Hans Wolff-Grohmann
Hans Wolff-Grohmann (born April 4, 1903 in Berlin-Tiergarten ; † January 15, 2000 in Berlin-Dahlem ) was a German designer , musician and architect of the modern age who was able to realize many designs in the Berlin area. There are also buildings by Wolff-Grohmann outside of Berlin and abroad.
Childhood and youth
Hans Wolff-Grohmann's father, Rudolf-Anton Wolff, grew up on Bellevuestrasse in Tiergarten in the house of an "extremely upper-class" uncle. His grandfather was the Kommerzienrat Friedrich Wilhelm Wolff, a co-founder of the Allianz insurance company and other companies. The maternal grandfather, Wilhelm Grohmann, came from the Salzburger Land and was a copperplate engraver , royal librarian at the University of the Arts and librarian at the Association of Berlin Artists in Berlin, as well as an avid private collector of graphics.
In 1901 Wolfgang was born as the first son of the Wolff family, in 1903 Hans Heinz Wolff was born. He spent his childhood in the Tiergarten area , where he lived with his parents on Magdeburger Strasse; In 1908 the family moved to Prinzregentenstrasse 83 in Berlin-Wilmersdorf .
The young Wolff-Grohmann had his first artistic experiences during several visits by an uncle, Reinhold Grohmann , who was a talented painter in the studio of the artist Arthur Kampf at the Hochschule der Künste (at that time still United State Schools for Free and Applied Arts ). He received further stimuli for engaging with art when visiting museums with his mother and from the collections of art magazines and knick-knack figures. While traveling together, his mother gave him an initial understanding of "urban planning experiences" by carefully looking at landscapes and buildings, especially churches. He was also taken to large exhibitions and musical events. This diversity meant that he was familiar with individual styles at an early stage, both in building construction and interior design, including ceramics and porcelain.
A childhood experience established Wolff-Grohmann's constant interest in theater, stage sets and design. With his big brother and friends, he built his own model theater from 1912 with all artistic and technical equipment including lighting, and he had also constructed a functioning revolving stage for it. With the help of purchased theater puppets and decorations, performances of well-known dramas in their own adaptations ( Faust , Jungfrau von Orléans, etc.) were performed on special family occasions - the theater and the stage accompanied Hans Wolff-Grohmann his entire life. The theater model was presented to the public in a former exhibition hall at the zoological garden as an example of manual work by a group of schoolchildren.
Hans Wolff-Grohmann received his education in the Treitschke Realschule, today's Friedrich-Ebert-Gymnasium . According to his parents' stories, it was clear early on that he wanted to be Baumeista (own words).
Like many children from the beginning of the 20th century, Hans Wolff-Grohmann often went to relatives or friends in other cities such as Hamburg, Munich, Travemünde, Arnstadt or “in the country” and the like during the holidays. a. to Zinnowitz, to Reuthen Castle near Spremberg or to Berchtesgaden.
Hans Wolff-Grohmann married Sabine, née Froeschke, in 1939 and they moved into their own apartment. The couple had two children - Reinhold and Thomas.
Since the early death of his mother (1922) Hans had the double surname Wolff-Grohmann, only shortly after the end of the Second World War he had this certified.
Hans Wolff-Grohmann was a member of the Association of German Architects .
Artistic development
1920 to 1932
After attending school, Wolff-Grohmann learned the mason trade in a small construction business. This was followed by a short study at the municipal craft and building trade school, after which he continued his artistic training with Alfred Grenander and Bruno Paul in the United State Schools for Free and Applied Arts . The principle of complex designs "from knife to gutter" was taught by his teachers and adopted by the next generation. The first architectural drafts arose during his studies.
After completing his training in Berlin, he initially began to design modern wooden furniture for the Erdmannsdorfer furniture factory in Schreiberhau , then (around 1930) he created steel furniture for the Thonet company . Wolff-Grohmann also dealt with lamp designs and complete interior fittings during this time. He carried out his first architectural work with Hans Jessen (collaboration on the design for a community hall in Dahlem), with Emil Schaudt (execution of a renovation project for the Kaufhaus des Westens ) and as a freelancer for Harry Rosenthal . After Wolff-Grohmann took part in a competition for a shop fitting for the three-story store of the Blüthner company on Kurfürstendamm (1929) and won first prize, he was the first to do the construction in the field of architecture.
