Hermann Wurzbach

Hermann Ernst Karl Wurzbach (born June 20, 1865 in Hamburg ; † February 17, 1905 there ) was a German architect .

Live and act

Born in Hamburg, Wurzbach completed an apprenticeship as a bricklayer from the age of 15. In the winter months he worked out theoretical basics at the building trade school. He received a predominantly practical training, which was considered common for architects of his time. In the meantime, he found his first job with an architect at Hardorff & Schomburgk . From 1866 until the spring of 1889 he studied at the Dresden Polytechnic , which at the time was considered one of the most respected German universities for architects.

In the period that followed, Wurzbach concentrated on working as a freelance architect in an office founded with Ernst Schmidt (* 1865) from Altona at the end of 1887 . As Schmidt & Wurzbach , they took part in many competitions. They also had a booth on the Hamburg stock exchange where they advertised for orders. As the city flourished and grew rapidly, the construction of rental apartments was an attractive field of activity for architects. The two designed several houses in the Karolinenviertel , in Eppendorf and on the Uhlenhorst and were quickly regarded as respected builders. Her most important commission in 1890/91 was the neo-Gothic building of the village church in Neuenbrook .

Although they were economically successful, Wurzbach and Schmidt separated in 1899. Wurzbach then planned the baker's guild on Holstenwall built in 1899/1900 on his own . In 1900 he founded a new office with Leonhard Frejtag , whom he met while studying. In addition to residential buildings, they increasingly realized the new types of office buildings that were specific to Hamburg and that permanently changed the image of the city. Since this type of building provided for skeleton constructions with clearly structured pillar facades, Wurzbach and Frejtag mostly dispensed with historicizing ornaments and became pioneers of such design forms.

The first building designed in this way was the Australhaus in Poststrasse in 1903/1904. They decorated the outer facade for the first time with glazed tiles known as “grès flammès”. They also used these bricks for the Gertig House on the Great Burstah and the Pinçon House on the Neuer Wall , both of which were built in 1905, weakening the radical appearance of the pillar facades. This type of office building prevailed in Hamburg, which Wurzbach did not experience due to his early death. He died in early 1905 after a short illness due to an ear ailment. His business partner Frejtag accepted new partners into the office and successfully continued the business.

literature

• Jan Lubitz: Wurzbach, Hermann . In: Franklin Kopitzsch, Dirk Brietzke (Hrsg.): Hamburgische Biographie . tape 6 . Wallstein, Göttingen 2012, ISBN 978-3-8353-1025-4 , p. 385-387 .