Curt Kuehne

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Curt Kühne , also Kurt Kühne , (born August 8, 1883 in Zeulenroda , † August 25, 1963 in Linz ) was a German architect , urban planning director and civil engineer in Linz.

Life

Time before Linz

From 1905 Kühne studied architecture at the Technical University of Dresden , which not only had a good reputation, but also where the famous town planner Cornelius Gurlitt taught at the time. Kühne passed the state examination in 1912 and came into contact with the garden city movement during his studies in Dresden , for example through the first German garden city Hellerau . Before taking up his post as City Planning Director in Linz on January 25, 1915, he worked from July 1911 until he moved to Linz for the Charlottenburg City Planning Department as a building supervisor, where he became familiar with the Greater Berlin Association . In addition to his academic training, Kühne also had practical training as a bricklayer and carpenter journeyman.

City planning director and other work in Linz

Curt Kühne applied for the advertised position of Linz City Planning Director in autumn 1914 and entered the service of the City of Linz on January 25, 1915. He worked here under twelve mayors until his retirement in 1949, and in 1940 was given the license to be a civil engineer for structural engineering. During the first decade of his service there were numerous incorporations. The municipality of St. Peter in 1915 was followed by the municipality of Urfahr and the municipality of Pöstlingberg in 1919 and Kleinmünchen in 1923, with Kühne sitting on the negotiating committee for the latter incorporation. In addition, from 1921 to 1934 he accompanied the negotiations with the municipality of Steyregg on the assignment of territory to Linz.

In the inter-war period it was the responsibility of the town planning director to join the clearly grown, sprawled urban area. The time turned out to be too short to create an urban unit. Kühne recognized this problem as early as 1927:

"It would have been of great advantage for the development of the context [of the urban area of ​​Linz, note] if Urfahr, Harbach, Katzbach, Steg, St. Magdalena, Dornach, Plesching, a decade ago, before the incorporation, Steyregg, St. Peter, Kleinmünchen, Ebelsberg, Hart, Leonding, Pasching, Ruefling would have merged to form a special purpose association called “Großlinz” in order to deal with technical issues such as road layout and settlement issues, each dealing independently with its own sphere of interest, but with that in mind to have the large resulting whole with regard (!) to traffic and construction assessed from a central point. Many things would have been left out that cannot be repaired today. "

- Curt Kuehne

Kühne not only addresses the lack of cooperation before the incorporations, but also openly says that numerous urban planning problems that still accompany Linz today could have been prevented. He was able to come to this conclusion based on his experience with the Greater Berlin Association.

Previous construction of the Nibelungen Bridge in 1910 (built in 1872)

At the same time, Kühne was also busy developing a zoning plan for Linz. He not only had terrain surveys of the entire urban area created, but also an overall city plan, which he saw as a prerequisite for a general development plan. To this end, Kühne formed numerous thoughts on urban development in his publications. In 1927 he described the condition of the previous construction of the Nibelungen Bridge from 1872, which existed at that time, and feared the imminent “breakage of structural parts” ( Curt Kühne ). His ideas flowed into the first zoning plan in Upper Austria, which was presented for Linz in 1934 and was based on a planning target of 150,000 to 160,000 inhabitants.

From 1924 to 1927 Kühne published numerous thoughts on further urban development. When he planned to build a new bridge over the Danube , he wanted to make the "multi-storey (!) Ugly (!) Apartment block" ( Curt Kühne ) disappear on the Linz side facing the main square . The construction of the bridge was carried out from 1938 to 1940 under the National Socialists, including new bridgehead buildings . At the same time, Kühne planned not only an industrial area in the St. Peter area for the east of the city, but also a Danube port and shipyard. These projects were also implemented during the Nazi era.

View of the Danube promenade with the Brucknerhaus on the left

In addition, he advocated the creation of a Danube promenade between the railway and today's Nibelungen Bridge, the construction of a new town hall and the construction or reconstruction of the railway bridge . Like the plans mentioned above, the first two projects were realized, the Danube Promenade in 1974 and the New Town Hall from 1981 to 1985. As many of his thoughts again found an urban agenda in the plans of the Nazis, they are still regarded incorrectly as creations of the leader and of its architects.

