projects for the Max Planck Society as well as for the Helmholtz Association and Fraunhofer Society, and we have also committed ourselves to the construction of schools and universities alongside the preliminary educational work, which is the indispensable prerequisite for being able to research with high quality in Germany: Because if we lose that, we are sawing off the branch on which we as a society sit."
A Home for the German Photography Institute in Düsseldorf
Equally important to the architect are his influential contributions to cultural life, during which he has participated in the design of theaters and opera houses — extending far beyond his entrepreneurial commitment. Recently, he engaged in the public discussion about the Düsseldorf Opera, which, unless a possible public referendum dictates otherwise, is to be rebuilt at another location in the city, allowing the existing building at a particularly prominent urban site to be repurposed. Jan Hinnerk Meyer can particularly envisage a new home for the German Photography Institute there — a project initiated by a citizens' movement that aims to create a place where artistic estates in the photography metropolis of Düsseldorf can be archived, and where photographic art can be worked on and researched. 'I understand that other issues such as the construction of schools and public infrastructure are important – but it is the task of political decision-makers and administration to also see things in an appropriate parallelity. Because only if I know and can live my own culture, can I meet other cultures with due openness,' emphasizes Jan Hinnerk Meyer his core attitude, and against this backdrop, he has set another ambitious goal for the future: 'With police headquarters and courts of justice, we have already engaged ourselves with the executive and judiciary: What remains is a project for the legislative power!'