Johann Friedrich Höger
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Johann Friedrich (Fritz) Höger (12 June 1877 – 21 June 1949) was a German
architect An architect is a person who plans, designs, and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
from Bekenreihe,
Steinburg Steinburg () is a district in Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, administered from Itzehoe. It is bounded by (from the west and clockwise) the districts of Dithmarschen, Rendsburg-Eckernförde, Segeberg and Pinneberg, and by the Elbe River (and the d ...
,
Schleswig-Holstein Schleswig-Holstein (; ; ; ; ; occasionally in English ''Sleswick-Holsatia'') is the Northern Germany, northernmost of the 16 states of Germany, comprising most of the historical Duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of S ...
in Northern Germany. Although never qualified as an architect, he became known for his Brick Expressionist style of architecture.


Early life

Höger was the eldest of six siblings in a family who ran a small carpentry business. At the age of 14, Höger trained as a
carpenter Carpentry is a skilled trade and a craft in which the primary work performed is the cutting, shaping and installation of building materials during the construction of buildings, ships, timber bridges, concrete formwork, etc. Carpenter ...
in Elmshorn and then went on to
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...
for his masters which was completed in 1899. Following this he joined the architectural firm Lundt and Kallmorgen in Hamburg, where he worked as a technical draftsman. After his four-year stint there, Höger joined the company of his future father-in-law, Fritz Oldenburg, and married Fritz's daughter Annie in 1905. (German) Fritz Höger


Architecture

Höger is renowned for his use of brick, in the style of Brick Expressionism. Höger opened his own architecture office in 1907, but because of his lack of higher education he was not admitted to the Association of German Architects. Regardless, he received many commissions for private homes around Hamburg. It was during this time that Höger established his style with the use of bricks, particularly
clinker brick Clinker bricks are partially-vitrified bricks used in the construction of buildings. Clinker bricks are produced when wet clay bricks are exposed to excessive heat during the firing process, sintering the surface of the brick and forming a shi ...
s, which are more robust and frost resistant due to the higher temperature they are fired at. Höger's style was seen in the 'dished house' which is now home to the department store
Kaufhof Galeria Kaufhof GmbH was a German department store chain, headquartered in Cologne. It was a member of the International Association of Department Stores from 1930 to 2010, with various CEOs acting as presidents of the Association over time. U ...
. It features a strong vertical and horizontal layout with the placement of the eaves and stepped floors, a technique which became typical to Höger's style of building. Höger's preference for the use of brick was along the lines of ideas espoused by Fritz Schumacher, the Hamburg chief architect beginning in 1909; Schumacher expounded his ideas in polemical writings, including the book ''Das Wesen des neuzeitlichen Backsteinbaues'' (The Essence of the Modern Brick Building), which appeared around 1920.(German)
Der Architeckt [Johann Friedrich, genannt Fritz, Höger]
" Bauverein der Kirche Am Hohenzollernplatz zu Berlin-Wilmersdorf e. V. (Building association of the church at Hohenzollernplatz, Berlin; www.bauverein-kah.de). Retrieved 6 June 2015.
Like Schumacher, Höger thought brick and clinker brick showed an "earthiness" that was familiar to the German people, particularly because these materials were typical for Northern Germany. His best-known work is the ''
Chilehaus The Chilehaus (, "Chile House") is a ten-story office building in Hamburg, Germany. It is located in the Kontorhaus District. It is an exceptional example of the 1920s Brick Expressionism style of architecture. This large angular building is loc ...
'' in Hamburg, constructed between 1922-24 for
saltpeter Potassium nitrate is a chemical compound with a sharp, salty, bitter taste and the chemical formula . It is a potassium salt of nitric acid. This salt consists of potassium cations and nitrate anions , and is therefore an alkali metal nitrate ...
importer Henry B. (Chile) Sloman. The office block features a curving facade reminiscent of a ship's hull, coming together at a sharp angle on the corners of Pumpen and Niedernstrasse. Höger constructed several other buildings, more prominently a publishing office which included a
planetarium A planetarium (: planetariums or planetaria) is a theatre built primarily for presenting educational and entertaining shows about astronomy and the night sky, or for training in celestial navigation. A dominant feature of most planetariums is ...
, the Anzeiger-Hochhaus (Gazette-Building) between 1927-1928. The 51m high building was the first skyscraper in Hannover. It features a now green copper dome and red clinker bricks offset with a decorative gold. The dome originally housed a planetarium, and is now a cinema. Other notable works include the
Kirche am Hohenzollernplatz Kirche am Hohenzollernplatz (''Church at Hohenzollernplatz'') is the church of the Prussian Union (Evangelical Christian Church), Evangelical Congregation at Hohenzollernplatz, a member of today's Protestant umbrella Evangelical Church of Berlin- ...
in Berlin and the
Wilhelmshaven Wilhelmshaven (, ''Wilhelm's Harbour''; Northern Low Saxon: ''Willemshaven'') is a coastal town in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is situated on the western side of the Jade Bight, a bay of the North Sea, and has a population of 76,089. Wilhelmsha ...
town hall. In 1927 Höger joined the cultural staff of the
Völkischer Beobachter The ''Völkischer Beobachter'' (; "'' Völkisch'' Observer") was the newspaper of the Nazi Party (NSDAP) from 25 December 1920. It first appeared weekly, then daily from 8 February 1923. For twenty-four years it formed part of the official pub ...
and joined the
NSDAP The Nazi Party, officially the National Socialist German Workers' Party ( or NSDAP), was a far-right political party in Germany active between 1920 and 1945 that created and supported the ideology of Nazism. Its precursor, the German Workers ...
in 1932.


War

From 1914 to 1918 Höger completed his military duty in the
first world war World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
in Flanders, France. Later during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
Höger sympathized with
National Socialism Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During Hitler's rise to power, it was frequ ...
(Nazism) and joined the party in 1932. However his expressionistic style did not meet Hitler's taste. As Höger did not follow the preferred classicist marble style of
Nazi architecture Nazi architecture is the architecture promoted by Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Germany, Nazi regime from 1933 until its fall in 1945, connected with urban planning in Nazi Germany. It is characterized by three forms: a Stripped Classicism, stripp ...
, he could not obtain a position as state architect.


Fritz Höger Award

For the first time in 2008, the Fritz Höger Prize was awarded for excellence in brick architecture. The initiative goes for buildings with brick, with winners in the categories of detached or semi-detached houses, apartment buildings, office, commercial, leisure and sport, as well as public buildings. In addition, two awards for Passive House and restoration and sustainability have been awarded. The competition is endowed with 10,000 euros. *Winners 2008 awards *Winners 2011 awards *Winners 2014 awards *Winners 2017 awards *Winners 2020 awards


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hoger, Johann Friedrich 1877 births 1949 deaths People from Steinburg Nazi Party members 20th-century German architects Brick Expressionism Expressionist architects