Konrad Wachsmann, the pioneer of prefabricated construction, was born in Frankfurt an der Oder on 16 May 1901. His school years were undistinguished, and at the age of 14, he?began an apprenticeship as a joiner. Ultimately, he went on to study at the Academy of Art in Dresden under Heinrich Tessenow, and he subsequently worked with Leo Nachtlicht in?Berlin. Wachsmann was also a pupil of Hans Poelzig, through whom he made the acquaintance of Peter Behrens, Walter Gropius and Mies van der Rohe. HW