Georg Metzendorf

Georg Metzendorf (1906)

Georg Metzendorf (right) together with his brother Heinrich (around 1905)

Haardheim lung sanatorium near Marl (1926–1928)

Stadtsparkasse in Essen (1927–1930), today Theaterpassage

Essen city library with access to the theater (1928–1930)

Tomb at the southwest cemetery in Essen

Georg Metzendorf (born September 25, 1874 in Heppenheim ; † August 3, 1934 in Essen ) was a German architect , urban planner and designer .

Life

Georg Metzendorf comes from a traditional family of craftsmen whose activities as a master stonemason can be traced back to 1557 without interruption. After GCSEs at secondary school Heppenheim and subsequent bricklayer studied Metz village on the Baugewerkschule Karlsruhe architecture and continued after military service as a one-year volunteer study at the 1898 Technical University of Darmstadt on. From 1897 to 1905 he worked in the regionally successful architecture office of his brother Heinrich Metzendorf (1866–1923), in 1900 as office manager and from 1901 to 1905 as a partner. The focus of the joint activity was on villas shaped by reform architecture .

In the summer of 1905, Georg Metzendorf resigned as a partner in his brother's office and started his own business as an architect in Bensheim an der Bergstrasse. Building projects u. a. in Munich, Naumburg, Siegen and Worms - mostly sophisticated single-family houses - allowed his field of activity to grow quickly beyond the borders of his home region. In addition, he also dealt conceptually with applied arts and design. He designed everyday objects, jewelry, wallpaper, insignia, tombstones and machine-made furniture; He also developed a new type of heating system that was later used worldwide under the name of "Druna".

Georg Metzendorf's activity on Bergstrasse coincided with the fertile years of the Darmstadt artists' colony and the major exhibitions from 1901–1908 on Mathildenhöhe - trends that also manifested themselves in the Deutscher Werkbund and the garden city movement . Georg Metzendorf dealt with one of the decisive problems of his time: the development of suitable settlement and housing models for the new mass society in the wake of industrialization .

In a nationwide selection process and because of the sensational small house that he exhibited in 1908 on the Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt, Metzendorf, at the age of 33, was commissioned to create a settlement for 12,000 residents in Essen, from the urban design to the planning of the houses and the design of the Realizing home furnishings as a coordinated total work of art. According to the government decree, Metzendorf was exempt from all binding laws and regulations. A pilot project for experimental urban development was created at Margarethenhöhe , the findings of which were later incorporated into the legislation of German standards and building codes.

Metzendorf's Margarethenhöhe, the garden city of Hüttenau near Hattingen , which he designed, and the garden city of Hellerau near Dresden, in which he was also involved with some buildings, were implemented from 1909 and count because of their fundamentally new approaches both in planning and in implementation in Germany to the first major reform settlements of the 20th century.

To handle the new tasks, Metzendorf moved to Essen in 1909, where it took part in a revolutionary development that later went down in building and cultural history as a "West German impulse" with the claim to self-established art and environmental design.

For the 1910 World Exhibition in Brussels , Metzendorf was commissioned by the Reich government to plan two workers' houses. For this purpose, he developed two prefabricated houses in a patented system, which were set up on site and ready for occupancy within four days. For this achievement he was awarded the title of professor. His best example of later developments in housing developments is likely to be the "Essen workers' house", which he contributed to the 1914 Werkbund exhibition in Cologne .

Numerous well-known architects gained their first professional experience in Metzendorf's studio, such as Richard Kauffmann , who brought the "New Style" to Israel in 1920, the later director of the Bauhaus , Hannes Meyer , the Cologne architect Hans Schumacher and Hans Schwippert .

After the First World War , Georg Metzendorf shifted the focus of his activities more and more to technical and community buildings such as industrial plants, bridges, administrative buildings, schools, cultural institutions, churches and especially hospitals. Here he found his own style of New Objectivity , which mediated between the aesthetic revolution of the Berlin avant-garde and the tradition of the Stuttgart school .

To better handle the growing tasks, Metzendorf formed an office community in 1921 with his long-time employees Carl Mink (1883–1939) and Jacob Schneider (1889–1981). After the death of his brother Heinrich, Georg Metzendorf continued to run his architecture office in Bensheim as a branch from Essen between 1923 and 1928. In 1931 the Technical University of Aachen awarded him an honorary doctorate (as Dr.-Ing. E. h. ), Because "... he was the first to design workers' apartments and settlements in an exemplary manner."

