275 centimetres high, 113 centimetres wide, 162 centimetres deep: the dimensions of Thomas Schütte’s ‘One Man House V’ hardly suggest a compact tabletop model. The work, made in 2005, consists of wood and mixed media; the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen is already featuring it in the press material for its forthcoming exhibition. A house for one person, taller than a human being, yet with a footprint scarcely large enough for a room: these proportions alone unsettle our ideas about living spaces.
From 14 November 2026 to 11 April 2027, K21 in Düsseldorf will offer an opportunity to explore the social questions embedded in such designs. ‘Thomas Schütte’ opens on 13 November, from 7pm to 10pm. Alongside the large-scale sculptures ‘Vater Staat’ (Father State) and ‘Mutter Erde’ (Mother Earth), the institution promises a comprehensive overview of the architectural models. The exhibition is being developed in close collaboration with the artist. Its particular appeal may lie in asking not only about the image of the human figure, but also about the spaces in which people live.
Retreat with a View
A model offers a curious perspective: we look at a possible building from the outside, survey its boundaries and, at the same time, imagine ourselves living inside it. With a title such as ‘One Man House’, this becomes a social question. Is a house for a single person a sanctuary, a luxury or a form of isolation? Anyone wishing to examine community must also consider its counterpart: the person who remains alone, or wishes to do so.
That such questions are not confined to miniatures is demonstrated by a realised design from the series in Heilbronn. At the tip of an island in the Neckar stands a red building with a large circular window; its interior is clad in larch. The Städtische Museen describe it as a place of retreat. The window is crucial to one possible reading: the shell separates inside from outside, while the opening reconnects them. Here, at least in spatial terms, retreat does not mean shutting out the world entirely.
This built example forms part of the background to the Düsseldorf exhibition; that does not mean it has been announced as part of the display. It does, however, sharpen a question we might ask of the models: how much of the outside world does a sheltered space need? And when does self-determination become seclusion?
From the Individual House to Shared Space
Architecture is no mere sideline to sculpture in Schütte’s work. The MoMA retrospective of 2024/25 already placed models and completed buildings alongside sculptures, ceramics and watercolours. When looking across art history and architecture, an important distinction needs to be made: an artist’s model of a house need neither prepare the ground for a building commission nor offer a practical housing solution. It can put a spatial idea up for discussion without presenting it as a prescription.
Conversely, models can indeed become places for shared use. The Skulpturenhalle of the Thomas Schütte Stiftung in Neuss grew out of just such a design. Timber slats articulate its external concrete wall, above which sits a curved roof with a generous overhang. Inside is an exhibition space, with storage below. What is organised here is not an individual’s living space, but the storage and public display of art.
The conceptual space of this preview thus opens up between the individual house and the exhibition hall. Community does not necessarily take the form of a large gathering. It also begins with decisions about who is allowed in, what remains visible and which boundary offers protection. Whether and how the presentation at K21 makes these tensions tangible remains to be seen. The models invite close attention: not as fully formed blueprints for society, but as houses against which ideas about living together can be tested.
Original reviewed by the editors · 31 October 2026
