Martin Wagner (architect)
Encyclopedia
Martin Wagner was a German architect, city planner, and author, best known as the driving force behind the construction of modernist housing projects in interwar Berlin
.
and worked as draftsman in the office of planner Hermann Muthesius
, before being appointed the City Building Commissioner for Schöneberg
in 1918 (now an inner-city area of Berlin).
He served as the chief city planner of Berlin from 1925, and most of Berlin's Modernist Housing Estates
, now recognized as a UNESCO
World Heritage Site
, were constructed under his leadership. In 1924 he founded the building society Gehag, which was responsible for seventy percent of Berlin's housing built from 1924 through 1933, amounting to many thousands of residential units.
Wagner was more planner than design-architect, and few individual building designs are directly attributable to him. His role was parallel to Ernst May
's role in Frankfurt-am-Main: the leader of a large-scale effort to standardize building requirements, rationalize construction practice, organize industrial suppliers and labor unions, all in the effort to mass-produce housing.
In his German projects Wagner was a frequent collaborator with German landscape architect Leberecht Migge
.
As the Nazis came to power through the early 1930s, Wagner fell under increasing pressure and suspicion as a committed Social Democrat and longtime member of the SPD
. He was expelled from the Deutscher Werkbund
in 1933 and decided to leave the country. He spent three years in Turkey in exile. His work there included the city plan for Ankara
, and a brief reunion with colleague Bruno Taut
.
, his immigration to the United States assisted by his colleague Walter Gropius
. Among Wagner's students at the GSD were William Wurster
and Catherine Bauer.
But already by 1940, his relationship with Gropius was strained. Wagner complained of Gropius abandoning the underlying social principles of modernism, and practicing modernism only as a style. On the other hand, Wagner's purism may not have been serving him well: in 1944 he produced a new city plan for Boston
which called for a complete razing and restructuring of the city's entire downtown area.
Wagner took American citizenship in 1944; he served as professor at the GSD until retirement in 1951. Wagner's son Bernard Wagner was also an architect.
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
.
Germany
Tall, angular, loyally Socialist, and uncompromising in his opinions, Wagner was educated at the Technical University of BerlinTechnical University of Berlin
The Technische Universität Berlin is a research university located in Berlin, Germany. Translating the name into English is discouraged by the university, however paraphrasing as Berlin Institute of Technology is recommended by the university if necessary .The TU Berlin was founded...
and worked as draftsman in the office of planner Hermann Muthesius
Hermann Muthesius
Adam Gottlieb Hermann Muthesius , known as Hermann Muthesius, was a German architect, author and diplomat, perhaps best known for promoting many of the ideas of the English Arts and Crafts movement within Germany and for his subsequent influence on early pioneers of German architectural modernism...
, before being appointed the City Building Commissioner for Schöneberg
Schöneberg
Schöneberg is a locality of Berlin, Germany. Until Berlin's 2001 administrative reform it was a separate borough including the locality of Friedenau. Together with the former borough of Tempelhof it is now part of the new borough of Tempelhof-Schöneberg....
in 1918 (now an inner-city area of Berlin).
He served as the chief city planner of Berlin from 1925, and most of Berlin's Modernist Housing Estates
Modernist Housing Estates
Berlin Modernism Housing Estates consists of six subsidized housing estates that testify to innovative housing policies from 1910 to 1933, especially during the Weimar Republic, when the city of Berlin was particularly progressive socially, politically and culturally...
, now recognized as a UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
World Heritage Site
World Heritage Site
A UNESCO World Heritage Site is a place that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance...
, were constructed under his leadership. In 1924 he founded the building society Gehag, which was responsible for seventy percent of Berlin's housing built from 1924 through 1933, amounting to many thousands of residential units.
Wagner was more planner than design-architect, and few individual building designs are directly attributable to him. His role was parallel to 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...
's role in Frankfurt-am-Main: the leader of a large-scale effort to standardize building requirements, rationalize construction practice, organize industrial suppliers and labor unions, all in the effort to mass-produce housing.
In his German projects Wagner was a frequent collaborator with German landscape architect Leberecht Migge
Leberecht Migge
Leberecht Migge was a German landscape architect, regional planner and polemical writer, best known for the incorporation of social gardening principles in the Siedlungswesen movement during the Weimar Republic...
.
As the Nazis came to power through the early 1930s, Wagner fell under increasing pressure and suspicion as a committed Social Democrat and longtime member of the SPD
Social Democratic Party of Germany
The Social Democratic Party of Germany is a social-democratic political party in Germany...
. He was expelled from the Deutscher Werkbund
Deutscher Werkbund
The Deutscher Werkbund was a German association of artists, architects, designers, and industrialists. The Werkbund was to become an important event in the development of modern architecture and industrial design, particularly in the later creation of the Bauhaus school of design...
in 1933 and decided to leave the country. He spent three years in Turkey in exile. His work there included the city plan for Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
, and a brief reunion with colleague Bruno Taut
Bruno Taut
Bruno Julius Florian Taut , was a prolific German architect, urban planner and author active during the Weimar period....
.
United States
In 1938 Wagner took a position teaching city planning at the Harvard Graduate School of DesignHarvard Graduate School of Design
The Harvard Graduate School of Design is a graduate school at Harvard University offering degrees in Architecture, Landscape Architecture, and Urban Planning and Design.-History:...
, his immigration to the United States assisted by his colleague 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....
. Among Wagner's students at the GSD were William Wurster
William Wurster
William Wilson Wurster was an American architect and architectural teacher at the University of California, Berkeley and at MIT, best known for his residential designs in California. - Biography :...
and Catherine Bauer.
But already by 1940, his relationship with Gropius was strained. Wagner complained of Gropius abandoning the underlying social principles of modernism, and practicing modernism only as a style. On the other hand, Wagner's purism may not have been serving him well: in 1944 he produced a new city plan for Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
which called for a complete razing and restructuring of the city's entire downtown area.
Wagner took American citizenship in 1944; he served as professor at the GSD until retirement in 1951. Wagner's son Bernard Wagner was also an architect.
See also
- Großsiedlung Siemensstadt
- Britz
- Strandbad WannseeStrandbad WannseeThe Strandbad Wannsee is an open-air lido on the eastern shore of the Wannsee in Berlin, Germany, the largest inland lido in Europe, with a beach that is 1,275 metres long and 80 metres wide, widened with sand from the German shore of the Baltic Sea. The entire ensemble is listed as Cultural...
External links
(in German)- Houser, by H. Peter Oberlander, Eva Newbrun, Martin Meyerson