Mittwoch, 21. August 2013

Forgotten architects in Berlin - Harry Rosenthal

There is always something to discover in Berlin, and architecture is one of my favorite arts. The city has a lot of samples of good architecture, mostly from the inter-war period. This spectacular villa is situated on Konstanzerstrasse 26/27. It occupies a big part of the street and is the only one from this part of the long Konstanzerstrasse who has business spaces. When it was originally planned by Harry Rosenthal for the banker Eugen Bab, those spaces did not exist. 
The ground floor was spacious offering enough space to be used for various family needs. In between storeys, a portico was aimed to balance the relatively massive construction. As many other houses in the area, it has a big garden, with a little forest of trees. The original roof keeps only partially the original structure. At the beginning, it also has a private synagogue nowadays destroyed and a swimming pool.  
The Zarathustra freeze in the vestibule was maintained. Born in Posen, Harry Rosenthal studied architecture in Munich and Poland. In 1923, he started his career as independent architect and planned several private residences in Berlin, as well as in popular residences in Brandenburg, such as Bad Saarow. He was also expert in interior design, being able to add his personal touch to the entire ensemble of the buildings designed. In 1933, he fled to Palestine where he stayed for 5 years. Relocated to London he was not able to relaunch his career and besides some low profile jobs for the Sommerfeld architects, among others, he did not produce anything outstanding. 

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