In 2016, "Stuttgart Tears Itself Down" opened as an unusually compelling exhibition at the Weißenhofgalerie. Curated by Claudia Betke (+2023) with photographs by Wolfram Janzer and Wilfried Dechau, it presented landmark-protected structures and everyday buildings captured in their final moments before—and during—demolition. Yet one crucial element was missing: what came next. The exhibition showed what was lost, but not what replaced it. This second chapter remedies that gap. The time has come.

Wilfried Dechau has revisited each of those demolition sites, photographing them anew. The before-and-after pairs hang in stark silence—and speak volumes. They ask the hard questions: Was wholesale demolition truly necessary? Does what stands in its place justify what was lost?

A different path was possible—one grounded in cultural stewardship, resource conservation, and rigorous material analysis. It could have yielded far better outcomes. Yet the exhibition offers reason for hope: these works reveal that we have learned. Today, these essential questions must precede every decision to demolish.

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