In 1934 the National Socialists initiated proceedings against him for “ cultural Bolshevism ”. Georg Metzendorf died shortly afterwards at the age of 59. His grave in Essen's south-west cemetery has been a listed building since 2006 .

Metz village was from 1907 a member of the Deutscher Werkbund, from 1909 member of the German Garden City Society , the Association of German Architects (BDA) , the Society for the Promotion of German art of the 20th century, a board member of the National Baugewerkschule Essen, 1912 Head of the Consultancy Center for the county food and 1925 I. Chairman of the Ruhrland Architects and Engineers Association.

Georg Metzendorf's activity coincides with one of the most exciting epochs in European building culture, the development from historicism through Art Nouveau and reform architecture to New Building and Classical Modernism within just 30 years. Georg Metzendorf went down in building history primarily because of his pioneering reform plans for socially human , humane urban development in the first third of the 20th century.

Awards and honors

• 1911: Awarded the title of professor by Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig of Hesse
• 1931: Honorary doctorate (Dr.-Ing. E. h.) From the Technical University of Aachen
• 1934: Renaming of the Hohlweg (Essen-Margarethenhöhe) to Metzendorfstrasse

plant

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  Georg Metzendorf residence in Bensheim (1900–1902)

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  Small house at the Hessian State Exhibition in Darmstadt 1908

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  Margarethenhöhe (aerial photo 1931)

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  German workers' house at the Brussels World Exhibition in 1910

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  Small apartment building at the Werkbund exhibition in Cologne 1914

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  Commercial Building A. Eick sons in Essen (1911-1915)

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  Ehrensberger house in Traunstein (1911–1915)

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  Georg Metzendorf's house in Essen (1924–1925)

Buildings (selection)

