Der Spiegel, IBM Campus, Quelle Versand

The three-part series captures the deserted tower blocks that formerly housed Der Spiegel, Germany’s renowned organ of investigative journalism, the old IBM Germany offices in Vaihingen, Stuttgart and the HQ of the now-defunct mail order firm Quelle in Nuremberg. Formerly home to business enterprises that played a significant role in shaping the economic, cultural and political landscape of postwar Germany, these vacated headquartes are also notable examples of German modernist architecture. In a fragile state of limbo—released from their previous roles and now bereft of purpose, they remain charged with the real or imagined memories of an era in recent German history, the traces of which we involuntarily seem to find in Gehrke’s stark images.