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Ernst May (27 July 1886 – 11 September 1970) was a
German architect The following are German-born or Germany-based architects listed according to their architectural style. Gothic *Adam Kraft (or Krafft) (c. 1460? – January 1509) Renaissance * Joseph Heintz (1564–1609) *Elias Holl (1573–1646) ...
and city planner. May successfully applied
urban design Urban design is an approach to the design of buildings and the spaces between them that focuses on specific design processes and outcomes. In addition to designing and shaping the physical features of towns, cities, and regional spaces, urban d ...
techniques to the city of Frankfurt am Main during the
Weimar Republic The Weimar Republic (german: link=no, Weimarer Republik ), officially named the German Reich, was the government of Germany from 1918 to 1933, during which it was a Constitutional republic, constitutional federal republic for the first time in ...
period, and in 1930 less successfully exported those ideas to
Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...
cities, newly created under
Stalinist Stalinism is the means of governing and Marxist-Leninist policies implemented in the Soviet Union from 1927 to 1953 by Joseph Stalin. It included the creation of a one-party totalitarian police state, rapid industrialization, the theory ...
rule. It is said May's "brigade" of German architects and planners established twenty cities in three years, including
Magnitogorsk Magnitogorsk ( rus, Магнитого́рск, p=məɡnʲɪtɐˈɡorsk, ) is an industrial city in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia, located on the eastern side of the extreme southern extent of the Ural Mountains by the Ural River. Its population ...
. May's travels left him stateless when the
Nazis Nazism ( ; german: Nazismus), the common name in English for National Socialism (german: Nationalsozialismus, ), is the far-right totalitarian political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in N ...
seized power in Germany, and he spent many years in
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n exile before returning to Germany near the end of his life.


Life

May was born in
Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
, the son of a leather goods manufacturer. His education from 1908 through 1912 included time in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
, studying under Raymond Unwin, and absorbing the lessons and principles of the
garden city movement The garden city movement was a 20th century urban planning movement promoting satellite communities surrounding the central city and separated with greenbelts. These Garden Cities would contain proportionate areas of residences, industry, and ...
. He finished a study at the
Technical University of Munich The Technical University of Munich (TUM or TU Munich; german: Technische Universität München) is a public research university in Munich, Germany. It specializes in engineering, technology, medicine, and applied science, applied and Natural sci ...
, working with Friedrich von Thiersch and Theodor Fischer, a co-founder of the
Deutscher Werkbund The Deutscher Werkbund (English: "German Association of Craftsmen"; ) is a German association of artists, architects, designers and industrialists established in 1907. The Werkbund became an important element in the development of modern arch ...
. Working for himself and others through the 1910s, in 1921 he helped win a competition for rural housing estate developments in Breslau. His concepts of
decentralized planning A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, ...
, some of which had been imported from the garden city movement, he won the job of city architect and planner for his home city from 1925 through 1930. Working under Mayor
Ludwig Landmann Ludwig Landmann (18 May 1868 – 5 March 1945) was a liberal German politician of the Weimar Republic. Landmann belonged first to the National Social party, then the Progressive People's Party, and finally, after the German revolution of 1918, ...
, the position gave him broad powers of zoning, financing, and hiring. There was copious funding and an available labor pool. He used them.


The New Frankfurt

In the context of a housing shortage and a degree of political instability, May assembled a powerful staff of progressive architects and initiated the large-scale housing development program New Frankfurt. May's developments were remarkable for the time for being compact, semi-independent, well-equipped with community elements like playgrounds, schools, theatres, and common washing areas. For the sake of economy and construction speed May used simplified, prefabricated forms. These settlements are still marked by their functionality and the way they manifest egalitarian ideals such as equal access to sunlight, air, and common areas. Of these settlements the best known is probably Siedlung Römerstadt, and some of the structures are colloquially known as ''Zickzackhausen'' (zig-zag houses). In 1926 May sent for
Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n architect Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky to join him in Frankfurt. Lihotzky was a kindred spirit and applied the same sort of functional clarity to household problems, and so in Frankfurt, after much analysis of work habits and footsteps, she developed the prototype of the modern installed kitchen, and pursued her idea that "housing is the organized implementation of living habits". May's Frankfurt was a civic and critical success. This has been described (by John R. Mullin) as "one of the most remarkable city planning experiments in the twentieth century". In two years May produced more than 5,000 building units, up to 15,000 units in five years, published his own magazine (''Zeitschrift Das Neue Frankfurt'') and in 1929 won international attention at the
Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting ...
. This also brought him to the attention of the Soviet Union. Catherine Bauer Wurster visited the buildings in 1930 and was inspired by the work of May


