Fred Forbát
Encyclopedia
Fred Forbát was a Hungarian-born architect with significant work in Germany and Sweden.
Forbát was born of Jewish parents in Pécs. He studied architecture and art history at the University of Budapest
and the Technical University of Munich
.
From 1920 though 1922 Forbát worked with Walter Gropius
and was a lecturer at the Bauhaus
in its first incarnation, in Weimar. (According to Willett, at least, Forbát and his wife had been deported by the Bavarian government.) Forbát was the one who encouraged and recommended the school to his fellow Hungarian Marcel Breuer
. After a short time in independent practice, he served from 1925 to 1928 as chief architect of Berlin's contractor and promoter Adolf Sommerfeld. In 1926 he joined The Ring
.
In 1929-1931 he was the co-designer, with Walter Gropius
, Otto Bartning
, Hugo Haring
and Paul Rudolf Henning, of the Ringsiedlung Siemensstadt
Housing Project, Berlin-Charlottenburg-Nord, Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
. (Forbát's contributions are Goebelstrasse 2-10 and Geisserpfad 11-19.) In 1930 he also designed the Mommsenstadion in Berlin-Charlottenburg.
In 1928 Forbát received a commission from the Russian government to build communal housing for foreign civil engineers. This was never built, but the commission led to Forbát's move to the U.S.S.R. in 1933 where he joined the so-called May Brigade, associated with Ernst May
a group of Social Democratic architects exiled from Germany and promised vast amounts of urban-planning work for the emerging Soviet Union, work that never quite materialized. By some accounts Forbát contributed to May's ill-fated super-plan for Magnitogorsk
.
In 1938 he briefly returned to Hungary as a free-lance architect, and was responsible for a number of tenements and free-standing houses there. Later that same year he traveled to Stockholm
, where he began a long term association. He worked for the Urban Ministry, then became a member of the Stadtplanungskommitee "Eglers Stadsplanebyrå". Forbát was at least partly responsible for master plans for the Swedish cities of Skövde
(1949), Landskrona
(1951), Kullabygden (1959), Linköping
(1967) and Kristinehamn
.
In 1952 Forbát was co-organizer of the 1952 special (non-congress) meeting of CIAM
in Sigtuna (Sweden), and also helped organize the 1957 Interbau
project in Berlin.
Forbát's papers are held by the Swedish Museum of Architecture in Stockholm.
Forbát was born of Jewish parents in Pécs. He studied architecture and art history at the University of Budapest
University of Budapest
The Eötvös Loránd University or ELTE, founded in 1635, is the largest university in Hungary, located in Budapest.-History:The university was founded in 1635 in Nagyszombat by the archbishop and theologian Péter Pázmány. Leadership was given over to the Jesuits...
and the Technical University of Munich
Technical University of Munich
The Technische Universität München is a research university with campuses in Munich, Garching, and Weihenstephan...
.
From 1920 though 1922 Forbát worked with Walter Gropius
Walter Gropius
Walter Adolph Georg Gropius was a German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School who, along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture....
and was a lecturer at the Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
in its first incarnation, in Weimar. (According to Willett, at least, Forbát and his wife had been deported by the Bavarian government.) Forbát was the one who encouraged and recommended the school to his fellow Hungarian Marcel Breuer
Marcel Breuer
Marcel Lajos Breuer , was a Hungarian-born modernist, architect and furniture designer of Jewish descent. One of the masters of Modernism, Breuer displayed interest in modular construction and simple forms.- Life and work :Known to his friends and associates as Lajkó, Breuer studied and taught at...
. After a short time in independent practice, he served from 1925 to 1928 as chief architect of Berlin's contractor and promoter Adolf Sommerfeld. In 1926 he joined The Ring
The Ring
- Film :* The Ring , a film by Alfred Hitchcock* The Ring , a film by Kurt Neumann* The Ring , a film by Armand Mastroianni...
.
In 1929-1931 he was the co-designer, with Walter Gropius
Walter Gropius
Walter Adolph Georg Gropius was a German architect and founder of the Bauhaus School who, along with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Le Corbusier, is widely regarded as one of the pioneering masters of modern architecture....
