Production design
Berlin Berlin

Biography

Hans Poelzig, born April 30, 1869, in Berlin, studied building construction at Technische Hochschule Berlin Charlottenburg from 1889 to 1894. After several years as a Prussian "Construction superintendent" and as teacher for stylistics at Königliche Kunst- und Kunstgewerbeschule Breslau (from 1911 Königliche Akademie für Bau- und Kunstgewerbe), he became the director of Breslau's arts college in 1903. Under Poelzig's direction, the college became one of Germany"s most advanced architecture and arts colleges. As Dresden's head of the municipal planning and building control office (from 1916 on) and as the head of Deutscher Werkbund (from 1919 on), Poelzig heavily influenced the architectural style of "New Objectivity".

In 1920, Poelzig returned to Berlin where he ran a master studio for architecture at Akademie der Künste. In the same year, he worked for a movie production for the first time: As a production designer, he created the buildings for the classic film "Der Golem wie er in die Welt kam" ("The Golem: How He Came Into the World"). However, Poelzig rarely worked for movie productions during the following years despite the praise he received for his work for "Der Golem".

Poelzig's most important works as an architect include Salzburg's Festspielhaus (1920), the I.G. Farben building in Frankfurt (1928 to 1931, today "Poelzig-Bau der Goethe Universität"), and Berlin's Haus des Rundfunks (1929). After the Nazi's accession to power, the pressure on Poelzig increased: In April 1933, he was expelled from his office as director of Berlin's Vereinigte Staatsschulen für Freie und Angewandte Kunst. Shortly before he was able to emigrate to Turkey in 1936 where he was offered a professorship, Hans Poelzig died in Berlin.

 

Filmography

1923-1925
  • Production design
1923-1925
  • Production design
1920
  • Prop master
1920
  • Production design
  • Set design (other)