From Department Store to 'Stadtgalerie': Buildings for Retail Trade

Walter Brune, one of Germany's leading architects with unrivalled experience in retail real estate, deeply influenced architecture in this area over the second half of the 20th century. An advocate for the preservation of lively inner-city environments and a critic of oversized, non-integrated shopping centres, he sought to keep or introduce compatible, human-scale, city-centre shopping zones. One example of this work is the Ko-Galerie in Dusseldorf, an exemplary expression of a multifacility shopping centre. This volume presents Walter Brune's most important retail buildings and their stimulating influence on inner-city life.