Alfred Runge (1881–1946) was a German architect active in Bremen and its surroundings. He is remembered in particular for the

Böttcherstraße Böttcherstraße is a street in the historic centre of Bremen, Germany. Only about 100 m (330 ft) long, it is famous for its unusual architecture and ranks among the city's main cultural landmarks and visitor attractions. Most of its bu ...

houses he and his associate

Eduard Scotland Eduard Scotland (1885–1945) was a German architect active in Bremen. He is remembered in particular for the Böttcherstraße houses he and his associate Alfred Runge built for the coffee merchant Ludwig Roselius. Early life As a child, Scotl ...

built for coffee merchant

Ludwig Roselius Ludwig Roselius (2 June 1874 – 15 May 1943) was a German coffee merchant and founder of the company Kaffee HAG. He was born in Bremen and is credited with the development of commercial decaffeination of coffee. As a patron, he supported ar ...

Early life

Born in

Osnabrück Osnabrück (; ; archaic English: ''Osnaburg'') is a city in Lower Saxony in western Germany. It is situated on the river Hase in a valley penned between the Wiehen Hills and the northern tip of the Teutoburg Forest. With a population of 168 ...

, he completed an apprenticeship as a mason until he moved to Bremen in 1898 where he attended the

Technical College An institute of technology (also referred to as technological university, technical university, university of technology, polytechnic university) is an institution of tertiary education that specializes in engineering, technology, applied science ...

, graduating in 1903.

Career

In July 1904, he joined his student friend

(1885–1945) to work as an architect and building contractor in Bremen, founding the firm "Runge & Scotland". From 1906 to 1915, they designed a number of residential and commercial buildings in the Lower Saxony style in Bremen and its surroundings. The pair attracted the attention of

Norddeutscher Lloyd Norddeutscher Lloyd (NDL; North German Lloyd) was a German shipping company. It was founded by Hermann Henrich Meier and Eduard Crüsemann in Bremen on 20 February 1857. It developed into one of the most important German shipping companies of th ...

, Heinrich Wiegand, who commissioned them to build him a residence on Wagner-Straße. He and Scotland attracted the attention of the director of Norddeutscher Lloyd,

Heinrich Wiegand Johann Heinrich Christoph Wiegand (17 August 1855 in Bremen – 29 March 1909 in Bad Homburg vor der Höhe) was a lawyer who served as general director of the Norddeutscher Lloyd shipping company during a period of great expansion. Life and career ...

, who commissioned him together with Runge to build a residence for him on Bremen's Wagner-Straße. Thereafter he received numerous assignments in Schwachhausen and the Bremen surroundings. Eduard Scotland and Alfred Runge Design Bremen Ship

Eduard Scotland and Alfred Runge Design Bremen Ship

In 1907 Wiegard trusted Scotland and Runge with the interior design of the which his company launched in 1907 to be the regular ocean liner that linked Bremen with New York. They designed luxury cabins where the beds would convert to sofas and the washstands would convert into tables. All of the metalwork was gilded; the surfaces were generally white while the wooden surfaces of

amaranth ''Amaranthus'' is a cosmopolitan distribution, cosmopolitan group of more than 50 species which make up the genus of annual plant, annual or short-lived perennial plants collectively known as amaranths. Some names include "prostrate pigweed" an ...

was inlaid with agate, ivory and

citron The citron (''Citrus medica''), historically cedrate, is a large fragrant citrus fruit with a thick Peel (fruit), rind. It is said to resemble a 'huge, rough lemon'. It is one of the Citrus taxonomy#Citrons, original citrus fruits from which al ...

wood.Studio Magazine
, Vol 42, p.240, 15 October 1907, retrieved 9 February 2014 From 1906, the pair established a relationship with

, assisting him with the presentation and marketing of his goods, especially designs for

Café HAG Café HAG is a worldwide brand of Decaffeination, decaffeinated coffee currently owned by JDE Peet's. History Café HAG was founded in Bremen in 1906 as ''Kaffee-Handels-Aktiengesellschaft'' (Coffee Trading Limited). The company's founder wa ...

. In 1916, they planned the conversion of his residence on Bleicherstraße. Runge and Scotland went on to design several buildings for Ludwig Roselius on Bremen's

including the Glockenspiel House (1924), Bremen-Amerika-Bank & Haus des Glockenspiels the

House of the Seven Lazy Brothers The House of the Seven Lazy Brothers () is a historic building in Bremen, Germany, completed in 1927. With a name based on a local legend, the building located in Böttcherstraße in the old town was built by the prosperous coffee merchant Ludwi ...

(1927),House of the 7 Lazy Brothers
, Boettcherstrasse.de, retrieved 5 February 2014

St Petrus House St Petrus House () is a historic building in Bremen, Germany. With features of North-German Gothic architecture including an arcade, it was built in 1927 by the prosperous coffee merchant Ludwig Roselius as part of his development of Böttcherstr ...

(1927),

Atlantis House The Atlantis House () on Böttcherstraße in the old town of Bremen in the north of Germany is an interesting example of German architecture in the interwar period. Designed by Bernhard Hoetger, it was completed in 1931. After suffering serious ...

(1931), and

Robinson Crusoe House Robinson Crusoe House () is a stepped-gabled house on Böttcherstraße in the old town district of Bremen, Germany. It was built by the prosperous coffee merchant Ludwig Roselius who admired the pioneering spirit of Daniel Defoe's fictional hero ...

(1931),

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Runge, Alfred 20th-century German architects Architects from Bremen (city) Architects from Osnabrück 1881 births 1946 deaths