Thank you Ulrich Könz

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Könz's house in Guarda

Iachen Ulrich Könz (born February 20, 1899 in Arezzo , Tuscany , † December 25, 1980 in Samedan ) was a Swiss architect , restorer and author .

Life

Iachen Ulrich Könz was the son of Peider and Constanza Könz-Vital, a family who emigrated to Italy from Guarda. The family owned the large house No. 47 in Guarda on Plazetta Zuos-cha. His father was a businessman. Könz completed his Matura at the Bündner Kantonsschule in Chur and studied architecture at the ETH Zurich and the Technical University of Stuttgart and obtained the ETH diploma in 1921. After an internship in France and a study trip to Italy, he opened his own architecture office in Davos , in 1926 in Zuoz and from 1939 in Guarda. His first marriage to Dora Geer had four sons. After divorcing his wife, he married Selina Chönz -Meyer, who later became the author of the Schellenursli . Their son was the painter and draftsman Steivan Liun Könz (1940–1998). Könz was Landammann of the Sur Tasna district, mayor of Guarda as well as monument conservator of the canton of Graubünden and chairman of the Engadine section of the Bündner Heimatschutz .

plant

His early work included the restoration of the reformed church in Zuoz in 1918 and the rebuilding of burned-down houses in Sent GR in 1921 and Susch in 1925. In 1922, Könz painted and directed the renovation of the interior of the reformed church in Giarsun and, from 1931 to 1933, the renewal of the church tower and the Reformed Church of Guarda .

His main architectural work is the overall restoration of the village of Guarda with its Engadine houses from 1939 to 1945. His holistic renovation concept from 1937 was unusual for the time. In addition to tailor-made suggestions for the individual houses, it also included the entire village complex with paving of streets, fences, lighting, telephone and power lines as well as fountains and flower arrangements. The canton and the federal government supported an impoverished mountain community with this extensive renovation, because Switzerland, under pressure at the time, remembered the ideological power of its mountains and wanted to preserve its uniqueness.

His study of the mountain village Vrin , which he carried out together with the Research and Advice Center for Agricultural Technology , became a model for numerous other mountain villages. From 1953 to 1956 he restored the Casa Grande (Ciäsa Granda) in Stampa and in 1957 the Planta-Wildenberg Castle in Zernez . From 1970 to 1973 he directed the restoration of the Chasa Jaura in Valchava.

  • Giarsun Church

  • Guarda

  • Casa Grande in Stampa

  • Wildenberg Castle in Zernez

  • Power plant in Zervreila

In his new buildings, he tried to combine classic modernism with the old Engadine architecture. In 1946 he built the Turo Pedretti studio house in Samedan (destroyed by an avalanche in 1951) and in Celerina / Schlarigna in 1951 . In 1964 he built the Chesa Flurina in Samedan for his wife, reusing historical components, as an example of a synthesis between regional building tradition and classic modernism. In 1968 he built the former national park house in Zernez.

In addition, Könz was involved in the construction of hydropower plants . In 1958, for example, he built the machine house for Kraftwerke Zervreila AG at the foot of the dam. As an author and preservationist, he wrote works on regional historical building forms and techniques.

Awards

  • In 1954, Könz received the Premio per l'architettura e l'urbanistica montana from the University of Turin for his work .
  • 1978 Culture Prize from the Laudinella Culture Center in St. Moritz .

Books

  • The Engadine house. Swiss homeland books, Bündner series, 2nd volume. Paul Haupt, Bern 1952/1954. 1994 edition, ISBN 3-258-03215-7 .
  • Guarda. Paul Haupt, Bern 1976 / 2nd edition 1982, ISBN 3-258-02430-8 .
  • Sgraffito in the Engadine and Bergell. (Photos by Eduard Widmer.) Atlantis, Zurich 1977, ISBN 3-7611-0524-X .
  • Directory of farmhouses in the canton of Graubünden. Swiss Heritage Protection, Engadin & Graubünden Section, 1943–1945.

literature

  • Hans Christoph von Tavel: Artist Lexicon of Switzerland, XX. Century. Volume 1. Huber, Frauenfeld 1958-1967, reprint 1983, p. 539 f.
  • Isabelle Rucki, Dorothee Huber: Architectural Lexicon of Switzerland: 19./20. Century. Birkhäuser, Basel 1998, p. 318 f.
  • Dieter Schnell: Schellen-Ursli and the preservation of monuments . Journal for Swiss Archeology and Art History Volume 60 2003, No. 4 [1]

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Dieter Schnell: Schellenursli and the preservation of monuments
  2. ↑ Jachen Ulrich Könz: Vrin , in: Heimatschutz No. 40, 1945
  3. ^ Building culture: Chesa Flurina
  4. ^ Baukultur: Zervreila machine house
personal data
SURNAME Koenz, Iachen Ulrich
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Koenz, Jachen Ulrich
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Swiss architect, restorer and author
DATE OF BIRTH February 20, 1899
PLACE OF BIRTH Arezzo
DATE OF DEATH December 25, 1980
Place of death Samedan