To the death of Ludwig Leo

photo: Sabine Barth, Bauwelt

The personality of Ludwig Leo was not very well known to the general public, which was largely the result of his personal humility and avoidance of media attention. A few of his buildings are not associated with any characteristic formal handwriting, but rather emerged from a methodically developed script of different linguistic forms. Among the insiders, he was regarded as a “radical functionalist” because he subjected each task to the most precise analysis possible. His architecture bears the marks of the socially oriented goals of the time. Famous architects such as Peter Cook and Norman Foster expressed their admiration for Ludwig Leo, while Leo's work is often approached solely in terms of form, thereby overlooking its ideological background. His significance can be measured by the fact that during his lifetime, three of his buildings were placed under monument protection, even though the list of his buildings remained very short.

“The Academy of Arts announces that its member, Berlin architect Ludwig Leo, passed away on November 1, 2012, at the age of 88. Ludwig Leo, who was born in 1924 in Rostock, graduated in 1951 in civil engineering from the State Building School in Hamburg and then studied architecture in 1954 at the Academy of Fine Arts in Berlin. Even during his studies, he worked with Hans and Wassili Luckhardt, and after graduation, he established his own office. From 1975 until his retirement, he worked at the Department of Building Design at the Academy of Arts in Berlin. He was a member of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA). In 1973, he was admitted to the Academy of Arts and in 2008 he handed over his archive to the Academy. His architectural work reflects, down to the smallest detail, his struggle for the highest functionality combined with high aesthetic demands. Among his most famous buildings are the headquarters of the German Rescue Association in the Berlin district of Spandau (1973) and the flow channel of the Research Institute of Water Engineering in Charlottenburg (1975), which are among the standouts in the history of Berlin architecture. The Academy will continue its commitment to his legacy and remind the city of Berlin to do the same.”

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photo: Wüstenrot Stiftung / Philipp Lohöfener