Alfredo Wiechers Pieretti
Encyclopedia
Alfredo Wiechers Pieretti was a Puerto Rican architect
from Ponce, Puerto Rico
. He was an expositor of the Neoclassicism
and Art Nouveau
architectural styles, doing most of his work in his hometown of Ponce. Today, Alfredo Wiechers' city residence, located in the Ponce Historic Zone
and which he designed himself, is home to the Puerto Rico Museum of Architecture
. After enriching his hometown city with some of the most architecturally exquisite buildings, he moved to Spain
claiming political persecution by the authorities in the Island
.
, on March 26, 1881. He was the youngest of five children born to the German Georg Friederich Wiechers Kelm and Isabel Pieretti Marsaud, a Ponceña woman of Corsican ancestry. Alfredo's father was a businessman from Hamburg, Germany who settled in Ponce around 1860 and in 1865 he was named Prussia
's consul
for Ponce. He was re-appointed in 1872 and 1874, at a time when Ponce was the capital of the southern region of Puerto Rico (San Juan
was the capital of the northern region).
. In 1901, he obtained a gold medal for outstanding achievement and excellence during his professional studies. He graduated in 1905 and worked at the office of Enric Sagnier
, a famous Spanish architect, in Barcelona, Spain. He lived in Barcelona
for six years while working at Enric's distinguished studio.
In 1908 Wiechers Pieretti married Ponce-born Carmen Gilet in Barcelona, and in 1910 he returned to Puerto Rico, settling in Ponce.
. He built it as his own residence and studio
. He later sold the pompous home to Mr. Gabriel Villaronga. In a short period of time, from 1911 to 1918, Wiechers was commissioned with various important buildings such as: the Logia Aurora, Club Deportivo de Damas, the Havana Theater, Banco of Ponce Building
, and Santo Asilo de Damas Hospital among others, where he fully expressed the European Neo-Classical
style which he had learned from Enric Sagnier. Alfredo Wiechers lived in his house for seven years.
, Oppenheimer House
) he sold his house to the Villaronga family and fled in 1919 to Barcelona, under political pressure. Although his prolific works (1911–1918) include hotels, stores, mausoleums, and even factories, the majority of his work was done in Ponce—he ventured out of Ponce only to design two structures for wealthy Catalonian families in the neighboring mountain towns of Adjuntas and Aibonito. His work in Puerto Rico includes the designs for Logia Adelphia, Don Eugenio Serralles Residence (Casa Serralles), the Oppenheimer House
, and the Blasini Residence. He also designed the Club Deportivo de Ponce (Ponce Sports Club), the Vendrell House, and homes for the Gelpí and Arce families. Wiechers designed and built Casa Serralles (not to be confused with Castillo Serralles) in 1911. This comodious residence is located in downtown Ponce, between Museo de la Historia de Ponce
and the Juan Morel Campos Music Institute. Casa Serralles, which last belonged to the Rosa María Serrallés heirs, composed of Alberto J. Torruella Serrallés, Guillermo J. Torruella Serrallés and Rosa M. Torruella Serrallés, was purchased by the municipal government in 2008 to add to its catalogue of illustrious homes built by Alfredo Wiechers. In 1911, Wiechers also designed the Mausoleo del Cuerpo de Bomberos of the City of Ponce (Mausoleum of the Corps of Firemen of the City of Ponce) located at the Cementerio Municipal de Ponce on Calle Cementerio Civil in barrio Canas Urbano
.
of the Gilet family.
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
from Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
. He was an expositor of the Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism
Neoclassicism is the name given to Western movements in the decorative and visual arts, literature, theatre, music, and architecture that draw inspiration from the "classical" art and culture of Ancient Greece or Ancient Rome...
and Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau is an international philosophy and style of art, architecture and applied art—especially the decorative arts—that were most popular during 1890–1910. The name "Art Nouveau" is French for "new art"...
architectural styles, doing most of his work in his hometown of Ponce. Today, Alfredo Wiechers' city residence, located in the Ponce Historic Zone
Ponce Historic Zone
The Ponce Historic Zone is a historic district in downtown Ponce, Puerto Rico with construction that dates to the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The zone was originally designated in 1962, and then it only included the center core of the city, but it has since been expanded to...
and which he designed himself, is home to the Puerto Rico Museum of Architecture
Casa Wiechers-Villaronga
The Casa Wiechers-Villaronga is a Neo-classical style mansion in Ponce, Puerto Rico designed and built in the early twentieth century. The house was acquired and restored by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture and now operates as the Museum of Puerto Rican Architecture. The house sits in the...
