The following foreword by the university president Hans-Hennig von Grünberg and the chronology of the building are taken from the brochure published in 2013 on the occasion of the exhibition "Vision and Perspective - Krefeld Building Culture by Bernhard Pfau".

Dear visitors,

I can only welcome the fact that we, as the Hochschule Niederrhein, are once dealing with the architect who built the building ensemble on the Frankenring. Bernhard Pfau not only built the former School of Textile Engineering, which now houses the Faculty of Design, but also the adjacent German North-West Textile Research Centre (DTNW). In this context, it is more than a side note that last year we succeeded in tying the DTNW back to the Hochschule Niederrhein as an affiliated institute. The campus designed by Bernhard Pfau is thus complete again.

What does it mean for a university, for a Faculty of Design, when it or he is housed in a building that is almost 60 years old, which at the time created "the nimbus of innovation" for the city of Krefeld through its modernity, as the architect Marcus Wrede recently put it in his lecture on Bernhard Pfau? I will say it in a few words: the chance to be different; to draw strength from living in a building that even then did not correspond to the spirit of the times; to risk something new, not to submit to passing trends, to think independently, to overcome boundaries of whatever kind.

All of this constitutes creativity, all of this also constitutes our Faculty of Design - and it naturally and first and foremost constitutes the work of Bernhard Pfau. Today, almost 60 years after the construction of the "UFO," as the forward-projecting main auditorium is popularly known in Krefeld, we would do well to take an in-depth look at its builder. He left us far more than just an - admittedly impressive - building.

Your Hans-Hennig von Grünberg

President of The Hochschule Niederrhein

1945-1946 After the renaming of the Higher Technical School for Textile Industry to "Textile Engineering School". In 1945, the resumption of school operations is approved by the military government one year later. Classes are held in the Adlerstraße.

1949 The former School of Crafts and Applied Arts is given a new concept and reopened as the "Werkkunstschule" on Petersstrasse.

1951 Instead of rebuilding the weaving school on Lewerentzstrasse, which had been badly damaged in the war, it is decided to build a new building on Frankenring. The first construction phase is the planned shed hall by architect Lorscheidt. The topping-out ceremony takes place in November. In October, Bernhard Pfau wins the design competition for the main building.

1952-1954 Construction of the second phase begins: connecting Shedhalle, Haager Weg and head building. Completion takes place in the two following years.
Meanwhile, classes are held in the Shedhalle.

1955 100th anniversary of the Textile Engineering School and start of construction of the main auditorium. The press reacts with critical concerns after an initial site inspection of the main building in January 1955, which is conducted in Bernhard Pfau's absence. Pfau responds with a detailed statement.

1957-1958 In March 1957, the shell of the main auditorium is completed. The outer wall is clad with anodized aluminum panels by specialists from Berlin. In September, the main auditorium is ready for occupancy. At the same time, the landscaping of the campus begins.

1963 The School of Textile Engineering is renamed the "School of Textile Engineering". In June 1963, the Main and Finance Committee awards the planning contract for the still missing wing of the TIS main building. It is planned in a reduced length of 22 instead of 42 meters.

1965 The name is changed again to "The State School of Textile Engineering".
In November 1965, the school is transferred to the state of NRW.

1971 Dissolution of the State School of Engineering for Textiles and the Werkkunstschule and simultaneous founding of the University of Applied Sciences Niederrhein in August 1971.

1974 Renovation of the garden facade of the Frankenring wing. In the process, the vertical structure and façade cross-section are destroyed.

1992 Entry in the list of monuments of the city of Krefeld on January 31, 1992 due to the idealistic significance of the building and its design idea for the history of the Krefeld textile industry and its educational institutions.

1996-2006 Further renovation measures due to changing fire protection regulations, desired barrier-free accessibility or for energy reasons. These included, among other things, the replacement of the steel-glass wall between the foyer and the former exhibition hall (now the refectory), the escape staircase of the main auditorium, and the complete renovation of the garden facades on the shed annex and on Hagerweg.

2006 The Hochschule Niederrhein gives up the campus of the former Werkkunstschule on Petersstraße. From now on, the Faculty of Design is located at Frankenring with all its faculties.

since 2012 Bernhard Pfau's second building, the Deutsches Textilforschungszentrum Nord-West e.V. DTNW, becomes part of the Hochschule Niederrhein. Long-awaited plans for a renovation of the building at Frankenring 20 in line with historic preservation and energy standards become more concrete.

2013 Prof. Nicolas Beucker and Christiane Lange, together with a team of students, design the exhibition "Vision and Perspectives" at Frankenring in the building itself, which focuses on the history and future of the building. These texts are taken from the supplement to the exhibition.

2016 The renovation of the garden facade is completed. The renovation and remodeling of the second Pfau building, the Textile Research Center, is almost complete.