Robert Walter (architect)

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Robert Walter
Friedrich-Engelhorn-Hochhaus of BASF in Ludwigshafen, planned 1953, built 1954–1957

Robert Walter (born February 15, 1928 in Feldkirch , Austria ; † August 13, 2018 ) was an Austrian architect . Under the umbrella of the Düsseldorf architecture firm Hentrich & Petschnigg , he was significantly involved in the design of large high-rise projects in the 1950s and early 1960s in the Federal Republic ( Friedrich Engelhorn high-rise at BASF in Ludwigshafen, Dreischeibenhaus in Düsseldorf, Unilever house in Hamburg, etc.). His projects also include parts of the Ruhr University Bochum and the state parliament building in North Rhine-Westphalia .

life and work

Robert Walter was the youngest son of the Vorarlberg court councilor Robert Walter and Maria Walter. He studied architecture at the Graz University of Technology . During his studies he met Fritz Eller and Erich Moser , with whom he had a professional partnership that lasted for decades. After graduating in architecture, he followed an invitation to the 9th Congrès Internationaux d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM) in Aix-en-Provence in 1953 with Eller and Moser . There they came into contact with important modern architects such as Le Corbusier .

Dreischeibenhaus of Thyssen AG in Düsseldorf, planned 1955, built 1957–1960

The three architects moved to Düsseldorf and worked as freelance architects in the Hentrich & Heuser architectural office (Hentrich & Petschnigg office since 1953 ). There they took over the construction management for the reconstruction of the war-damaged Jägerhof Palace in Düsseldorf-Pempelfort . In addition, Walter was involved in the competition design for the BASF high-rise in Ludwigshafen, which won the first prize and thus the building contract took place ( Friedrich-Engelhorn high-rise , built 1954 to 1957). This building was the tallest building in Germany until 1963. In 1955, the order for the Dreischeibenhaus in Düsseldorf followed .

Europacenter Berlin, planned around 1961, built 1963–1965

In the Hentrich & Petschnigg office, Walter was significantly involved in the following projects: Headquarters of the iron and steel works in Rheinhausen (construction 1956–1957); Unilever high-rise in Hamburg (built 1961–1964, today under the name Emporio high-rise ); Bayer high-rise W 1 in Leverkusen (built 1959–1961) and the Europacenter in Berlin (built 1963–1965).

In 1959 Walter became a partner in the newly named working group architects BDA Hentrich, Petschnigg, Eller, Moser, Walter, Köllges, Stutz, Rüping. In cooperation with this office, Eller-Moser-Walter won the international ideas competition for the Ruhr University Bochum in 1961 .

In 1964 Walter founded the architectural office EMW (Eller-Moser-Walter) with offices in Düsseldorf and Bochum together with Eller and Moser . Its main works include the central facilities of the Ruhr University Bochum and the state parliament building in North Rhine-Westphalia, which was completed in 1988.

State Parliament building North Rhine-Westphalia

Numerous other orders followed, including the Mechernich Progymnasium, the University of Dortmund, the Bochum Comprehensive School, the Jülich School Center and the University of Oldenburg with a central area, library, cafeteria and sports facilities. In addition, in the 1980s, the EMW office designed the comprehensive university in Duisburg as well as administration buildings for companies and public institutions.

Walter was married and had four children.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Obituary. In: trauer.rp-online.de. Retrieved August 18, 2018 .
  2. ^ House of the Landtag. In: landtag.nrw.de. The President of the State Parliament of North Rhine-Westphalia, accessed on February 4, 2018 .
  3. ↑ Robert Walter in conversation with Gabriele Wiesemann, Wolfgang Voigt and Erasmus Eller, on May 1, 2018 in Kaarst.
  4. ↑ I would become an architect again at any time. In: Welt am Sonntag , January 28, 2018
  5. ^ Henry Russell Hitchcock: HPP. Buildings and designs. Hentrich-Petschnigg & Partner . Düsseldorf 1973, p. XI .
  6. ↑ Hans-Bernhard Adams (Ed.): 50 years of HPP. Hentrich-Petschnigg & Partner, Architects . Düsseldorf 1983, p. 9 .
  7. ↑ Kaarst: A triad for life , on rp-online.de
  8. ↑ Richard Hoppe-Sailer, Cornelia Jöchner, Frank Schmitz (eds.): Ruhr University Bochum. Post-war modern architecture visions . Berlin 2015.
  9. ↑ Status report of a vision , on derarchitektbda.de
personal data
SURNAME Walter, Robert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Austrian architect
DATE OF BIRTH February 15, 1928
PLACE OF BIRTH Feldkirch , Austria
DATE OF DEATH 13th August 2018