Edgar Wisniewski

Edgar Wisniewski (4 September 1930, Stolp, Germany (now Słupsk, Poland) – 25 April 2007, Berlin) was a German architect. He was a student and later business partner of Hans Scharoun.

Life

Wisniewski was born in 1930 as the younger of two children (his sister Roswitha was born in 1926) to architect Bruno Wisniewski and pianist Edith Wisniewski (née Berndt) in Stolp. After World War II and the subsequent expulsion of Germans from Poland, the family escaped to Berlin in September 1945. His interest in music and architecture was developed by his parents' house. He justified the decision for an architectural study as a "more rational solution because the architecture seemed to me less professionally risky than music."

Model of the Philharmonie (left) and Kammermusiksaal (right)

Kammermusiksaal (left) and Philharmonie (right) in Berlin

He studied, from 1950 to 1957, at the Technical University of Berlin with Hans Scharoun, who were employees, and later, a business partner. Thus, from the outset, he was involved in the overall urban concept of the Kulturforum in Berlin. In 1963, the Berliner Philharmonie was opened as the first building, for which Wisniewski lead artistic direction. It was followed up in 1978 by the opening of the Berlin State Library. While in the planning phase, Scharoun died in 1972. There was a contractual agreement between Wisniewski and Scharoun which said that in case of death of one of the two, the other would continue the work.

Thus, the State Institute for Music Research and the Berlin Musical Instrument Museum were established from 1979 to 1984. Wisniewski planned and realized the chamber music hall between 1984 and 1987 after an ideological sketch by Scharoun. Until then, many years of debate had taken place in the Abgeordnetenhaus of Berlin until Richard von Weizsäcker, as the mayor, made a decision for construction. In addition to the central theme of "Music in the Center", Wisniewski was particularly interested in the architectural prerequisites for the performance of contemporary music, e.g. through music pores for futuristic music. For this he consulted with composers such as Luigi Nono, who also wrote works for the construction and its possibilities. The outstanding acoustics of the hall are praised by numerous ensembles and conductors worldwide.

The fall of the Berlin Wall, which was in the immediate vicinity of the Kulturforum, and the reconstruction of the Potsdamer Platz, completely changed the overall urban context of Berlin. Scharoun's artist guest house of the Senate, which was part of the competition for the construction of the state library, was never realized. Wisniewski continued until the end to complete the overall concept, which had many critics since the beginning and triggered numerous debates.

In addition to his work for the Berlin Kulturforum, Wisniewski also planned out housing projects. In the late 1970s, he planned out the row house group in Berlin-Schlachtensee (Kirchblick 12a-c), where Wisniewski and his family lived. After the turnaround, he planned and implemented extensions and the reconstruction of so-called "prefabricated buildings" in the former GDR, especially in Prenzlau as organic settlements. Extensive plans for Neubrandenburg, however, were not realized.

Honors

• 1997: First class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany

Literature

• Edgar Wisniewski: Die Berliner Philharmonie und ihr Kammermusiksaal. Der Konzertsaal als Zentralraum, Gebrüder Mann Verlag 1993, ISBN 3786117144
• Edgar Wisniewski u.a.: Wege zur Musik. Herausgegeben anlässlich der Eröffnung des neuen Hauses, Staatliches Institut für Musikforschung Preußischer Kulturbesitz 1984, ISBN 3922378048

External links

• Edgar Wisniewski at archINFORM
• Kurzbio bei baunetz.de
• Interview mit Edgar Wisniewski, taz 25. April 2005
• Scharouns Mann fürs Künstlerische, Berliner Morgenpost, 5. Januar 2007
• Nachruf (Welt online 1. Mai 2007)
• Edgar-Wisniewski-Archiv im Archiv der Akademie der Künste, Berlin