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Egon Eiermann

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Egon Eiermann on a German stamp

Egon Eiermann (29 September 1904 – 19 July 1970[1]) was one of Germany's most prominent architects in the second half of the 20th century. He was also a furniture designer. From 1947, he was Professor for architecture at Technische Hochschule Karlsruhe (today Karlsruhe Institute of Technology).

Biography

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Eiermann was born in Neuendorf bei Potsdam [de] (now part of Babelsberg, Potsdam), the son of Wilhelm Eiermann (1874–1948), a locomotive engineer and his wife Emma Gellhorn (1875–1959).[2][3] He archived his Abitur at the Althoff-Gymnasium[3] and studied architecture at Technische Universität Berlin.[1] From 1925 to 1928, he was master student of Hans Poelzig.[4] After graduating in 1928, he gained professional experience in the construction departments of Karstadt AG in Hamburg and the Berlin electricity works (Bewag (Berlin) [de]).[3] From 1931 to 1945, he was an independent architect in Berlin and initially planned residential buildings.[2][5] Before World War II he had an office with fellow architect Fritz Jaenecke [de]. During the Nazi era, he mainly created industrial architecture.[6] In 1945, he escaped to Buchen in West Germany, the birthplace of the father.[7] From 1946 to 1965, he had a shared office with Robert Hilgers.[2] In 1948, the office was relocated to Karlsruhe.[3] He joined the faculty of the Technische Hochschule Karlsruhe in 1947,[4][8] working there on developing steel frame construction methods. Students were Oswald Mathias Ungers and Julia Bolles-Wilson [de].[9][10][11] During a study trip to the United States in 1950, he met Walter Gropius, Marcel Breuer and Konrad Wachsmann in Boston, and in 1956 also Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.[2] In 1967, Eiermann chaired the jury in the architectural competition for the Olympic Park in Munich.[a][13]

Personal life

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In 1940, he married in Berlin interior designer Charlotte, née Friedheim (1912–2001) and in 1954 in Berlin architect Brigitte, née Feyerabendt (1924–2019). He had two children: with his first wife Andreas (born 1942), from his second marriage Anna (born 1956).[3]

He died in Baden-Baden, aged 65.[14] He is buried at the Buchen Cemetery.[7]

Works

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During the years of reconstruction, his steel-frame industrial buildings became exemplary.[5] The buildings are transparent, inviting, democratic, making order visible.[15]

A functionalist, his major works include: the textile mill at Blumberg (1951);[16] the West German pavilion at the Brussels World's Fair (with Sep Ruf, 1958);[b][8] the Embassy of Germany, Washington, D.C. (1958–1964);[8] the highrise Langer Eugen for the German Parliament in Bonn (1965–1969); the IBM-Germany Headquarters in Stuttgart (1967–1972);[14] and, the Olivetti building in Frankfurt (1968–1972). By far his most famous work is the new church on the site of the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church in Berlin (1959–1963).

The sets of the 1926 film The Pink Diamond were designed by Eiermann.[17][3]

Source:[2]

  • 1929–1930 Substation of the Berliner Elektrizitätswerke AG, Berlin-Steglitz
  • 1931–1933 Hesse residential building, Berlin-Lankwitz
  • 1936–1937 Steingroever residential building, Berlin-Grunewald
  • 1938 factory building and boiler house of the Degea-AG-Auergesellschaft, Berlin-Wedding
  • 1938–1939 expansion and conversion of the Total-Werke Foerstner & Co, Apolda
  • 1939–1941 factory buildings of Märkische Metallbau GmbH, Oranienburg
  • 1948–1950 administration and factory building of Ciba AG, Wehr/Baden
  • 1949–1950 handkerchief weaving mill/spinning mill, Blumberg/Black Forest
  • 1950–1953 administration building of the United Silk Weaving Works, Krefeld
  • 1951–1956 experimental power plant of TU Karlsruhe[18]
  • 1953 St. Matthew Church, Pforzheim[19]
  • 1953–1954 Burda Moden publishing house, Offenburg
  • 1954–1961 residential building, Interbau, Hansaviertel, Berlin-Tiergarten
  • 1955–1957 Volkshilfe administration building, Cologne
  • 1956–1958 German Pavilion, World Exhibition in Brussels (with Sep Ruf, exterior planning by Walter Rossow)
  • 1956–1960 administration building of Steinkohlebergwerke AG, Essen
  • 1957–1963 Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, Berlin-Charlottenburg[20][21][22]
  • 1958–1961 Head office of Neckermann Versand KG, Frankfurt am Main
  • 1958–1961 administration building of the steel structure Gustav Müller, Offenburg
  • 1958–1964 Chancellery building of the German Embassy, Washington[23][24][25]
  • 1959–1962 Eiermann house, Baden-Baden[26]
  • 1961–1967 buildings for the DEA-Scholven GmbH refinery, Karlsruhe[27]
  • 1965–1969 high-rise building for members of the German Bundestag, Bonn[28]
  • 1967–1972 Administration and training center of Deutsche Olivetti, Frankfurt am Main,[29]
  • 1967–1972 IBM headquarters, Stuttgart-Vaihingen (Eiermann-Campus [de])[30]

