- Städelschule's Building
Founding
The post-graduate programme, introduced 2004/2005, builds upon the tradition and history of SAC. The architectural programme at the Städelschule dates back to the founding of the Städelschule in 1817; Baumeister Heinrich Hübsch was employed as its first teacher in 1824. Throughout the 19th century the Architectural Class was an important contributor to the training of architects in Germany. During the last part of that century and the beginning of the 20th, Oskar Sommer and Wilhelm Manchot, both pupils of Gottfried Semper, led the school into Modernity.
- Ernst May, Romerstadt Siedlung
THE MODERNISTS
In the 1920s, through the roles of Ernst May and Fritz Wichert and a strong cultural policy of the municipal authorities, the architecture classes in the Städelschule forged strong ties between the city government and the school, a relation that led to extraordinary architectural achievements.
DARK YEARS
With the Nazi takeover in Germany in the 1930s, several of the staff members, among them Franz Schuster, were soon removed. The architect Walter Loeffler, who had been an assistant of Tessenow in Berlin, was hired as a new teacher in 1933. While a member of the Nazi party, he was soon exposed as a Communist and resistance fighter who had helped political refugees to flee. While attempting to escape himself, his passport was confiscated. He and his wife committed suicide in a forest nearby Frankfurt to avoid the pending arrest and retribution by Gestapo.
GÜNTER BOCK
- From left to right: Natalini (Superstudio), Beppe Maggiori, Leon Krier, Rem Koolhaas, J.D. Kleihues in Städelschule 1978
The Städelschule was damaged from the bomb raids during the war but immediately rebuilt when the war ended. In the post-war period, a series of prominent figures led and taught at the school, but its internationalisation only began when Günter Bock took over the architectural class in 1970. Bock remained in charge till 1984 and initiated close contacts to, amongst other schools, the Architectural Association in London.
- Enric Miralles
- Peter Cook
PETER COOK & ENRIC MIRALLES
After Bock, the English architect Peter Cook and, subsequently, the Spanish architect Enric Miralles were the deans of the Architectural Class. They continued to lead the programme in Bock's international spirit and, in turn, gave it a strong international profile.
- Installation by Ben van Berkel with Sigurdur Gunnarsson and the Architecture Class, Projection by John Bock, "Frankfurt Positions", Städelschule, 2003 - photo: Städelschule
Today
The current dean, the Dutch architect Ben van Berkel, was elected in 2001. He called in the Norwegian architect, Johan Bettum, to work with him, and together they have led the programme towards the educational Bachelor-Master reform that is currently being implemented throughout the European Union. In conjunction with this, the program has undergone a gradual restructuring with a stronger and clearer emphasis on research oriented and advanced investigations into the realm of architectural design.