• 1899–1900: House for the writer Wilhelm Holzamer in Heppenheim, Lorscher Strasse 21
• 1900–1902: Georg Metzendorf's house in Bensheim, Dürerstraße 5
• 1902–1905: Housing development in the Brunnenwegviertel in Bensheim, Ernst-Ludwig-Straße (with Heinrich Metzendorf)
• 1904–1905: Foreman apartments of the Wilhelm Euler paper mill in Bensheim, Friedhofstrasse 86–90 (with Heinrich Metzendorf)
• 1906–1907: House for Dr. Ernst Walger with the district health office in Erbach (Odenwald) , Gabelsbergerstraße 5
• 1907–1908: Small house at the Hessian State Exhibition in 1908 in Darmstadt, Mathildenhöhe (later rebuilt on the property at Erbacher Straße 140)
• 1909–1910: Road bridge over the Mühlbachtal as the main entrance to the Margarethenhöhe settlement in Essen
• 1909–1911 / 1923: House for the entrepreneur Arnold Jung in Jungenthal near Kirchen (Sieg) (later inhabited by director Ernst P. Hintze)
• 1909–1934 / 1938: Margarethenhöhe settlement near Essen (with school, churches, shops, restaurant, etc.)
• 1909–1917 and 1926–1928: Garden city Hüttenau near Hattingen with infrastructure (changed)
• 1909–1914: Houses in the garden city of Hellerau in Dresden-Hellerau, Heinrich-Tessenow-Weg 1 and 2–16
• 1910–1910: Two workers' houses at the Brussels World Exhibition 1910 (not preserved)
• 1910–1911: Row of houses for the building contractor Franz Hinsken in Essen, Moltkeviertel , Semperstrasse 13–21
• 1910–1911: Groups of residential buildings for the Eigenheim construction association in Essen, Moltkeviertel, Schnutenhausstrasse 2–20 and 7–17
• 1910–1912: Housing development for the Krupp'scher Beamter construction association in Essen, Goethestrasse 24–56 and Kahrstrasse 30–32
• 1911–1911: Residence for the diplomat Heinrich F. Albert in Berlin-Frohnau , Maximiliankorso 37
• 1911–1915: Country house for the Krupp manager Emil Ehrensberger in Traunstein (Upper Bavaria), Rupprechtstrasse 6 (today St. Rupert's training and retreat house)
• 1911–1915: Eickhaus office building in Essen, Kettwiger Straße 1 / Lindenallee 2 / Rathenaustraße 17 (significantly changed)
• 1913–1914: Buildings in the model estate "Neues Niederrheinisches Dorf" at the Cologne Werkbund exhibition (not preserved)
• 1914: "Krupp room" at the Cologne Werkbund exhibition (later built into the "Gasthaus Margarethenhöhe" in Essen)
• 1915: Schonnebeck youth hall in Essen-Schonnebeck , Saatbruchstraße 52
• 1920–1921: House for the timber merchant Anton Heller in Willingen (Upland) , Briloner Straße 62
• 1920–1922: Miners' settlement of the Mont Cenis colliery in Herne-Sodingen (changed)
• 1920–1926: Catholic parish church Herz-Jesu in Bischofswiesen near Berchtesgaden, Hauptstrasse
• 1921–1922: House with law firm for the lawyer Ludwig Stern in Essen-Rüttenscheid, Goethestrasse 89
• 1921–1922: House for the entrepreneur Theo Goldschmidt in Essen-Bredeney , Hohe Buchen 14 (not preserved)
• 1921–1922 / 1928: Administration building "Ruhrhaus" for the Emschergenossenschaft , the Ruhrverband and other users in Essen, Südviertel, Kronprinzenstraße 37
• 1922–1923: Double house for the Emschergenossenschaft in Essen, Moltkeviertel, Semperstraße 24 / Schinkelstraße
• 1922–1923: 3rd expansion of the "Margarethensiedlung" of Friedrich Krupp AG in (Duisburg-) Rheinhausen , Berthaplatz
• 1924–1925: Georg Metzendorf's house in Essen-Rüttenscheid, Goethestraße 102 (destroyed in 1943)
• 1924–1925: House for the businessman Siegmund Baer in Essen, Moltkeviertel, Weißbachstrasse 14
• 1926–1927: Reconstruction and expansion of the theater in Essen, Hindenburgstrasse 43 (destroyed in 1943)
• 1925–1927: Vincentian convent with church in Heppenheim, Kalterer Straße 3
• 1926–1928: "Haardheim" lung sanatorium near Marl, Halterner Strasse 525 (changed)
• 1926–1928: Road bridge over the Ruhr, called "Kemnader Bridge", between Bochum-Stiepel and (Hattingen-) Blankenstein (blown up in 1945, rebuilt with changes)
• 1927–1928: House for the businessman Carl Herzberg in Essen-Bredeney, Brachtstrasse 21 / Stocksiepen
• 1927–1929: Catholic parish center “St. Joseph “with church in Hattingen-Welper, Thingstrasse 41
• 1927–1930: Stadtsparkasse with “House of Technology” and “Casanova” cabaret in Essen, Kapuzinergasse 8 / Hirschlandplatz 2 / Theaterplatz 7–9 / Rathenaustraße 2–4 (today “Theaterpassage”, “German Poster Museum” etc.)
• 1928–1930: City library with theater restaurant in Essen, Hindenburgstrasse 45 (destroyed in 1943)
• 1929–1932: Lupus healing facility "Haus Hornheide" in Handorf near Münster , Dornbaumstrasse 300 (demolished in 1989)

Fonts (selection)

• Memorandum on the expansion of the foundation site. (Margarethenhöhe) Essen 1909.
• Memorandum on the expansion of the garden city of Hüttenau near Blankenstein ad R. Essen 1911.
• Small apartment buildings and settlements. Darmstadt 1920.
• Against the housing shortage. Essen 1923.
• The influence of the Deutscher Werkbund on the settlement problem. In: The German Werkbund in Essen. Special supplement of the Rheinisch-Westfälische Zeitung of June 23, 1926.
• The future of Munich. (Munich as an industrial, cultural and residential city) In: Münchner Latest News from May 3, 1928.
• Margarethenhöhe. Memories and 20 years of building history. Essen 1929.
• Buildings by G. Metzendorf and J. Schneider. In: Wasmuths Monatshefte für Baukunst , 14th year 1930, pp. 448–451 and p. 573.
• New buildings by Metzendorf and Schneider. In: Die Baugilde , 13th year 1931, issue 23, pp. 1749–1756.