After the National Socialists came to power, Kühne retired early in 1938 at the age of only 58 because he was considered a social democrat. He fought against this by asserting that he was neutral in relation to political changes, and after the outbreak of war in 1939 he was reinstated in the magistrate as an assistant in the economic office. In 1942 he came back to the municipal building department, but did not get his former management position back. After the war, he was appointed special representative of Mayor Ernst Koref until the end of 1948, and in this role he worked, among other things, on planning the reconstruction of Linz.

Architectural style, influence and significant buildings

Architectural style and influence

Little can be found about bold architectural style. Otto Constantini describes that his buildings have "clear forms", a "beautiful structure" (Diesterweg School) or a "tasteful facade" (Parkbad). Friedrich Achleitner, on the other hand, sees “modest monumentality” with “traditional means of composition” (Volkshaus Frankviertel), good “spatial organization” (Diesterweg School) or a “significant entrance front” (Parkbad). Both the Diesterwegschule and the Parkbad were criticized by the conservative local council opposition after their respective openings, they were viewed as luxurious.

In August and September 1929 the exhibition "Apartment and Settlement in City and Country" took place in Linz, which was organized by the later mayor Koref . Although it is nowhere documented that Kühne was directly involved in the exhibition, it is still listed as an example of how Linz created an open climate and interest in architecture - a fact that Kühne is also directly attributed to. In addition to his own buildings, I would like to point out his urban planning activities, which shaped Linz during his lifetime - and in some cases beyond.

It is also worth mentioning that Kühne wanted to expand the building laws away from purely technical concerns:

“[T] he authority must (!) Be able to bind the building permit to the fulfillment of aesthetic, urban planning requirements. The formation of space must (!) Be under the influence (!) Of the authority, individual houses in the "model-like" building block formed before the expansion must sound together in their execution in such a way that (!) The urban architecture suppresses unsightliness, disorganization and disharmonies from the start. "

- Curt Kuehne

At the same time, in addition to considering aesthetic aspects in architecture, he also spoke out in favor of garden art: "A settlement without green spaces, without trees appears lifeless and cold, only the planting creates life." ( Curt Kühne ) In addition, he stood out for the Responsible for developing a process for the production of hollow cement blocks, which enabled the community to sell building materials at cost in the interwar period. In the city, which was plagued by a housing shortage at that time, it was possible to promote private housing construction.

plant

Risalit-like protruding corner parts at the Dametzhof
Linz Volksküche
  • 1919–1925: Scharlinz settlement in Linz, Angerholzerweg / Haydnstraße / Schwindstraße / Spaunstraße
  • 1921–1925: Wimhölzel hinterland construction
  • 1925: Kaufleitnergrund residential complex in Linz, Garnisonstrasse / Planckstrasse
  • 1926: Municipal housing in Pestalozzistraße in Linz, by Hans Feichtlbauer , in the style of the Kaufleitnergrund residential complex
  • 1926: Linz Volksküche , today used by the Upper Austria Architecture Forum and as a gallery for the MAERZ artists' association , Herbert-Bayer-Platz
  • 1926–1927: Additions to the secondary school and elementary school by Ferdinand Bachbaur from 1910 on Zeppelinstrasse in Linz
  • 1926–1929: Housing complex in Linz, Gruberstrasse
  • 1927: Housing complex in Linz, Unionstrasse 50–70
  • 1927: Housing development in Linz, Franckstrasse
  • 1927: Workers' colony in Linz, Sintstrasse
  • 1927: Redesign of Real High School in Linz, stone alley, was considered until 1995 Vocational School Linz 1 used
  • 1927–1928: Dametzhof in Linz, Hyrtlstrasse / Körnerstrasse / Reischekstrasse
  • 1927–1936: Füchselgutsiedlung in Linz, Don-Bosco-Weg / Füchselstrasse
  • 1928–1929: Volkshaus Franckviertel in Linz
  • 1928–1929: Fleischmarkthalle in Linz, Holzstrasse
  • 1929–1931: Diesterweg School in Linz, Khevenhüllerstraße
  • 1929–1930: Parkbad in Linz
  • 1931: Workers' houses in Linz, Sintstrasse
  • 1932–1935: Church of St. Antonius in Scharlinz (partial realization with the parish hall in Einfaltstrasse, which served as an emergency church for five decades and was demolished in 1983)

Honors

  • Kühnestrasse was named after him in Linz.

literature

  • Wilfried Posch: Curt Kühne. Buildings of the city of Linz. Provincial Library, Weitra 2010, ISBN 978-3-900000-99-8 .
  • Linzer Planungsinstitut Altstadt (Ed.): Urban renewal and old town maintenance in Linz. 500 years of the state capital Linz, 10 years of the Linz planning institute. Linz 1989, DNB 931057159 .

