Oswald Haerdtl
*17. 5. 1899 – Wien, Austria
†9. 8. 1959 – Wien, Austria
Biography
Oswald Haerdtl was an Austrian architect and designer. He grew up in Kahlenbergerdorf on the outskirts of Vienna, attended high school in the neighboring Klosterneuburg, and from the age of fourteen trained as a carpenter in his uncle Heinrich Scheranka's workshop. In 1916, he enrolled at the Vienna School of Applied Arts under Koloman Moser. Due to World War I, he interrupted his studies and subsequently continued studying at the School of Applied Arts in the studio of Oskar Strnad, where he was also influenced by lectures from Josef Frank. In 1922, he became an assistant teacher in the studio of Josef Hoffmann at the School of Applied Arts. He designed under the influence of the Dutch art movement De Stijl. From 1924, he worked in the private studio of Josef Hoffmann. In 1933, he was invited by Josef Frank to design and realize two houses for the workers' colony Werkbundsiedlung in Vienna, which was his first independent work. In 1935, he was appointed professor of architecture after his teacher Oskar Strnad. For the 1935 Brussels World Expo and the 1937 Paris World Expo, he built the Austrian pavilions.
After the annexation of Austria to the German Reich, he was prohibited from entering the university in 1938. In 1940, he was conscripted into the Wehrmacht. In occupied Poland, he opened a branch in Kraków, which later moved to Wrocław due to the war. Towards the end of the war, he was tasked with camouflaging industrial sites. After the war, Haerdtl joined the art group Werkbund, renewed the Austrian branch of CIAM, and actively sought to reconnect with excluded colleagues. An important project in this context was the urban study for Vienna's Stephansplatz in collaboration with Karl Schwanzer and Wilhelm Schütte in 1948. In 1947, Haerdtl submitted a project for the invited competition for the war-destroyed Burgtheater in Vienna. One of Haerdtl's central projects was the reconstruction and furnishing of the representative rooms of the Federal Chancellery in Vienna in 1948, which had been damaged during the war. Haerdtl was careful to maintain contact with potential builders, and from such a relationship arose in 1953 the commission for the construction of the steel cable manufacturer Felten&Guilleaume pavilion at the Vienna Exhibition Center. In 1953, Haerdtl was invited to participate in a nationwide open competition for the Museum der Stadt Wien, where he submitted two projects. The building based on one of his designs was opened on April 23, 1959, after a long construction process with the Museum Commission of the Vienna City Council, as the first new museum building of the Second Republic. He unexpectedly died of a heart attack on August 9, 1959. He was buried in the Neustift cemetery in Vienna. His tombstone was created by Fritz Wotruba.
Oswald Haerdtl was an Austrian architect and designer. He grew up in Kahlenbergerdorf on the outskirts of Vienna, attended high school in the neighboring Klosterneuburg, and from the age of fourteen trained as a carpenter in his uncle Heinrich Scheranka's workshop. In 1916, he enrolled at the Vienna School of Applied Arts under Koloman Moser. Due to World War I, he interrupted his studies and subsequently continued studying at the School of Applied Arts in the studio of Oskar Strnad, where he was also influenced by lectures from Josef Frank. In 1922, he became an assistant teacher in the studio of Josef Hoffmann at the School of Applied Arts. He designed under the influence of the Dutch art movement De Stijl. From 1924, he worked in the private studio of Josef Hoffmann. In 1933, he was invited by Josef Frank to design and realize two houses for the workers' colony Werkbundsiedlung in Vienna, which was his first independent work. In 1935, he was appointed professor of architecture after his teacher Oskar Strnad. For the 1935 Brussels World Expo and the 1937 Paris World Expo, he built the Austrian pavilions.
After the annexation of Austria to the German Reich, he was prohibited from entering the university in 1938. In 1940, he was conscripted into the Wehrmacht. In occupied Poland, he opened a branch in Kraków, which later moved to Wrocław due to the war. Towards the end of the war, he was tasked with camouflaging industrial sites. After the war, Haerdtl joined the art group Werkbund, renewed the Austrian branch of CIAM, and actively sought to reconnect with excluded colleagues. An important project in this context was the urban study for Vienna's Stephansplatz in collaboration with Karl Schwanzer and Wilhelm Schütte in 1948. In 1947, Haerdtl submitted a project for the invited competition for the war-destroyed Burgtheater in Vienna. One of Haerdtl's central projects was the reconstruction and furnishing of the representative rooms of the Federal Chancellery in Vienna in 1948, which had been damaged during the war. Haerdtl was careful to maintain contact with potential builders, and from such a relationship arose in 1953 the commission for the construction of the steel cable manufacturer Felten&Guilleaume pavilion at the Vienna Exhibition Center. In 1953, Haerdtl was invited to participate in a nationwide open competition for the Museum der Stadt Wien, where he submitted two projects. The building based on one of his designs was opened on April 23, 1959, after a long construction process with the Museum Commission of the Vienna City Council, as the first new museum building of the Second Republic. He unexpectedly died of a heart attack on August 9, 1959. He was buried in the Neustift cemetery in Vienna. His tombstone was created by Fritz Wotruba.
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