Design

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From 1949, the first functional and serially produced seating furniture made of wood and tubular steel was created in cooperation with the Esslingen company Wilde + Spieth [de].[36]

Source:[2][37]

  • 1950 SE 68 tubular steel chair
  • 1952 E 10 wicker chair
  • 1952–1953 SE 18 wooden folding chair
  • 1953 table frame Eiermann 1
  • 1960–1961 Church seat SE 121
  • 1965 table frame Eiermann 2

Awards

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Map
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50m
55yds
Egon-Eiermann-Allee
Egon-Eiermann-Allee, Karlsruhe
Map
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Maps: terms of use
100m
110yds
Egon-Eiermann lecture hall
Egon-Eiermann lecture hall (KIT)

Source:[2]

In 1997, the Egon Eiermann Society was founded in Karlsruhe.[38] In 2004, the Bundespost honored Eiermann with a special postage stamp.[3] In Karlsruhe, Egon-Eiermann-Allee (49°02′12″N 8°20′56″E / 49.03677°N 8.34895°E / 49.03677; 8.34895) was named after him in 2009.[14] One of the lecture halls in the architectural building (49°00′40″N 8°24′40″E / 49.01115°N 8.41107°E / 49.01115; 8.41107) of the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology bears his name.[39] The Egon Eiermann Award [de] is an international ideas competition in architecture.[40]

Memberships

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Source:[2]

