After 1945 Hannover, the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony, was quite radically transform

After 1945 Hannover, the capital of the federal state of Lower Saxony, was quite radically transformed into a car-friendly town: under the aegis of the head of the municipal building office Rudolf Hillebrecht both destroyed and undestroyed historic structures had to make way for new road and buildings. During these years architect Friedrich Lindau also took his first steps as independent architect and realized a number of remarkable  buildings in the city: with the Gewerkschaftshaus, the DGB-Bundesschule or the PLANO Houses Lindau introduced an amalgam of distinct modernism and elegant restraint infused with nods to Scandinavian architecture to the city that even today still convinces. And although he was involved in the 1950s period of imperative faith in the future he in later years adopted a critical stance regarding these years and how it dealt with built heritage. In the present book „Planen und Bauen der Fünfziger Jahre in Hannover“, published in 1998 by Schlütersche Verlagsgesellschaft, Lindau looks back at the 1950s, the particular societal and architectural constellations in Hannover and key projects he carried out during this decade but also critically analyzes the urban development of Hannover in the 20th century. Against this background it comes as no surprise that Lindau also focused on the surrounding context of his projects, an interesting approach given the historical forgetfulness of the 1950s, and in the descriptions of his 1950s projects elucidates how these contexts influenced the designs. Lindau’s retrospective look at the Fifties is a rare combination of critical analysis of context and own work and unearths problems and mistakes made during this decisive period for both the society at large and directions in urban planning in particular. An unexpected gem! -- source link

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