The 'May Brigade' in the USSR

In 1930 May took virtually his entire New Frankfurt-team to the USSR. ''May's Brigade'' amounted to a task force of 17 people, including Margarete Lihotzky, her husband Wilhelm Schuette,
Arthur Korn Arthur Korn (20 May 1870 – 21 December/22 December 1945) was a German physicist, mathematician and inventor. He was involved in the development of the fax machine, specifically the transmission of photographs or telephotography, known as the ...
, the Hungarian-born
Fred Forbat Fred may refer to: People * Fred (name), including a list of people and characters with the name Mononym * Fred (cartoonist) (1931–2013), pen name of Fred Othon Aristidès, French * Fred (footballer, born 1949) (1949–2022), Frederico Ro ...
, the Swiss Hans Schmidt, the Austrian-born Erich Mauthner and the
Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...
Mart Stam. The promise of the "
Socialist Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
paradise" was still fresh, and May's Brigade and other groups of western planners had the hope of constructing entire cities. The first was to be Magnitogorsk. Although May's group is indeed credited with building 20 cities in three years, the reality was that May found Magnitogorsk already under construction and the town site dominated by the mine and blast furnaces under construction. Officials were indecisive, then distrustful, corruption and delay frustrated their efforts, and May himself made misjudgements about the climate. May's contract expired in 1933, and he left for
British East Africa East Africa Protectorate (also known as British East Africa) was an area in the African Great Lakes occupying roughly the same terrain as present-day Kenya from the Indian Ocean inland to the border with Uganda in the west. Controlled by Bri ...
(
Kenya ) , national_anthem = " Ee Mungu Nguvu Yetu"() , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Nairobi , coordinates = , largest_city = Nairobi , ...
). Some of his architects found themselves unwanted by Russia, and stateless. The 1995 documentary film Sotsgorod: Cities for Utopia ("Socialist Cities") interviewed some of the last survivors of these groups: Margarete Lihotzky, Jan Rutgers, and Phillipp Tolziner of the Bauhaus Brigade, and visited four of the planned cities: Magnitogorsk,
Orsk Orsk (russian: Орск) is the second largest city in Orenburg Oblast, Russia, located on the steppe about southeast of the southern tip of the Ural Mountains. The city straddles the Ural River. Population: It lies adjacent to the Kazakhstan– ...
,
Novokuznetsk Novokuznetsk ( rus, Новокузнецк, p=nəvəkʊzˈnʲɛt͡sk; literally: "new smith's", cjs, Аба-тура, ''Aba-tura'') is a city in Kemerovo Oblast (Kuzbass) in south-western Siberia, Russia. It is the second largest city in the obla ...
and
Kemerovo Kemerovo ( rus, Ке́мерово, p=ˈkʲemʲɪrəvə) is an industrial city and the administrative center of Kemerovo Oblast, Russia, located at the confluence of the Iskitimka and Tom Rivers, in the major coal mining region of the Kuznetsk ...
. After May's departure, the Soviet government began promoting the criticism of his ideas, methods and achievements. Criticism was severe, widespread, and had ideological underpinnings. He was characterized as an undesirable capitalistic and Western influence that should be contraposed to the socialistic and Soviet architectural trends. In the mid-1930s, the Soviet government adopted the policy of not inviting any foreign architects.


Ernst May in Kenya and post-war Germany

May worked as a farmer in Kenya, but soon sold his farm and opened an architectural office, designing commercial buildings, hotels and schools. In some projects he collaborated with architect and urban planner Erica Mann: for instance his Oceanic Hotel in
Mombasa Mombasa ( ; ) is a coastal city in southeastern Kenya along the Indian Ocean. It was the first capital of the British East Africa, before Nairobi was elevated to capital city status. It now serves as the capital of Mombasa County. The town ...
was a landmark within the master plan drawn up for
Coast Province The Coast Province ( sw, Mkoa wa Pwani) of Kenya, along the Indian Ocean, was one of Kenya's eight provinces. It comprises the Indian Ocean coastal strip with the capital city at Mombasa and was inhabited by the Mijikenda and Swahili, among oth ...
by Mann.Benjamin Tiven, 'On The Delight of the Yearner: Ernst May and Erica Mann in Nairobi', Kenya, 1933–1953, ''Journal of Contemporary African Art'', Spring 2013
/ref> In 1953 the
Mau-Mau The Mau Mau rebellion (1952–1960), also known as the Mau Mau uprising, Mau Mau revolt or Kenya Emergency, was a war in the British Kenya Colony (1920–1963) between the Kenya Land and Freedom Army (KLFA), also known as the ''Mau Mau'', an ...
uprisings made it difficult to work. At the same time May was invited to return to Germany and work on housing projects. In December 1953 he sailed to Germany and started again as an architect. From 1954 through 1956 he led the planning department in Hamburg, and was involved in several large housing projects in other cities. Several of the most famous German postwar settlements and reconstruction plans, such as New-Altona in Hamburg and Neue Vahr in Bremen, are associated with his name. He was the first person ever awarded an honorary Dr.-Ing. of the Hannover Technical University. From 1957 he taught as an honorary professor of the
Technische Universität Darmstadt The Technische Universität Darmstadt (official English name Technical University of Darmstadt, sometimes also referred to as Darmstadt University of Technology), commonly known as TU Darmstadt, is a research university in the city of Darmstadt ...
. During this time May also wrote several books on urbanism. He died in
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...
in 1970, aged 84. His eldest son, Klaus May, also became an architect and worked in the office of his father. His most famous work is the new synagogue in Hamburg, which became a protected landmark. His youngest son, Thomas May, moved from the family home in Kenya in 1947 to obtain an engineering degree at Syracuse University, USA. Thomas May produced many craft works of distinction, including cabinetry, chairs, tables and lighting after debuting his designs in the seminal Museum of Contemporary Crafts show in New York City in 1957.


