Martin Elsaesser
_Collection of previously unpublished writings
_Kaleidoscope of architectural reflection
_Theory meets practice
_Balancing opposites
Martin Elsaesser was one of the most influential architects of the modern metropolis, particularly in Frankfurt am Main in the 1920s. His buildings were conceived as contemporary responses to new architectural and urban planning issues, foremost among them the Frankfurt Grossmarkthalle, which today serves as the ECB's representative venue. What is less well known is that Elsaesser continuously reflected on his work as a master builder of the metropolis and provided a theoretical foundation for it in speeches and essays.
The texts collected here for the first time form a kaleidoscope of reflections on the appropriate design of diverse metropolitan construction projects from the German Empire to the Federal Republic of Germany. Elsaesser proves himself to be a precise formulator and multi-layered theorist for whom architectural expression and constructive clarity are just as important as functionality and beauty, artistic obstinacy and social responsibility, awareness of tradition and consistent contemporaneity. This attitude, which he himself described as “fruitful polarity,” explains his distance from the avant-garde of his time as well as the unbroken relevance of his writings, which this volume presents with selected texts, a complete list of writings, and explanatory contributions.