. After enriching his hometown city with some of the most architecturally exquisite buildings, he moved to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
claiming political persecution by the authorities in the Island
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
.
Early years
Alfredo Braulio Wiechers Pieretti was born in Ponce, Puerto RicoPonce, Puerto Rico
Ponce is both a city and a municipality in the southern part of Puerto Rico. The city is the seat of the municipal government.The city of Ponce, the fourth most populated in Puerto Rico, and the most populated outside of the San Juan metropolitan area, is named for Juan Ponce de León y Loayza, the...
, on March 26, 1881. He was the youngest of five children born to the German Georg Friederich Wiechers Kelm and Isabel Pieretti Marsaud, a Ponceña woman of Corsican ancestry. Alfredo's father was a businessman from Hamburg, Germany who settled in Ponce around 1860 and in 1865 he was named Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
's consul
Consul
Consul was the highest elected office of the Roman Republic and an appointive office under the Empire. The title was also used in other city states and also revived in modern states, notably in the First French Republic...
for Ponce. He was re-appointed in 1872 and 1874, at a time when Ponce was the capital of the southern region of Puerto Rico (San Juan
San Juan, Puerto Rico
San Juan , officially Municipio de la Ciudad Capital San Juan Bautista , is the capital and most populous municipality in Puerto Rico, an unincorporated territory of the United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 395,326 making it the 46th-largest city under the jurisdiction of...
was the capital of the northern region).
Training
Upon the death of his father in Ponce, Wiechers Pieretti, still an adolescent, came to be under the guardianship of Juan Lacot, the husband of Rosa Wiechers Pieretti, Alfredo's oldest sister. A short while later they moved to Barcelona, and Alfredo started studies in Paris at the École Spéciale d'ArchitectureÉcole Spéciale d'Architecture
The École Spéciale d'Architecture is a private school for architecture at 254, boulevard Raspail in Paris, France.The school was founded in 1865 by engineer Emile Trélat as reaction against the educational monopoly of Beaux-Arts architecture...
. In 1901, he obtained a gold medal for outstanding achievement and excellence during his professional studies. He graduated in 1905 and worked at the office of Enric Sagnier
Enric Sagnier
Enric Sagnier i Villavecchia was a Catalan architect of Spanish nationality.Although now not as well known as his contemporaries Antoni Gaudí, Lluís Domènech i Montaner and Josep Puig i Cadafalch, he was responsible for a number of landmark buildings, was very prolific, and could turn his hand to...
, a famous Spanish architect, in Barcelona, Spain. He lived in Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
for six years while working at Enric's distinguished studio.
In 1908 Wiechers Pieretti married Ponce-born Carmen Gilet in Barcelona, and in 1910 he returned to Puerto Rico, settling in Ponce.
His residence
Alfredo Wiechers returned to Ponce in 1910 and, within two years, he built what is known today as the Wiechers-Villaronga ResidenceCasa Wiechers-Villaronga
The Casa Wiechers-Villaronga is a Neo-classical style mansion in Ponce, Puerto Rico designed and built in the early twentieth century. The house was acquired and restored by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture and now operates as the Museum of Puerto Rican Architecture. The house sits in the...
. He built it as his own residence and studio
Studio
A studio is an artist's or worker's workroom, or the catchall term for an artist and his or her employees who work within that studio. This can be for the purpose of architecture, painting, pottery , sculpture, scrapbooking, photography, graphic design, filmmaking, animation, radio or television...
. He later sold the pompous home to Mr. Gabriel Villaronga. In a short period of time, from 1911 to 1918, Wiechers was commissioned with various important buildings such as: the Logia Aurora, Club Deportivo de Damas, the Havana Theater, Banco of Ponce Building
Banco de Ponce (building)
The Banco de Ponce building, a historic building in Ponce, Puerto Rico, was the first and main office of Banco de Ponce until the company merged with Banco Popular in 1990. Though its headquarters had moved to a presumptous building in Hato Rey's Milla de Oro by then, Banco de Ponce continued to...
, and Santo Asilo de Damas Hospital among others, where he fully expressed the European Neo-Classical
Neoclassical architecture
Neoclassical architecture was an architectural style produced by the neoclassical movement that began in the mid-18th century, manifested both in its details as a reaction against the Rococo style of naturalistic ornament, and in its architectural formulas as an outgrowth of some classicizing...
style which he had learned from Enric Sagnier. Alfredo Wiechers lived in his house for seven years.