Projects

*Villa May, Frankfurt am Main, 1925 *Villa Elsaesser, Frankfurt am Main, 1925–1926 *Estate Höhenblick, Frankfurt am Main, 1926–1927 *Estate Bruchfeldstraße (Zickzackhausen), Frankfurt am Main, 1926–1927 *Estate Riederwald, Frankfurt am Main, 1926–1927 *Estate Praunheim, Frankfurt am Main, 1926–1928 *Estate Römerstadt, Frankfurt am Main, 1926–1928 *Estate Bornheimer Hang, Frankfurt am Main, 1926–1930 *Estate Heimatsiedlung, Frankfurt am Main, 1927–1934 *Estate Hellerhof, Frankfurt am Main, 1929–1932 *Röderberg school, Frankfurt am Main, 1929–1930 *Estate Westhausen, Frankfurt am Main, 1929–1931 *House in Dornbusch, Frankfurt am Main, 1927–1931 *Commercial buildings and factories in Nairobi and Kampala *House for an African family, 1945 *Estate St. Lorenz-Süd,
Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the state ...
, 1954–1957 *Estate Grünhöfe,
Bremerhaven Bremerhaven (, , Low German: ''Bremerhoben'') is a city at the seaport of the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen, a state of the Federal Republic of Germany. It forms a semi-enclave in the state of Lower Saxony and is located at the mouth of the Riv ...
, 1954–1960 *Neu Altona,
Hamburg Hamburg (, ; nds, label=Hamburg German, Low Saxon, Hamborg ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg (german: Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg; nds, label=Low Saxon, Friee un Hansestadt Hamborg),. is the List of cities in Germany by popul ...
, 1955–1960 *Garden estate Vahr,
Bremen Bremen ( Low German also: ''Breem'' or ''Bräm''), officially the City Municipality of Bremen (german: Stadtgemeinde Bremen, ), is the capital of the German state Free Hanseatic City of Bremen (''Freie Hansestadt Bremen''), a two-city-state cons ...
, 1954–1957 *Neue Vahr, Bremen, 1956–1961 *Architectural competition Fennpfuhl in Berlin-Lichtenberg, 1956–1957 (East-Berlin), 1st prize *Estate Parkfeld,
Wiesbaden Wiesbaden () is a city in central western Germany and the capital of the state of Hesse. , it had 290,955 inhabitants, plus approximately 21,000 United States citizens (mostly associated with the United States Army). The Wiesbaden urban area ...
, 1959–1970 *Estate Rahlstedt-Ost, Hamburg, 1960–1966 *Estate Klarenthal, Wiesbaden, 1960–1965 * Adolf-Reichwein-Schule, Heusenstamm, 1964–1965 *Estate Kranichstein,
Darmstadt Darmstadt () is a city in the state of Hesse in Germany, located in the southern part of the Rhine-Main-Area (Frankfurt Metropolitan Region). Darmstadt has around 160,000 inhabitants, making it the fourth largest city in the state of Hesse ...
, 1965–1970


References


Literature

* D. W. Dreysse: Ernst May housing estates: architectural guide to eight new Frankfort estates, 1926–1930. 1988 * Susan R. Henderson: Building Culture: Ernst May and the New Frankfurt Initiative, 1926–1931, Peter Lang, 2013


External links


Images of Ernst May's Frankfurt at Art & Architecture
* Official website o
ernst-may-gesellschaft e.v.

Review of Ernst May's life and work, by Martin Filler in the NYRB, 2011
* {{DEFAULTSORT:May, Ernst 20th-century German architects German urban planners Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne members Housing in Germany Architects from Frankfurt 1886 births 1970 deaths Technical University of Munich alumni Burials at Frankfurt Main Cemetery Technische Universität Darmstadt faculty