Web links

Commons : Curt Kühne  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g h Wilfried Posch: Notes on Linz 1938–1945. In: Austrian magazine for art and monument preservation. LXI, 2007, No. 1, pp. 25-46.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h i Wilfried Posch: Curt Kühne, urban planning director, architect and urban planner. In: Andrea Bina, Lorenz Potocnik (Ed.): Architecture in Linz 1900–2011. Springer-Verlag, Vienna 2012, ISBN 978-3-7091-0825-3 , pp. 77-81.
  3. ↑ a b c Petra Weiss: The prelude in Linz was auspicious ... The architecture of the Christkönig Peace Church in Linz-Urfahr, 1929–1951, reflected in contemporary history. In: Society for regional studies - Upper Austrian Museum Association (Hrsg.): Yearbook of the Upper Austrian Museum Association. Volume 152, Linz 2007, pp. 101–204 ( PDF on ZOBODAT ).
  4. ^ A b Fritz Mayrhofer: Urban Development and Housing. In: Fritz Mayrhofer, Walter Schuster (Ed.): Linz Between Democracy and Dictatorship 1918–1945. Volume 2, Archive of the City of Linz, Linz 2006, ISBN 3-900388-86-5 , pp. 169-213.
  5. ^ Kurt Kühne - Monuments / Buildings by Kurt Kühne . Website of the city of Linz. Retrieved March 25, 2013.
  6. ^ A b Otto Constantini: The structural development of the city of Linz in the 20th century. In: City of Linz (Ed.): Yearbook of the City of Linz 1949 . Municipal collections, Linz 1950, pp. 65–86.
  7. ^ A b c d e f Curt Kühne: Development issues of the state capital Linz. In: Erwin Stein (Ed.): The cities of German Austria. Deutscher Kommunal-Verlag, Berlin-Friedenau 1927, pp. 318–335.
  8. ^ Fritz Mayrhofer: The "godfather town of the Führer". Dreams and reality. In: Fritz Mayrhofer, Walter Schuster (Ed.): National Socialism in Linz. Volume 1, Archive of the City of Linz, Linz 2001, ISBN 3-900388-81-4 , pp. 327–386.
  9. ^ Walter Schuster: Aspects of National Socialist Local Policy. In: Fritz Mayrhofer, Walter Schuster (Ed.): National Socialism in Linz. Volume 1, Archive of the City of Linz, Linz 2001, ISBN 3-900388-81-4 , pp. 197-325.
  10. ^ Otto Constantini: City of Linz. Self-published, Linz 1952.
  11. ^ Friedrich Achleitner: Austrian architecture in the 20th century. - A guide in three volumes. Volume I, Residenz Verlag, Salzburg / Vienna 1980.
  12. ^ A b Brigitte Kepplinger: Workers' Housing in Linz 1850–1945. - A historical overview. In: Brigitte Kepplinger (Hrsg.): Living in Linz - On the history of Linz workers' housing from the beginning until 1945 . Böhlau Verlag, Vienna 1989, ISBN 3-205-07291-X , pp. 1–101.
  13. ↑ Ernst Koref: The tides of my life. Youth and People, Vienna / Munich 1980.
  14. ↑ St. Antonius - Catholic Church in Linz ( Memento from August 29, 2013 in the Internet Archive ). Website of the Diocese of Linz. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  15. ↑ Dehio Linz 2009 , Linz outer areas between the Danube and Traun, sacred buildings, parish church St. Antonius, p. 322.
  16. ^ City of Linz, street names
personal data
SURNAME Kühne, Curt
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Kühne, Kurt
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian architect and urban planning director in Linz
DATE OF BIRTH August 8, 1883
PLACE OF BIRTH Zeulenroda
DATE OF DEATH August 25, 1963
Place of death Linz