Sep Ruf is one of the most important German architects, some of his buildings being among the main works of architecture in the 20th century. In 1971 Nikolaus Pevsner praised the combination of historic substance and modern construction of Sep Ruf’s Neue Maxburg in Munich (1952 - 57) as "an outstanding example of how well a modern building can harmonize with an important architectural monument of the past".

Ruf’s transparent academy building in Nuremberg is one of the most beautiful structures of the postwar period, the German Pavilion of the World Expo in Brussels in 1958 (with Egon Eiermann) received international acclaim as an architectural expression of a new democratic Germany, and his design of the official Chancellor’s bungalow in Bonn (1963 - 64) became a symbol of the Bonn Republic, presenting itself in a modern and cosmopolitan style. Although the glass pavilion, which accommodated almost every German chancellor from Ludwig Erhard to Helmut Kohl and received their visitors, had sparked a debate about an adequate representation of the Federal Republic, it ultimately played a major role in the understanding of modern architecture with a majority of the population.

These extraordinary achievements have not been sufficiently recognised so far, the last publication on Ruf’s works dating back almost 25 years. To mark the centenary of his birth, the Architekturmuseum der TU München is showing the works of this excellent architect together with an accompanying publication that for the first time gives an extensive and analytical documentation.