Carl Wilhelm Hoffmann

Carl Wilhelm Hoffmann (* 1810 in Gröningen near Halberstadt; † 1895 ) was a German architect.

Live and act

Carl Wilhelm Hoffmann was the son of a teacher and brother of the architect and technician Friedrich Eduard Hoffmann . He attended high school in Halberstadt, did military service, then got a job with the government in Poznan and studied at the Berlin Building Academy . Already during his studies he was busy building workers' apartments. On May 1, 1841, he became a member of the Berlin Architects' Association . His proposal to include the problem of workers' housing in the association's monthly competition program was rejected there. His attempt to found a “house building association” also failed. In the competition for the Friedrich Wilhelm Hospital in Berlin, he emerged as the winner in 1843. The Bauführerprüfung he made probably in 1845, the architect exam probably 1846. Virtually worked he in August Stüler , including during construction of the new museum .

In 1846 he was a co-founder of the "Association for the Improvement of Workers' Housing" in order to collect the housing reformists. In February 1847, with his memorandum “The tasks of a Berlin non-profit building company”, he gave the decisive impetus to found the oldest non-profit building company, the “Berlin non-profit building company”. In April 1847 there was a corresponding call for founding. Together with Dr. Gaebler and GS Liedke, he formed a preparatory committee. The statutes were adopted in November 1847. Club members were among others August Stüler and August Borsig . Official confirmation was delayed by the revolutionary events in March 1848. Hoffmann took an active part in the preparation and implementation of the emergency construction program after the revolution. He found support primarily from monarchist and upper-class circles who were interested in calming the social unrest before and after the revolution. On October 28, 1848, the association received royal approval of the statutes. In 1848 Hoffmann also founded the "Association for People's Rights". Since he was ousted from the leadership role, he left the club soon. On January 16, 1849, at a general assembly, the “Berlin non-profit construction company” was officially founded, at which Hoffmann was elected chairman. On March 27, 1849, the first foundation stone was laid for the building cooperative at Ritterstrasse 28/29 in Berlin. The 20 apartments and 3 workshops were ready to move into on October 1st. On October 17, 1850, Prince Wilhelm took over the protectorate. Board members included: August Stüler, Victor Aimé Huber and Julius Emmerich . Well-known members were: Prince Karl , August Borsig, Ernst Litfaß , Friedrich Carl von Savigny and Alexander von Humboldt . The designs for the first cooperative buildings were made together with Julius Emmerich. The buildings at Torstrasse 85 (formerly Wollankstrasse and Lothringer Strasse 32/33, then Wilhelm-Pieck-Strasse 85) are still preserved from the buildings erected under Hoffmann's direction and presumably based on his designs. In 1852 he officially resigned from the building cooperative.

From 1851 to 1857 Hoffmann was the district architect in Creutzburg. He worked from 1857 to 1863 as a building inspector in Hohenstein and Friedberg. At his own request, he resigned from the civil service in 1863 and then worked as a private builder.

Own buildings

• 1845: Tenement houses at Almstadtstrasse 16 and 18 in Berlin (architectural monuments)
• before 1852: Victor Aimé Huber's house in Nöschenrode / Harz
• 1852–1854: Houses and mansion in Crossen
• from 1864: Johannis pen at Plötzensee (Berlin)

literature

• Uwe Kieling: Berlin private architect and master railroad builder in the 19th century . Kulturbund der DDR, Berlin 1988, p. 32, 33 .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Margret Dorothea Minkels: The founders of the Neues Museum: Friedrich Wilhelm IV. Of Prussia and Elisabeth of Bavaria . Books on Demand GmbH, Norderstedt 2011, ISBN 978-3-8448-0212-2 , p. 172 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
2. ↑ Entry in the Berlin State Monument List , accessed on June 1, 2020
3. ↑ Entry in the Berlin State Monument List , accessed on June 1, 2020
4. ↑ Entry in the Berlin State Monument List , accessed on June 1, 2020

Remarks

1. ↑ The life data are not clearly documented. Margret Dorothea Minkels writes “1810 to 1895” (see individual records), Uwe Kieling writes “before 1818 to after 1865?” (See literature) and other sources mention “1806 to 1898”.