As early as the years of his architectural studies – which he did not complete – Otto Bartning was searching for alternatives to historicism and was interested in the reform movements of the time. At the age of 22, he was awarded his first assignments for Protestant churches in Austria, and from 1909 onwards, he designed a number of villas and country houses.
Between 1926 and 1930, Bartning headed the Staatliche Bauhochschule in Weimar, a state university for architecture and building. Down to 1933, he implemented various housing developments and public buildings, including the School of Music in Frankfurt on the Oder, as well as hospitals and housing strips in the Siemensstadt and Haselhorst developments in Berlin (1930–31).
Bartning’s principal area of work is nevertheless his church construction. With his publication “Vom neuen Kirchbau” in 1919, Bartning was significantly involved in the reform of Protestant church building. In 1922, he designed the expressionist Sternkirche, which was his vision of an ideal form of architecture. Six years later, he built the avant-garde steel church for the international press exhibition “Pressa” in Cologne.
Between 1926 and 1930, Bartning headed the Staatliche Bauhochschule in Weimar, a state university for architecture and building. Down to 1933, he implemented various housing developments and public buildings, including the School of Music in Frankfurt on the Oder, as well as hospitals and housing strips in the Siemensstadt and Haselhorst developments in Berlin (1930–31).
Bartning’s principal area of work is nevertheless his church construction. With his publication “Vom neuen Kirchbau” in 1919, Bartning was significantly involved in the reform of Protestant church building. In 1922, he designed the expressionist Sternkirche, which was his vision of an ideal form of architecture. Six years later, he built the avant-garde steel church for the international press exhibition “Pressa” in Cologne.