In the years of the global economic crisis there were hardly any commissions for architects, so Wolff-Grohmann went to relatives in Jeverland , first to Wiarden , then to Jever and Oldenburg . He worked as a boy in agriculture and did all the work. At the same time he continued to develop his joy in making music and used the time to obtain the organist examination . Organ playing always remained his passion, so he performed several times at church concerts. In his private life he later played this music on an electronic home organ.
Wolff-Grohmann turned his main focus on architecture. After initially choosing traditional models for his buildings, he soon found his own style with cubist and colored elements and the use of modern materials.
In 1929, Wolff-Grohmann and Alfred Gellhorn took part in the competition for the urban design of Alexanderplatz as a freelance worker . however, their draft was not accepted. In 1932 he worked for the architects Hermann Muthesius and Peter Behrens in Berlin. Under Alfred Grenander he worked on the design and construction of the Berlin subway stations Hallesches Tor and the subway overpass at Dennewitzer Strasse.
1933 to 1945
During the years of National Socialism in Germany, Wolff-Grohmann got a job in the Reich Ministry of Post , where he worked with nine other architects under the direction of Ministerialrat Georg Werner . During this time, the plans for the post offices at the Nordbahnhof in Berlin-Mitte (1934–1935), at Mönckebergdamm in Hamburg (1935–1939), for the radio transmission systems on the Brocken in the Harz Mountains and numerous other functional and residential buildings were made. He was also involved in planning an extension of the Reich Ministry of Post and a diesel hall in Zeesen , which, however, was not carried out. At the same time he designed basic types of concert halls, department stores, hotels, churches, museums, bridges.
Before the end of the war, Wolff-Grohmann went into business again and, together with Heinrich Zeller, created reconstruction plans for destroyed settlements and cities such as Wittstock , Luckau , Luckenwalde and Spremberg . In 1941 Wolff-Grohmann was drafted into a barracks in Strausberg for military service, but Zeller obtained an exemption for him. On business, he then had to deal with the expansion of air raid shelters and an underground bunker. From 1943 he and his wife traveled to Garmisch-Partenkirchen at the invitation of their painter friend Rolf Cavael . There the family saw the end of the war with the arrival of a tank unit of the US Army.
1945 to 1950
After the war, Wolff-Grohmann set up an architecture office in Garmisch-Partenkirchen and received orders from the Munich company Löwenbräu for the interior design of restaurants with the stipulation “in the real Bavarian baroque style”. With the simultaneous design and construction of stage sets, costumes and work as a lighting technician at the Garmisch-Partenkirchner Kammerspiele, he managed to secure his livelihood. His wife also earned some money working as a childcare worker for an American major. Hans Wolff-Grohmann took part in new competitions in his hometown Berlin at an early stage; until 1950 he stayed in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. Then the family moved back to Berlin to the house of their in-laws on Max-Eyth-Straße.
While still in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, he worked out an urban development solution around the zoo in Berlin, in which new commercial buildings played a major role. Above all, the draft envisaged the retention of historical streets and the so-called Berlin eaves height (22 m).
1951 to 2000
Wolff-Grohmann became better known through an exhibition on his previous works (July 1951 in Berlin-Charlottenburg) and got in touch with new clients. In addition, he was commissioned by the conductor Ferenc Fricsay as a stage and costume designer for the performance of Duke Bluebeard's Castle in the Theater des Westens (since the Deutsche Oper had not yet been rebuilt).
Wolff-Grohmann also had orders as a freelance architect, often as a result of winning competitions, such as B. Housing estates in Berlin-Spandau , Berlin-Lankwitz and Berlin-Charlottenburg . Around 4,000 apartments were built in these buildings planned by Wolff-Grohmann by the end of the 1950s. From the other designs, the building complex of cinema and hotel for the French sector at the time (L'Aiglon) is particularly noteworthy.
In addition, in the early 1950s he was given responsibility for the restoration of the badly damaged Schinkelschen Paulskirche in Gesundbrunnen . Because at that time the building files were outsourced to the Soviet Union and thus not available, Wolff-Grohmann's work was based on Schinkel's ideas, but parts of the ceiling and the entire interior had to be redesigned by him. The completion dragged on over five years, mainly because of financial problems.