literature

• Heinrich Werner: Architect Georg Metzendorf in Essen. In: Interior decoration , 20th year 1909, issue 3, pp. 81-104.
• Heinrich Werner: Some buildings by Georg Metzendorf in Essen. In: Der Profanbau , 6th year 1910, issue 6, pp. 157–171.
• Robert Breuer: Germany's spatial art and applied arts at the world exhibition in Brussels 1910. Stuttgart 1910.
• Otto Albert Schneider: The garden city of Hüttenau and other residential buildings by Georg Metzendorf. In: Moderne Baufformen, Volume 13, 1914, Issue 4, pp. 161–193.
• Ernst Wasmuth (Ed.): The New Lower Rhine Village at the German Werkbund Exhibition in Cologne 1914. Wasmuth, Berlin 1914.
• Richard Klapheck : New Architecture in the Rhineland. Düsseldorf 1928. ( passim )
• Paul Joseph Cremers : Metzendorf and Schneider. The Stadtsparkasse Essen and other buildings. (= Neue Werkkunst ) FE Hübsch, Berlin et al. 1930.
• Hans Georg Kösters: Seal in Stone and Green. Margarethenhöhe. Beleke, Essen 1981, ISBN 3-8215-0011-5 .
• Gartenstadt Hüttenau eG (ed.): More than living. 1909-1984. 75 years of the garden city of Hüttenau. Bochum 1984.
• Rainer Metzendorf: Georg Metzendorf 1847–1934. Settlements and buildings. Darmstadt et al. 1994, ISBN 3-88443-185-4 . (= Sources and research on Hessian history , Volume 96.) (also dissertation, Technical University Aachen, 1993.)
• Rainer Metzendorf: Georg Metzendorf. His work on Bergstrasse. In: Geschichtsblätter Kreis Bergstrasse , Volume 27. Heppenheim 1994, pp. 211-256.
• Rainer Metzendorf, Achim Mikuscheit: Margarethenhöhe, experiment and model 1906–1996. Pomp, Essen / Bottrop 1997, ISBN 3-89355-159-X .
• Andreas Helfrich: The Margarethenhöhe in Essen. Architect and client against the background of local politics in Essen and company politics in Krupp between 1886 and 1914. VDG, Weimar 2000, ISBN 3-89739-105-8 . (also dissertation, Technical University Darmstadt, 1999.)
• Rainer Metzendorf: The garden city movement and its implementation in the Ruhr area. In: Forum for the preservation of industrial monuments and culture of history , year 2003, No. 1, pp. 25–31.
• Rainer Metzendorf: Georg Metzendorf's small house. A model and its effect. In: Monument Preservation and Cultural History , year 2008, No. 3, pp. 35–40.
• Heinrich Theodor Grütter (ed.): The garden city Margarethenhöhe. Architecture and history. Klartext, Essen 2014, ISBN 978-3-8375-1141-3 . (= Small Writings of the Ruhr Museum , Volume 2.)
• Rainer Metzendorf: Georg Metzendorf, architect and urban planner. A Heppenheimer writes building history. In: Die Starkenburg , year 2014, No. 4 / year 2015, No. 1.
• Rainer Metzendorf: The Krupp room on Margarethenhöhe. A demonstration room for applied arts. In: Essen Contributions , Volume 128. Essen 2015, pp. 157–172.
• Rainer Metzendorf, Achim Mikuscheit: Architectural guide through the garden city Margarethenhöhe. Klartext, Essen 2016, ISBN 978-3-8375-1142-0 . (= Small Writings of the Ruhr Museum , Volume 4.)
• Rainer Metzendorf: The Heppenheimer Kulturkreis around the architects H. and G. Metzendorf, P. Birkenholz et al. In: Die Starkenburg , born in 2016, No. 3 and No. 4.

Individual evidence

1. ^ Walter Buschmann: Essen: Margarethenhöhe settlement. In: Rheinische-Industriekultur.de. June 13, 2013, accessed June 12, 2019 . 
2. ↑ Peter Jessen: German form in the war year. The exhibition Cologne 1914 . In: Deutscher Werkbund (Hrsg.): Yearbook of the German Werkbund . tape 1915 . F. Bruckmann, Munich 1915, p. 167 .
3. ↑ Pictures in: H. de Fries (Ed.): Modern villas and country houses. 3rd edition, Wasmuth, Berlin 1925, p. 232.
4. ↑ http://www.jugendhalle-schonnebeck.de/main1/100aJH.html  ( page no longer available , search in web archives )  Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.  

Web links

Commons : Georg Metzendorf  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Literature by and about Georg Metzendorf in the catalog of the German National Library
• List of Georg Metz village in Essen Moltkeviertel building built