VIENNA.-Conceived as a show of works and a spatial experience, the MAK exhibition "COOP HIMMELB(L)AU. Beyond the Blue" provides an insight into the unconventional and pioneering approach of the studio.

COOP HIMMELB(L)AU's play with exorbitant spatial phantasies is reflected in the conceptual design of the MAK exhibition which comprises two different presentation levels. In the center of the show is a spatial installation developed especially for the MAK, which palpably illustrates the continuity and variety of architectural articulation in the work of COOP HIMMELB(L)AU. An oversized model table features about 170 architectural models of about 80 selected and exemplary international projects which in their totality are reminiscent of a grown urban fabric. A walkable platform-like element affords unusual perspectives, with the visitor's eye choosing freely from the entire prospect, singling out various aspects for microscopic viewing, as it were, by continually refocusing and zooming in on different details. This conceptual setup also involves a pointed lighting choreography and large-screen projected film sequences.

Around this self-contained setting developed by COOP HIMMELB(L)AU, a focused and intense selection of urban design projects provides a profound insight into the comprehensive work of the architects. Condensed materials document the career of the architectural office. The presentation includes unrealized and completed buildings as well as projects still in planning, with the focus on most recent projects such as BMW Welt, Munich (2001-2007), Musée des Confluences, Lyon (2001-2010), and the European Central Bank, Frankfurt am Main (2003-2011).

Accompanying catalogue: "COOP HIMMELB(L)AU. Beyond the Blue", edited by Peter Noever, with contributions by Jeffrey Kipnis, Sylvia Lavin and Peter Noever and with programmatic and project texts by COOP HIMMELB(L)AU, 192 pages, numerous color illustrations, Prestel Verlag, Munich, Berlin, London, New York 2007, € 39.90.