Frei Otto was one of the great thinkers of the New Architecture of the 20th century. On May 31, 1925 (now a part of Chemnitz) born in Saxony Siegmar, he was influenced early on by the sculptors of his father and grandfather. Other important experiences were soaring as a student, his training as a fighter pilot in World War II, and especially his time as a prisoner of war, during which he (Chartres) was involved in the development of low cost houses in lightweight construction.
So he found about his life, the lightweight construction. Lightweight covered for him as well many facets: the efficient and resource-efficient building, the study of living and non-living nature as well as the confrontation with lightweight as the biggest challenge of the engineering work. So passed Frei Otto already as a student of architecture the usual boundaries between academic disciplines and laid in 1954 with his thesis “The hanging roof” a fundamental, practitioners over many years fruitful work on the theory of tensile structures ago.
Frei Otto wrote two books of epochal significance
In 1952, even before the promotion, Frei Otto opened his own office in Berlin Zehlendorf. In 1957 his “Development Centre for Lightweight EL”. In 1961 he founded at the Technical University Berlin research group Biology and Building. A year later, he gave the fundamental work “Tensile structures. Shape, structure, and calculation of buildings from ropes, nets and membranes” out. This first volume, which was mainly devoted to the pneumatic structures in 1966 was followed by a second volume on the basic concepts of tensile structures.
Both volumes were epoch-making significance for the lightweight construction, but also for the disciplines of cross-Bausch monkeys whole. Interdisciplinary work was carried these books as one of the main requirements for the planning and construction of our built environment dealing sciences.
It was more than a wise and far-sighted action by Fritz Leonhardt, probably the leading civil engineer of the time, Frei Otto in 1964 at the University of Stuttgart (then called “Technical University of Stuttgart”) to invoke. The University founded a new institute, the Institute for Lightweight Structures IL specifically for Frei Otto. In this Institute (today part of the established and led by author Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design – ILEK is) he could realize his ideas and thoughts until his retirement in 1991, with almost no further obligations (as he was, for example, life of the academic teaching duties Exempt) or other external restrictions pursue.
Frei Otto’s theory of cable networks as a basis
Frei Otto had already drew attention to himself before his time in Stuttgart with a number of notable buildings made of fabric. These include the bandstand “Four-Point Canopy” on the Federal Garden Show 1955 in Kassel, or “dancing fountains” in the Federal Garden Show 1957 in Cologne. The flower of his work presented but without a doubt is his time as head of the IL and, at the same time, as head of his private “studio Warmbronn” near Stuttgart. From a scientific perspective here is mainly the appointment as head of the SFB 64 “Wide Span Structures “Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft emphasized.
The works produced in this context laid the foundation, yes they were to make possible the buildings of the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich. The theory of the cable networks was (for the first time and on a technical level calculation of Friedrich-Karl Schleyer) treated on the architectural and constructive level for the first time by Frei Otto. By the fundamental works of John Argyris, Theodor Angelopoulos and Klaus Linkwitz this theory learned their further academic foundation. The repeated by Frei Otto excited and coordinated (by him but also often controversial) work by Jörg Schlaich, Fritz Leonhardt, Hans-Wolf Reinhardt, Günter Brinkmann, Harry Escott and many other extended this scientific basis. All this work laid the foundation for the Faculties of Architecture and Civil Engineering, University of Stuttgart in the field of light, the resource-saving construction are still the world leader.
The results had this so-called SFB 64 a great influence on the thinking and work of a generation of architects and engineers. Frei Otto was always the one that preceded it, the new invented and all other surprised with his view of things. It was certainly be lucky to be working at the University of Stuttgart with so many outstanding minds to this his time – as it was the luck of the University of Stuttgart to win such a creative and far-sighted forward researchers such as Frei Otto for themselves.
The reason that so many eminent personalities can not work forever without friction, is obvious, especially if you look at the but sometimes very different professional attitudes and objectives the parties leads in mind. So the Sonderforschungsbereich 64 found despite his great success in 1985 to be the end – but 230 “Natural Constructions ” was continued (again led by Frei Otto, albeit with a slightly modified team and a slightly different purpose in the form of the Collaborative Research Center ).
Frei Otto met in Stuttgart on a number of outstanding architects whose work was far beyond the borders of Germany is of great importance. So he advised – in his role as a practicing architect – Rolf Gutbrod in the planning of the German Pavilion for the World Exhibition in Montreal in 1967 – and it was not until the work of the “Adviser” Frei Otto, the total allowed the feasibility of the project
it was similar in the buildings for the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich: Even the design of Günther Behnisch been influenced by the designs and ideas Frei Otto, but also the sketches and writings by Jürgen Joedicke. The realization of this project was ensured by the inclusion of additional skills, particularly that of Frei Otto. Things were similar in planned by the architect Carl Fried Mutschler and Joachim Langner grid shell structure of the multi-center Mannheim or the convention center, the architect Rolf Gutbrod in Mecca.
Amazingly, Frei Otto himself (in the position of overall responsible for the work of architects) not built much. He was, in most cases guiding spirit, Consultants, assistants and said of himself: “.. I have little built I have ‘invented many castles in the air” I would add:. Without the devising of such castles in the air, without thinking and walking in the terra incognita there is no real progress
Frei Otto has progressed and preceded by as few other architects and scientists of the 20th century. He influenced an entire generation of architects in a fundamental way. His work resonates to this day. His questions and intentions gain especially in the area of sustainable construction and the increasingly burgeoning research in the field of bionics renewed topicality.
Frei Otto was often awarded and worldwide for his work. Honorary doctorates from the Universities of Essen and Munich, among honors such as the Aga Khan Award for Architecture and the Praemium Imperiale. Then there is the now unfortunately only posthumously to be awarded the Pritzker Award, which is seen as a Nobel Prize for architecture.
Frei Otto died last Monday at the age of 89 years in Warmbronn. He was one of the few great thinkers of architecture. Even if only a few of the essential conceived by him slight tensile structures are realized – his thinking and his work have opened many new doors for the design of our built environment
Werner Sobek is an architect and consulting engineer. He heads the Institute for Lightweight Structures and Conceptual Design (ILEK) of the University of Stuttgart.
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