The Deutscher Buchdrucker building, completed in 1926 on Dudenstraße in Berlin, serves as a defining example of the structural clarity championed by Max Taut. A German architect born in Königsberg in 1884, Taut influenced mid-twentieth-century design through his development of framed buildings that emphasized transparency and democratic openness in construction during an era of significant aesthetic transition.
Professional Partnerships and Early Works
Taut collaborated with his brother Bruno Taut and Franz Hoffmann under the firm name Taut & Hoffmann. During the 1920s, he gained prominence for projects commissioned by trade unions, including the Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund administration building in Berlin-Mitte, completed between 1922 and 1923. His early residential work included the annual construction of individual houses on Hiddensee island from 1922 to 1925, showcasing varied approaches to domestic design.
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As a member of the Zehnerring, Taut worked alongside peers such as Walter Gropius, Mies van der Rohe, and Erich Mendelsohn. His contributions to the architectural movement included membership in the Glass Chain and the Novembergruppe. His projects often utilized steel frames and ceramic-tile facades, notably the Reichsknappschafthaus on Breitenbachplatz. The consumer cooperatives' department store at Oranienplatz, built between 1930 and 1933, remains among his most recognized works, currently listed on the Berlin heritage registry.
Postwar Pedagogy and Construction
Following the Second World War, Taut shifted focus toward education and reconstruction. He founded an architecture school at the Berlin University of the Arts alongside Wilhelm Büning. His later career involved significant public projects, such as the Reutersiedlung in Bonn, constructed between 1948 and 1952, and the Ludwig Georgs Gymnasium in Darmstadt. Between 1963 and 1964, he managed the renovation of the Jagdschloss Glienicke, incorporating bay windows into the structure.
Fast facts
- Born: 15 May 1884, Königsberg
- Died: 26 February 1967, Berlin
- Citizenship: Germany
- Burial Site: Chorin Abbey Cemetery
- Key Award: Berliner Kunstpreis (1955)
- Key Award: Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1964)
Questions readers ask
Which of Max Taut's buildings are recognized as heritage sites?
The Deutscher Buchdrucker building on Dudenstraße and the consumer cooperatives' department store on Oranienplatz are both on the Berlin list of heritage sites.
What was Taut's role in postwar architectural education?
After the Second World War, he co-founded a new architecture school at the Berlin University of the Arts with Wilhelm Büning.
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