His works
After leaving his architectural mark on the city of Ponce (Casa SerrallesCasa Serrallés
Casa Serrallés is a historic building in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico. The building was purchased by the government of the Autonomous Municipality of Ponce in 2008 for its architectural, historic, and cultural value...
, Oppenheimer House
Oppenheimer House
Casa Oppenheimer is a historic house in Ponce, Puerto Rico, designed in 1913 by famed Puerto Rican architect by Alfredo B. Wiechers. The house is unique amongst other historic structures in historic Ponce for its skillful incorporation of front gardens in a very limited urban space...
) he sold his house to the Villaronga family and fled in 1919 to Barcelona, under political pressure. Although his prolific works (1911–1918) include hotels, stores, mausoleums, and even factories, the majority of his work was done in Ponce—he ventured out of Ponce only to design two structures for wealthy Catalonian families in the neighboring mountain towns of Adjuntas and Aibonito. His work in Puerto Rico includes the designs for Logia Adelphia, Don Eugenio Serralles Residence (Casa Serralles), the Oppenheimer House
Oppenheimer House
Casa Oppenheimer is a historic house in Ponce, Puerto Rico, designed in 1913 by famed Puerto Rican architect by Alfredo B. Wiechers. The house is unique amongst other historic structures in historic Ponce for its skillful incorporation of front gardens in a very limited urban space...
, and the Blasini Residence. He also designed the Club Deportivo de Ponce (Ponce Sports Club), the Vendrell House, and homes for the Gelpí and Arce families. Wiechers designed and built Casa Serralles (not to be confused with Castillo Serralles) in 1911. This comodious residence is located in downtown Ponce, between Museo de la Historia de Ponce
Museo de la Historia de Ponce
The Museo de la Historia de Ponce is a museum in the city of Ponce, Puerto Rico, depicting the city's ecology, economy, architecture, government, and elements of daily life. Inaugurated in 1992, it was the first museum in Puerto Rico established to cover the history of the people of a town or city...
and the Juan Morel Campos Music Institute. Casa Serralles, which last belonged to the Rosa María Serrallés heirs, composed of Alberto J. Torruella Serrallés, Guillermo J. Torruella Serrallés and Rosa M. Torruella Serrallés, was purchased by the municipal government in 2008 to add to its catalogue of illustrious homes built by Alfredo Wiechers. In 1911, Wiechers also designed the Mausoleo del Cuerpo de Bomberos of the City of Ponce (Mausoleum of the Corps of Firemen of the City of Ponce) located at the Cementerio Municipal de Ponce on Calle Cementerio Civil in barrio Canas Urbano
Canas Urbano
Canas Urbano is one of the 31 barrios of the municipality of Ponce, Puerto Rico. Along with Machuelo Abajo, Magueyes Urbano, Portugués Urbano, and San Antón, Canas Urbano is one of the municipality's five originally rural barrios that are now also part of the urban zone of the city of Ponce...
.
Later years
In 1918 Wiechers returned with his family to Spain, claiming political persecution by the authorities in Puerto Rico. After this, he never performed as an architect again for health reasons as well as not being on possession of a license to practice architecture. He died in 1964, and was interred at the Montjuïc Cemetery in Barcelona at the MausoleumMausoleum
A mausoleum is an external free-standing building constructed as a monument enclosing the interment space or burial chamber of a deceased person or persons. A monument without the interment is a cenotaph. A mausoleum may be considered a type of tomb or the tomb may be considered to be within the...
of the Gilet family.
Alfredo Wiecher's Papers
The Architecture and Construction Archives at the University of Puerto Rico (AACUPR) is the custodian of the Alfredo Wiecher Collection (1896-1986). Approximately two cubic feet in size, the collection contains architectural drawings, photographs, and publications. The Architectural Drawings Series contains 128 projects organized chronologically. The collection was transferred from the Puerto Rico Architects Association in 1998.See also
- List of famous Puerto Ricans
- German immigration to Puerto RicoGerman immigration to Puerto RicoGerman immigration to Puerto Rico increased when German businessmen immigrated to Puerto Rico during the early part of the 19th century. However, it was the economic and political situation in Europe during the early 19th century plus, the fact that the Spanish Crown issued the Royal Decree of...
- Blas Silva
- Francisco Porrata DoriaFrancisco Porrata DoriaFrancisco Porrata-Doria was a twentieth-century Puerto Rican architect from Ponce, Puerto Rico. Porrata-Doria was a pioneer in the development of the local modern architecture and one of the architects responsible for what has been called "Ponce Monumental Architecture", of which the Banco Crédito...
- Wiechers-Villaronga Residence