With the inauguration of the new building on January 8, 1955, the Volksbildungswerk in Marl had a modern new building at its disposal - it was Germany's first municipally owned elementary school. This made the city and the "insel" a nationwide role model. Architect Günther Marschall designed an ensemble divided into different structures, which was arranged around an inner courtyard and was in the spirit of a democratic, transparent and lively new beginning. The building, which is now a listed building and has won several awards, is an example of the spatial and architectural qualities of post-war modernism in the 1950s.

V.-Prof. dr Alexandra Apfelbaum is a freelance art and architecture historian. Since 2018 she has held the deputy professorship for history and theory of architecture and the city at the Dortmund University of Applied Sciences. She is also a co-founder
and chair of the board of the Initiative ruhrmoderne e.V. Her focus is research on the interfaces between architecture and art of the 20th century with a focus on North Rhine-Westphalia and the post-war period. She has also curated and published numerous exhibitions and publications on architects and their work.

Baukultur in Marl is organized by the Skulpturenmuseum and the Adult Education Center in cooperation with the ruhrmoderne e.V. initiative. The event takes place at 6.30 p.m. in the insel VHS (Wiesenstraße 22, 45770 Marl) in room P1 and is free of charge - please register at 02365/50356699 or www.vhs-marl.de.