In 1965/1966 he took part in an architectural competition for the construction of the German Archaeological Institute in Istanbul . His design took first place, but was not implemented due to a general ban on institute buildings imposed by the Turkish side. In 1971 his third-place design for the construction of the German School in Rome was bought by the client. In 1975 his plans for the building in Athens, then known as the Cultural Institute - now the Goethe Institute - came second. Since the award-winning design by another architect could not be implemented due to his sudden death, the Federal Building Department Wolff-Grohmann transferred the construction according to the winning design, but some small changes were allowed to be made.
Wolff-Grohmann had already submitted specific plans for a general nursing home in Berlin-Charlottenburg in previous years. After the Berlin Senate had sold the site to the Jewish community, plans were made in the direction of a Jewish retirement home with an integrated synagogue, which was built in 1981 based on his design.
Competition projects (selection)
Design of buildings
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Drafts of monuments
- National Monument for the Battle of Tannenberg (1927)
- a warrior memorial in Kiel, together with Rolf Szymanski (1953), (1st prize)
- Monument to Heinrich the Navigator in Sagres , Portugal (1955), together with the sculptor Bernhard Heiliger (not accepted)
- Memorial for the Jewish community in Lemgo (1986), joint work with the sculptor couple Matschinsky-Denninghoff
Buildings by Wolff-Grohmann (selection)
Berlin
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Post office in Berlin-Mitte , Straße Am Nordbahnhof, completed 1935–1938, a
striking detail is the large rectangular travertine slabs ;
Special feature: Wolff-Grohmann also created the design for the invitation card for the topping-out ceremony, - Amplifier Office disguised as a residential building and a bunker in Stallupöner Allee 19–23 (around 1934):
buildings with all exterior designs (windows, doors, lighting); this transmitter was still used by the post office after 1945, at some point it became the property of the city of Berlin. Now the SFB used this facility and also the successor broadcaster rbb . In 2006 the transmitter was switched off. The buildings that had been vacant for a few years (photos under Commons ) were demolished by a private investor in 2012 in favor of new residential buildings.
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L'Aiglon (French: little eagle ; also nickname of Napoléon ) -
a U-shaped cinema and hotel building on the former site of the French armed forces (today: Julius-Leber-Kaserne ) at Kurt-Schumacher-Damm 121,
1953/1954 new building instead of a destroyed building complex; in operation until 1993. From 1995 to 2006 the cinema room was used as a rehearsal hall for the Army Music Corps 400 (today: Staff Music Corps of the German Armed Forces) after it was relocated to Berlin, and it was also reconstructed in accordance with the preservation of historical monuments during this period. - Residential buildings in Lepsiusstrasse, Berlin-Steglitz (before 1957)
- School building for a comprehensive school in Berlin-Hermsdorf (1957)
- Houses in Gallwitzallee, Berlin-Lankwitz (1956–1958)
- Apartment buildings on Hohenzollerndamm in Berlin-Wilmersdorf (before 1959)
- Residential buildings at Motzstrasse 47-49 (around 1961)
- School building for a primary school in Berlin-Lankwitz on Kefferbrinkweg (1962)
- Taldorfer Weg residential buildings, Berlin-Wittenau (1962)
- Tegel sports hall in Hatzfeldallee (1961–1963)
- Nurses' home in Berlin-Tempelhof on the grounds of the Wenckebach Hospital (1964)
- an 18-storey high-rise on Handjeryplatz (1962–1968)
- Falkenberger Chaussee settlement in Berlin-Spandau (1964)
- Residential buildings for the French military administration in Berlin-Wedding , Londoner Strasse (around 1967)
- Apartments in the Amalienhof in Berlin-Staaken (1968)
- Housing complex for the Deutsche Bundespost Am Rupenhorn 7–8 (1973–1976), so-called terrace houses.
- Jewish retirement home ( Leo Baeck Synagogue ) in Charlottenburg, Herbartstrasse 26 (1980/1981).
For the entrance hall to the synagogue on the ground floor, six columns from the destroyed synagogue of an old people's home on Iranische Straße were used.
