Fritz Block

Fritz Block (born January 13, 1889 in Warburg , † January 23, 1955 in Los Angeles ) was a German architect and photographer of Jewish faith.

Life

Fritz Block grew up in Warburg. His parents were members of the local Jewish community . From 1908 he studied architecture in Karlsruhe , Munich , Darmstadt and Dresden , where he received his doctorate in 1915 . During the First World War he served as a paramedic due to a hearing impairment, later he worked as an assistant to Wilhelm Kreis in the reconstruction of East Prussia. He then worked for a short time as a municipal building officer in Königsberg (Prussia) , but founded an architecture office in Hamburg together with Ernst Hochfeld in 1921 .

The office also made theoretical contributions to housing and settlement construction through block publications such as “Problems of Building” and “The Housing” as well as committee work.

After his exclusion from the Association of German Architects in 1933, his activities were largely limited to downsizing the apartments of Jewish families.

In November 1938, Block emigrated to Los Angeles with his wife, where he stopped working as an architect and instead worked full-time as a photographer.

Buildings and drafts (incomplete)

Deutschlandhaus am Gänsemarkt in Hamburg (2001)

• since 1921: modern tombs in the Jewish cemetery in Hamburg-Ohlsdorf
• 1921–1922: Memorial complex of the cemetery of honor for the fallen Jewish soldiers in Hamburg
• 1921–1922: Ideas competition for a high-rise at Friedrichstrasse station in Berlin
• 1922: Small comedy theater in Hamburg
• 1922: Renovation of the Rosenkranz house in Hamburg- Harvestehude , Oberstrasse 108
• 1923: House Wütow in Hamburg, Alsterufer 37
• 1925: Competition design for the Elim Hospital in Hamburg
• 1925: Jacobsohn House in Lüneburg , Hindenburgstrasse 106
• 1926: Büsch bookstore in Hamburg
• 1927: Administration building of Öllager AG in Hamburg-Waltershof, Tankweg 1
• 1927–1928: Philip's house in Hamburg- Alsterdorf , Brabandstrasse 13
• 1928–1929: Deutschlandhaus in Hamburg, Drehbahn / Dammtorstrasse / Valentinskamp near Gänsemarkt
• 1929: Residential building in the large Jarrestadt housing estate in Hamburg, Hanssensweg
• 1929–1930: Competition design for the synagogue of the New Israelite Temple Association in Hamburg, Oberstrasse 53
• 1929–1931: Arcade houses in Hamburg- Fuhlsbüttel , Am Lustberg 14–22 (with Carl Bensel )
• 1930–1931 and 1934: Retirement homes for the Mendelson Israel Foundation in Hamburg-Fuhlsbüttel
• 1937–1938: Conversion of the community center of the Jewish Cultural Association in Hamburg, Hartungstraße 92 (with Oskar Gerson )

Fonts

• Ecclesiastical architecture in the old diocese of Comminges (Pyrenees) . In: Zeitschrift für Bauwesen , vol. 67, 1917, Sp. 295–340 ( digitized version of the Central and State Library Berlin ) and Sp. 443–478 ( digitized version ) (Dresden, Techn. Hochsch., Diss., 1918)
• Monuments of early Germanic architecture in the Pyrenees. In: Zentralblatt der Bauverwaltung / Preußen, 1918, pp. 109–112.
• From contemplation and reflection . In: Interior Decoration, Vol. 35, 1924, pp. 34–39 ( digitized version ).
• Form of living and adaptability . In: Die Form, Vol. 2, 1927, pp. 40–46 ( digitized version ).
• The Hamburg competition for a large residential area on Jarrestrasse . In: Die Baugilde, 1927, pp. 71–75
• (Ed.): Problems of building, vol. 1: Housing , Potsdam: Müller & Kiepenheuer 1928 ( digitized version ).
• Van Nelle factory in Rotterdam . In: Bauwelt, vol. 20, 1929, pp. 1–4.
• The advancement of Dutch architecture . In: Bauwelt, vol. 20, 1929, pp. 9-16.
• New architecture in France . In: Zeitschrift für Bauwesen , vol. 81, 1931, pp. 53-65 ( digitized version of the Central and State Library Berlin ).
• The new Ford factory. The River Rougewerk in Dearborn, Detroit. In: Die Form, Vol. 7, 1932, pp. 268–275 ( digitized version )

literature

• Roland Jaeger: Block and Hochfeld. The architects of the Deutschlandhaus. Buildings and projects in Hamburg 1921–1938. Gebr. Mann, Berlin 1996, ISBN 3-7861-1802-7 .
• Roland Jaeger: Photo-Eye Fritz Block New Photography Modern Color Slides , Zurich: Scheidegger & Spiess 2018, ISBN 978-3-85881-531-6 .