Elsa Burckhardt-Blum

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Elsa Burckhardt-Blum (born November 27, 1900 in Zurich ; † April 7, 1974 in Küsnacht ) was a Swiss architect , painter , draftsman and furniture designer . Along with Lux Guyer , she was one of the first freelance architects in Switzerland.

Life

Elsa Blum was born as the daughter of Emil Blum, the composer Robert Blum was her twin brother. 1914–1916 she was a student at Willy Hummel's art school . In 1920 she obtained her university entrance qualification ( Matura ). Between 1921 and 1923 she studied art history, but she did not complete her studies. In 1925 she married the architect Ernst Friedrich Burckhardt , two years later her son Christof was born. From 1929–1932 she worked as a trainee in the architectural office of Steger and Egender and thereby acquired her architectural knowledge. She is also said to have played a key role in the design for the school building in Zollikon (1932). Along with Lux Guyer , she was one of the first independent architects in Switzerland from 1932 onwards.

In 1934 she and her family moved into the easternmost of the row houses they had designed themselves in the Heslibach residential colony (Gartenstrasse, Küsnacht). They lived there until they moved to their new home on the adjoining property in 1938. The Bauhaus master and friend of the family, Gunta Stölzl , who lived there until her death in 1985 , later moved into her former house .

From 1935 Elsa Burckhardt took part in competitions for furniture design, from 1942 also in competitions for local and regional planning , from 1944 together with her husband. From 1948 until his death in 1958 they worked in the joint architecture office, from 1954 also together with Alois Müggler . Although all projects were designed by both of them together, many designs only have their husband's name. Many orders came from her father-in-law's company.

The projects of her joint office were the construction and renovation of private houses and studio apartments, which she supervised alone or in collaboration with her husband. She specialized in the field of interior design and interior design . She was also interested in public architecture and urban and rural planning, as shown by her participation in competitions in this area.

On a trip to England in 1958, a car accident occurred in which her husband was killed and she was seriously injured.

In 1959 she and Annemarie Hubacher-Constam were the first woman to join the Association of Swiss Architects (BSA). In 1960 she founded her own architectural office Burckhardt & Perriard in Küsnacht, together with former employee Louis Perriard . She continued to carry out some projects for private houses under her own name. From 1966 she withdrew from architecture in order to devote herself only to painting and graphics.

Their architectural style is described as "" emphasizes the clear volume and the opening of the house to the outside. Characteristic are the protruding canopies and the embedding in the surrounding topography ».“ It shows their commitment to the modern and innovative constructions.

From 1948 he began making drawings (pencil and colored pencil), from 1950 paintings in tempera , and from 1952 paintings in oil. Also watercolors and linocuts from it are known. At first she worked in a surrealistic style, later on abstractly with geometric shapes, especially squares, which she emphasized through layers of color or hatching.

Honors

In 1957, together with her husband, she was honored by the City of Zurich with the “Good Buildings Award” for the design of the Oberer and Unterer Letten open-air swimming pools .

The city of Zurich and the Zurich Art Society honored her in 1965 with a large overall exhibition in the Helmhaus .

From 2010 there were plans to set up an Elsa Burckhardt Blum Garden on the premises of the ETH Zurich , but this was not realized.

Projects

  • Heslibach residential colony, Küsnacht (1931–1951), with Ernst Friedrich Burckhardt
  • Studio house for the married couple Marga and Gotthard Schuh , Schlossbergstrasse, Zollikon (1933)
  • Studio and home for Gotthard Schuh, Zurich (1937–1938)
  • Pavilions for the “Sport” section of the Swiss National Exhibition (1939)
  • Villa for Hans Fischer (1949)
  • Weekend home for Walter Burckhardt, Bächau on Lake Zurich (1951)
  • New construction of the Oberer Letten outdoor swimming pool , Zurich (1952), with Ernst Friedrich Burckhardt
  • Extension of the Unterer Letten outdoor pool (1953), with Ernst Friedrich Burckhardt
  • Three pavilions for SAFFA II: "House of the Cantons", theater with foyer and restaurant (1958)
  • House for family of son Christof Burckhardt, in the Chemin de Vidollet-la-Forge, Troinex GE (1961)
  • Mural in the singing hall of the district school building, Möhlin AG (1962)
  • Mosaic for the swimming pool of the Bungertwies School, Zurich (1974)

Exhibitions

  • Helmhaus, Zurich, 1954
  • Baslerhalle at the Swiss Sample Fair , Basel, 1956
  • Musée des beaux – arts, Neuchâtel, 1957
  • Kunstmuseum Winterthur , 1958
  • Congress Hall, Berlin , 1958
  • Galerie Suzanne Bollag, Zurich, 1959, 1962, 1964 (under the pseudonym Cécile Hardt ), 1966, 1969, 1973, 1994
  • Metropolitan Art Gallery, Tokyo, 1959
  • Kunsthaus and Helmhaus, Zurich, 1963

literature

Web links

Commons : Elsa Burckhardt-Blum  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Remarks

  1. ↑ in some sources Männedorf is also noted as the place of death .
  2. ↑ some sources indicate her father's profession as a lawyer, others as a mechanical engineer.
  3. ↑ In 1954 Gret Reinhard was accepted as the first woman ever - but together with her husband.
  4. ↑ from AKL and HLS
  5. ↑ mutual friend of the Burckhardt couple
  6. ^ Brother of Ernst Friedrich Burckhardt
  7. ↑ 2nd Swiss Exhibition for Women's Work

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Karl Strute: Who's Who in Technology . The International Red Series Verlag, 1984, p. 350 .
  2. ↑ Anna Schindler: From the men's club to the architects' association . Architects in the BSA. In: Bund Schweizer Architekten BSA (Ed.): Werk, Bauen + Wohnen . tape 95 , no. 9 , 2008, p. 84-90 , doi : 10.5169 / seals-130863 .
  3. ^ The formerly planned Elsa Burckhardt Blum Garden. In: www.gebrueder-duerst.ch. Retrieved April 12, 2020 .
  4. ^ Newly accepted members of the BSA . In: Das Werk - Architektur und Kunst . tape 47 , no. 1 , 1960, p. 3 ( e-periodica.ch [accessed April 12, 2020]).
  5. ^ Wall painting by Elsa Burckhardt in the Möhlin AG district school building . In: Das Werk - Architektur und Kunst . tape 51 , no. 2 , 1964, doi : 10.5169 / seals-38391 .
  6. ↑ Small indoor swimming pool and Bungertwies school building in Zurich Hottingen . In: Verlags-Aktiengesellschaft der Akademischen Technischen Vereine (Ed.): Schweizerische Bauzeitung . tape 91 , no. 48 . Zurich November 29, 1973, p. 1171–1173 , doi : 10.5169 / seals-72060 .
  7. ^ Cécile Hardt . Washed watercolors. In: Das Werk - Architektur und Kunst . tape 49 , no. 5 , 1964.
  8. ^ Exhibitions 1958–1995. In: Bollag Galleries . Accessed April 12, 2020 (closed since 2012).
personal data
SURNAME Burckhardt-Blum, Elsa
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Blum, Elsa (maiden name); Burckhardt, Elsa (married name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss architect and painter
DATE OF BIRTH November 27, 1900
PLACE OF BIRTH Zurich
DATE OF DEATH April 7th 1974
Place of death Küsnacht