Mendelsohn’s Rudderless Ship

In 1921 the German-Jewish architect Erich Mendelsohn designed and built his seminal hat factory Steinberg, Herrmann & Co., whose many transformations and changing patterns of ownership finally led to a state of obsolesence. After first successful attempts to reconstruct the premises from the 20...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Tim Altenhof
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Universidad de Navarra 2023-11-01
Series:RA. Revista de Arquitectura
Subjects:
Online Access:https://revistas.unav.edu/index.php/revista-de-arquitectura/article/view/45643
Description
Summary:In 1921 the German-Jewish architect Erich Mendelsohn designed and built his seminal hat factory Steinberg, Herrmann & Co., whose many transformations and changing patterns of ownership finally led to a state of obsolesence. After first successful attempts to reconstruct the premises from the 2000s onwards, the building remains predominantly idle, with the risk of falling into disrepair again. Rather than focussing on issues of style, composition, or materiality, this article looks at the life of this building and its current condition, thus seeking to trace some of the aspects that are imbricated in its architecture: issues of race, war, politics, economics, preservation, climate, and function.  
ISSN:1138-5596
2254-6332