In Germany outside of Berlin
- Post office in Hamburg (1936–1938)
- Jewelery shop in Garmisch-Partenkirchen (1947)
foreign countries
- Goethe Institute in Athens (1975)
Working outside of architecture (selection)
Design drafts
- Interior design for a private apartment in Berlin-Charlottenburg (early 1920s)
- Armchairs, ceiling and wall fluorescent lamps for some Berlin architects (1924 to 1930)
- Steel armchair and steel table for Thonet (each 1930)
- Punch bowl, champagne cooler (1930)
- for the tool and machine factory (WMF) (1930)
- Interior redesign of the theater on Nollendorfplatz (1955)
- colored facade designs (Grenander-Allee, residential building at Kottbusser Tor, Bismarckstraße, Rückertstraße, Gitschiner Straße; 1974 to 1983), mostly implemented.
Stage designs
According to his own account, Wolff-Grohmann produced around 200 stage designs, including
- in Bavaria for operas, ballet and drama (1945 to 1949), voluntary
- for Maria Stuart by Friedrich Schiller (1947)
- in Berlin for Knight Bluebeard's Castle (1951)
painting
The artist Wolff-Grohmann began to paint pictures after his early landscape experiences and travel impressions. During his stay in the house of the painter Rolf Cavael in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, he was encouraged to do his own abstract paintings . Almost 100 works were created, including:
- Foehn over blue mountains
- Zeitgeist
- friendly continuity
- multiple abstractions
Other works (selection)
- Draft for a private airfield on Lake Geneva in Switzerland (1951)
Exhibitions and honors
In July 1951, the Charlottenburg Art Office organized a first exhibition with the title Hans Wolff-Grohmann, Architect, Painter, Set Designer .
The extensive architectural work by Wolff-Grohmann (and Gerhard Siegmann ) was honored in an exhibition in the Berlin Kulturforum in the summer of 1999 , which was then shown in the same autumn at the Science Center in Bonn.
Hans Wolff-Grohmann celebrated his 95th birthday with family members and numerous friends in Berlin and Salzburg.
In 2003, on the occasion of the architect's 100th birthday, a large number of Hans Wolff-Grohmann's works were shown in photos and models in an exhibition in the Romstedt Gallery in Potsdam.
Others
Most of the paintings, photos, project drafts and models of Wolff-Grohmann's life's work were given to various art institutions during his lifetime, namely to the Märkisches Museum , Bauhaus-Archiv Berlin, Landesarchiv Berlin , art library of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Stiftung Stadtmuseum, Berlinische Galerie (pictures).
literature
- City planners in the rush of destruction. In: Berliner Zeitung of May 26, 1999.
- Elke Blauert: Hans Wolff-Grohmann. Exhibition catalog. Edited by Bernd Evers. State Museums in Berlin, 1999, ISBN 3-88609-249-6 .
- Life memories of Hans Wolff-Grohmann, 1903–2000. Private material from Hans Wolff-Grohmann, Berlin 2004.
Web links
- Literature by and about Hans Wolff-Grohmann in the catalog of the German National Library
- Monuments of Wolff-Grohmann in Berlin: Repeater office for telephone calls with bunkers and residential building of the Reichs-Postdirektion Berlin at Stallupöner Allee 19-23 ,Cinema and Hotel L'Aiglon
- The synagogue on the BVV website
supporting documents
- ↑ a b c Memoirs of Hans Wolff-Grohmann
- ^ Architects of the BDA comment in 1949 on the plans of the building management of the municipal authorities. In: Bauwelt , 34/1949.
- ↑ Homepage of the Federal Office for Building and Regional Planning; accessed on April 27, 2009 ( 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.
- ↑ Architecture magazine Baumeister 8/1961
- ^ Presentation of the cinema at Luise-Berlin
- ↑ Federal buildings in Berlin: Representation of the former L'Aiglon cinema and other monuments on the site of the Julius-Leber-Kaserne ( 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.
- ↑ haGalil onLine, representation of the Leo Baeck Synagogue
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wolff-Grohmann, Hans |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Wolff, Hans |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German designer and architect |
| DATE OF BIRTH | April 4, 1903 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Berlin Tiergarten |
| DATE OF DEATH | January 15, 2000 |
| Place of death | Berlin-Dahlem |