, Otto Bartning
Otto Bartning
Otto Bartning was a Modernist German architect, architectural theorist and teacher. In his early career he developed plans with Walter Gropius for the establishment of the Bauhaus. He was a member of Der Ring...
, Hugo Haring
Hugo Häring
Hugo Häring was a German architect and architectural writer best known for his writings on "organic architecture", and as a figure in architectural debates about functionalism in the 1920s and 1930s, though he had an important role as an expressionist architect.A student of the great Theodor...
and Paul Rudolf Henning, of the Ringsiedlung Siemensstadt
Siemensstadt
The Siemensstadt Housing Estate is a nonprofit residential community in the Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf district of Berlin. It is one of the six Modernist Housing Estates in Berlin recognized in July 2008 by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site.-Geography:...
Housing Project, Berlin-Charlottenburg-Nord, Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf is the fourth borough of Berlin, formed in the 2001 administrative reform by merging the former boroughs of Charlottenburg and Wilmersdorf.-Overview:Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf covers the western centre of the City of Berlin...
. (Forbát's contributions are Goebelstrasse 2-10 and Geisserpfad 11-19.) In 1930 he also designed the Mommsenstadion in Berlin-Charlottenburg.
In 1928 Forbát received a commission from the Russian government to build communal housing for foreign civil engineers. This was never built, but the commission led to Forbát's move to the U.S.S.R. in 1933 where he joined the so-called May Brigade, associated with Ernst May
Ernst May
Ernst May was a German architect and city planner.May successfully applied urban design techniques to the city of Frankfurt am Main during Germany's Weimar period, and in 1930 less successfully exported those ideas to Soviet Union cities, newly created under Stalinist rule...
a group of Social Democratic architects exiled from Germany and promised vast amounts of urban-planning work for the emerging Soviet Union, work that never quite materialized. By some accounts Forbát contributed to May's ill-fated super-plan for Magnitogorsk
Magnitogorsk
Magnitogorsk is a mining and industrial city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the eastern side of the extreme southern extent of the Ural Mountains by the Ural River. Population: 418,545 ;...
.
In 1938 he briefly returned to Hungary as a free-lance architect, and was responsible for a number of tenements and free-standing houses there. Later that same year he traveled to Stockholm
Stockholm
Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...
, where he began a long term association. He worked for the Urban Ministry, then became a member of the Stadtplanungskommitee "Eglers Stadsplanebyrå". Forbát was at least partly responsible for master plans for the Swedish cities of Skövde
Skövde
Skövde is a locality and the seat of Skövde Municipality, Västra Götaland County, Sweden with 34 446 inhabitants .Skövde is situated some 150 km northeast of Gothenburg, between Sweden's two largest lakes, Vänern and Vättern. It sits on the eastern slope of a low mountain ridge Billingen ,...
(1949), Landskrona
Landskrona
Landskrona is a locality and the seat of Landskrona Municipality, Skåne County, Sweden with 28,670 inhabitants in 2005.-History:The city of Landskrona was founded at the location of Scania's best natural harbour, as a means of King Eric of Pomerania's anti-Hanseatic policy, intended to compete...
(1951), Kullabygden (1959), Linköping
Linköping
Linköping is a city in southern middle Sweden, with 104 232 inhabitants in 2010. It is the seat of Linköping Municipality with 146 736 inhabitants and the capital of Östergötland County...
(1967) and Kristinehamn
Kristinehamn
Kristinehamn is a locality and the seat of Kristinehamn Municipality, Värmland County, Sweden with 17,836 inhabitants in 2005.- Geography :Kristinehamn is situated by the shores of lake Vänern...
.
In 1952 Forbát was co-organizer of the 1952 special (non-congress) meeting of CIAM
CIAM
CIAM may refer to:* Commission Internationale Aeromodelling, a section of Fédération Aéronautique Internationale* Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne, the International Congress of Modern Architecture...
in Sigtuna (Sweden), and also helped organize the 1957 Interbau
Interbau
Interbau was a housing development, constructed as part of the 1957 International Building Exhibition in the Hansaviertel area of West Berlin....
project in Berlin.
Forbát's papers are held by the Swedish Museum of Architecture in Stockholm.
External links
- Art & Politics in the Weimar Period, by John Willett
- on Forbat's papers