Notes

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  1. ^ Behnisch and Partners & Frei Otto won the competition with a characteristic tent roof.[12]
  2. ^ A pavilion group consisting of eight elegant, transparent glass cubes was created.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Egon Eiermann Tables and Chairs". Einrichten Design (in German). 29 September 1904. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h "Eiermann". Akademie der Künste, Berlin (in German). Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g "Eiermann Egon Fritz". LEO-BW (in German). Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  4. ^ a b Jouini, Saoussen (12 June 2021). "Architektur – Fakultät – Über uns – Geschichte". KIT (in German). Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  5. ^ a b c "Eiermann, Egon". Architekturguide Krefeld (in German). 11 March 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  6. ^ a b c "Vor 50 Jahren starb der Architekt und Designer Egon Eiermann". domradio.de (in German). 19 July 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  7. ^ a b "Persönlichkeiten". Stadt Buchen (Odenwald) (in German). Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  8. ^ a b c "Egon Eiermann". Biografie WHO'S WHO (in German). Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  9. ^ "Liebe zur Geometrie". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). 4 October 2007. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Ausstellung Januar 2018". UAA (in German). 9 February 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Portrait: Julia Bolles-Wilson und Peter Wilson, Team und Paar". FAZ.NET (in German). 26 April 2001. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  12. ^ "AD Classics: Olympiastadion (Munich Olympic Stadium) / Behnisch and Partners & Frei Otto". ArchDaily. 11 February 2011. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  13. ^ Kubitza, Michael (21 February 2018). "Vier Jahrzehnte Olympiapark: Mona Lisas rote Augen". BR.de (in German). Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  14. ^ a b c "Egon Eiermann – Stadtlexikon". Stadtlexikon Karlsruhe (in German). 27 February 2022. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  15. ^ Biesler, Jörg (14 July 2020). "19.07.1970 – Todestag des Architekten Egon Eiermann". WDR (in German). Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  16. ^ "Deutsche BauZeitschrift". Deutsche BauZeitschrift (in German). 19 November 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  17. ^ "Murnau Stiftung". Murnau Stiftung (in German). Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  18. ^ "Egon Eiermann Versuchskraftwerk". Karlsruhe Erleben (in German). 31 December 2021. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  19. ^ Gerbing, Chris (2013). Leuchtende Wände in Beton: die Matthäuskirche Pforzheim (1951–1953) von Egon Eiermann: ihre Vorbilder, ihre Vorbildfunktion (in German). Regensburg: Schnell & Steiner. ISBN 978-3-7954-2704-7. OCLC 854991909.
  20. ^ "Die neue Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche". Evangelische Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirchengemeinde Berlin (in German). Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  21. ^ Hoff, Sigrid (15 December 2021). "Vor 60 Jahren wurde der Neubau der Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche geweiht". rbb24 (in German). Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  22. ^ Kappel, Kai (2011). Egon Eiermann: Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtnis-Kirche Berlin, 1961-2011 (in German). Lindenberg im Allgäu: Kunstverlag Josef Fink. ISBN 978-3-89870-677-3. OCLC 761844798.
  23. ^ Boyken, Immo (2004). Egon Eiermann: German embassy, Washington (in German). Stuttgart: Axel Menges. ISBN 978-3-930698-54-7. OCLC 56616948.
  24. ^ "Deutsche Botschaft Washington – Kanzlei". BBR (in German). 30 June 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  25. ^ "German Embassy, Washington". Arup. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  26. ^ Kabierske, Gerhard (2021). Egon Eiermann: haus eiermann, baden-baden (in German). S.l: Edition Axel Menges. ISBN 978-3-932565-87-8. OCLC 1256628297.
  27. ^ Plate, Ulrike (11 March 2014). "Funktionale Ästhetik am Rhein. Das Verwaltungsgebäude der DEA-Scholven-Raffinerie in Karlsruhe". Denkmalpflege in Baden-Württemberg – Nachrichtenblatt der Landesdenkmalpflege (in German). 29 (4): 261–263. doi:10.11588/nbdpfbw.2000.4.12884. ISSN 0465-7519. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  28. ^ "Langer Eugen – Weg der Demokratie". Weg der Demokratie. 1 January 1970. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  29. ^ Sack, Manfred (6 October 1972). "Zweimal Hochhaus am Stiel". Die Zeit (in German). Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  30. ^ "Ex-IBM-Zentrale: Verfall - keiner will den Eiermann-Campus". DIE WELT (in German). 22 May 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  31. ^ "Die Selbstgewissheit der Moderne". db deutsche bauzeitung (in German). 12 July 2020. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  32. ^ Pehnt, Wolfgang (2019). Egon Eiermann: Deutsche Olivetti, Frankfurt am Main (in German). Munich: Hirmer Publishers. ISBN 978-3-7774-3312-7. OCLC 1120181909.
  33. ^ "Karlsruhe: Kulturdenkmal Dea-Scholven-Str. 1". Karlsruhe (in German). Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  34. ^ Castillo, Greg (2012). "Making a Spectacle of Restraint: The Deutschland Pavilion at the 1958 Brussels Exposition". Journal of Contemporary History. 47 (1). SAGE Publications: 97–119. doi:10.1177/0022009411422362. ISSN 0022-0094. S2CID 159768465.
  35. ^ Boyken, Immo (2007). Egon Eiermann / Sep Ruf: Deutsche Pavillons, Brüssel 1958 (in German). Stuttgart: Edition Axel Menges. ISBN 978-3-932565-62-5. OCLC 153580897.
  36. ^ "Egon Eiermann – Die Kontinuität der Moderne – Art Deco und Design in München". Style Deco (in German). 1 April 2019. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  37. ^ "Das Badische Landesmuseum Karlsruhe zeigt die Möbel des Architekten Egon Eiermann". Der Tagesspiegel (in German). 18 October 1999. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  38. ^ "Gesellschaft". Egon Eiermann Gesellschaft e. V. (in German). Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  39. ^ "Fakultät für Architektur". Karlsruhe: Hörsaal Egon Eiermann (in German). 17 November 2003. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  40. ^ "Egon Eiermann Award 2019". Deutsche BauZeitschrift (in German). 19 November 2021. Retrieved 1 March 2022.
  41. ^ "Eiermann, Egon". gesichter-des-dka.gnm.de. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  42. ^ "Egon Eiermann – Werkbundarchiv". Museum der Dinge (in German). Retrieved 28 February 2022.

Further reading

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