Gerhard Siegmann

Gerhard Siegmann (* 1911 in Bad Münder am Deister ; † 1989 ) was a German modernist architect who worked primarily in Berlin and other German cities in the period after the Second World War .

Life

Siegmann studied architecture at the Technical University of Stuttgart and at the Technical University of Berlin under Heinrich Tessenow and Hans Poelzig and obtained his diploma in 1945. During his studies he had already dealt with the fundamental question of minimizing urban living space , i.e. H. with the construction of tiny apartments in high-rise buildings.

His first large house was built in Neu Fahrland near Potsdam as early as 1945, and Siegmann then went into business as a freelance architect. In the following years he worked on transport tasks in Kiel and Hamburg and dealt with problems that were important at the time, which were connected with the preservation or reconstruction of many destroyed buildings, as his study published in 1949 on the reusability of foundations of war-destroyed houses in Kreuzberg shows.

Main building of the Berliner Bank in Hardenbergstrasse

When an architecture competition for the construction of a bank building for the Berliner Bank in Hardenbergstrasse was advertised in Berlin-Charlottenburg , Siegmann received first prize for his design in a modern, cubic style. He was also entrusted with the implementation planning and artistic direction for the construction of the building. The furnishing of the counter hall and the offices with functional furniture was also made according to his plans. In the years that followed, the building was expanded and remodeled that are no longer based on Siegmann's design.

Further work by Siegmann such as the elaboration of an urban planning solution “Around the Zoo ” in Berlin ( BDA architects comment on the plans of the municipal building administration in 1949 - published in “Bauwelt” 34/1949) and his plans for the construction of residential buildings for the Bausparkasse Wüstenrot were bought by the respective clients.

Siegmann was given responsibility for coordinating the work of participants from all over the world in the redevelopment of the Hansaviertel on the occasion of Interbau in 1957 . Together with Klaus Müller-Rehm , he was also able to implement his own construction plan.

In addition to the architectural work, Siegmann also dealt with design drafts of complete minimalist interior fittings (e.g. cooking trolleys, cooking cabinets, bunk beds) and drew visionary ideas for cars, space stations, desert camps.

Work (incomplete)

• 1945: House in Neu Fahrland
• 1951: Berliner Bank building in Berlin, Hardenbergstrasse
• 1955–1957: High-rise residential building, so-called "Giraffe House", in Berlin's Hansaviertel, Klopstockstrasse 2 (executed by contractor Hermann Schäler)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Information about the Berliner Bank at the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district office
2. ↑ "Giraffe House" monument
3. ↑ the residential high-rise ("Giraffe House"). In: arch INFORM .

literature

• Urban planners in a rush of destruction - Article in the Berliner Zeitung on May 26, 1999
• Elke Blauert: Gerhard Siegmann (1911–1989), architect. Verlag Gebr. Mann, Berlin 1999, ISBN 3-78612-3144 .