Searching for clues in the work of cinema architect Gerhard Fritsche

Architectural ceramics in post-war modernist Berlin

Right in the middle of Kurfürstendamm, there stands a brightly shimmering mosaic vase designed by the Berlin artist Gerhard Schultze-Seehof and exhibited in May 1957. It is a familiar sight to every Berliner. Colourful mosaics adorn the entire surface of the vase. They were "salvaged from the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church" (1) which was also famous for its extensive décor featuring mosaic images from the Puhl & Wagner atelier. The vase symbolises the destruction of Berlin during the 2nd world war as well as the tender plant of new beginnings.

That same month in 1957 – only a few hundred metres further, opposite the Memorial Church – saw the official opening of the "Zoo Palast" cinema, built as a new main venue for the Berlin Film Festival and aiming to return a little glamour and international flair to the battered city. A major work of cinema architect Gerhard Fritsche, the "Zoo Palast" was part of the new "Centre at the Zoo" quarter, a symbol of reconstruction and a new beginning by Berlin in the 1950s. Today, Fritsche's twin-screen cinema with two theatres one above the other, its exterior fully clad in bright and dark ceramic, is an icon of Berlin's post-war architecture.

After the first few years of clearing rubble, "The new face of Berlin" (2), soon presented itself on Kurfürstendamm and at Tauentzien with numerous modern retail, office and cultural buildings sprouting from 1950 on. It was a new type of architecture designed by a young generation of architects with fresh ideas of design. Transparent and screened facades, protruding canopies and weightless stairwells were the distinctive features of this post-war modernism. The availability of new building materials such as aluminium, opaque glass, eternit, plexiglas or Resopal gave rise to buoyant and lightweight architectural designs featuring anodised light metal systems and corrugated sheet design. Slim concrete shells and exposed concrete facades were equally prevalent thanks to the results of improved research into concrete.

(1) „Der Tag“, 17.05.1957

"Zoo Palast" Cinema, Berlin-Charlottenburg, 2013
Source: PREMIUM Entertainment GmbH, Hamburg
Photographer: Jan Bitter Fotografie

Cinema „Zoo Palast“ Berlin-Charlottenburg, 1957, Source: Berlin im Aufbau (2) 1957

By contrast, architectural ceramics are a traditional and proven building material. Nevertheless, they experienced a renaissance and swift revival during the 1950s. Mosaic tiles and split panels were more popular than ever before. What was new was the great demand for ceramic products for exterior applications, i.e. for large-surface cladding and design of facades. Natural stone (travertine, marble and granite) was the material of choice for facades during the 1920s and 30s while ceramic tiles were primarily used in interior applications, especially for hygienic reasons in buildings in the food industry, hospitals, swimming pools or for sanitary facilities in public buildings (schools, hotels and restaurants).

After the war, there were some good reasons for the increasing demand for ceramic facade products. Tiles and slabs were increasingly regarded as "functional and modern building elements" (3) as well as versatile building materials which could be used in a variety of applications. In terms of construction technology, the application techniques offered by this material complied with structural developments in the area of frame construction. As a visually attractive and durable exterior skin, ceramic tiles were very popular for modern screened facades, e.g. for the balustrades between the constructive supports. Its competitive price compared to other building materials was also ensured by rationalised manufacturing, including the development of standardised tile formats. Advertising by the ceramics industry during the 1950s emphasised the particular feasibility and durability of these products. Resistance to frost, weather-proofing and unlimited durability accompanied by consistent cleanliness as well as colour- and light-fastness were listed as outstanding properties which guaranteed low maintenance costs and few signs of ageing which in turn predestined architectural ceramics as a versatile building material for facades.

And facades clad in ceramics were also trendy from a design perspective. Building owners and architects appreciated the attractiveness and expressive force of colourful ceramic tiles as well as their ability to adapt to artistic ideas. The advantages of tiles and split tiles in designing interior areas and facades were successfully marketed by the "Werbestelle der Keramischen Wandund Bodenfliesen-Industrie" specially set up for this purpose and its "Keramik am Bau" (4) newsletter. Highlighted by colour photos of recently completed buildings, readers were presented with the product range of small-format mosaics to large-format split tiles and their manifold applications illustrated by an extensive range of colours and a wide variety of surface structures (glazed/ unglazed). And references were made to the age-old tradition enjoyed by architectural ceramics dating back to the tiled architecture of Babylonian or Assyrian palaces. The prevailing splendour of these structures to be marvelled at in museums all over the world was often cited in order to derive the validity and durability of ceramic products for the tasks of modern construction. (5).

(2) Title of a well-known book of photographs by the Berlin architectural photographer Otto Hagemann featuring new buildings in West Berlin during the 1950s, Berlin 1957 / (3) "Fliesen, ein zweckmäßiges, neuzeitliches Bauelement" (Tiles, a functional and modern building element), in: Berliner Bauwirtschaft (5) 1954, No.18, pp. 335-336 / (4) "Keramik am Bau" was published as of 1955 with six issues a year. Like the "Buchtal Mitteilungen" published on an irregular basis by Buchtal AG as of the 1950s, these are coveted collector's items today. / (5) The cover of the "Gebrannte Erde - Baustoff der Jahrtausende - über 100 Jahre AGROB AG für Grob- und Feinkeramik" published by AGROB in Munich in 1959 on the occasion of its centenary anniversary depicts the famous archer frieze comprising colourful ceramic in the former Palace of Dareios I in Susa (Persia).

Cinema „Zoo Palast“ Berlin-Charlottenburg, 1957, Source: MASKE + SUHREN Gesellschaft von Architekten mbH, Berlin

Ceramic facades in Berlin

When looking for examples in Berlin of 1950s architecture reflecting the significance and imagery of ceramic products for facades, focus is swiftly achieved by the former Stalinallee (6) (Karl-Marx-Allee since 1961) in the eastern section of the city. Practically all of the facades of residential and retail buildings extending more than two kilometres along this street (7) are entirely clad with ceramic tiles. (8) From an architectural and aesthetic perspective, this unique ensemble of Soviet-style socialist urban development was regarded critically in the western half of the city. The 1957 Interbau fair in the Hansa Quarter aimed to provide an alternative model for humane and modern urban development. Criticism of the Stalinallee could also be heard from the ceramics industry which mockingly attributed the "representative demonstration of ceramic material ... an oppressive feeling, a feeling of enforced conformity and standardisation ... of an architectural style which under no circumstances promises the contemporary concept of modern building and living". (9) Interestingly, the Interbau did not present a single project demonstratively displaying the possibilities of ceramic material for applications on exterior walls. Exposed concrete or panelling made of sheet steel characterised the buildings of an international architectural avant-garde for which ceramic as a building material simply did not appear to be sufficiently innovative.

Comprehensive reconstruction of West Berlin to include new apartments, schools, health and administration buildings was achieved by young architects who – either freelance or employed by the regional construction departments – had an enormous task to accomplish. Buildings had to be economical as well as attractive in terms of design. Architectural ceramic products promised to comply with these demands and were therefore used for designing shops, hallways or balconies. Even today, entire streets in various districts of Berlin are characterised by buildings dating back to the era of reconstruction. But hardly anyone remembers the people and responsible for the building culture of the post-war era.

(6) Built between 1949 and 1969 / (7) Often referred to as the world's longest architectural monument, the "Stalinallee" was refurbished extensively after reunification in 1990. / (8) See Wolfgang Henze: Architektur- und Baukeramik, Halle 1955 and Christian Madaus: Fassadenverkleidung durch Keramik, Berlin (East) 1958 / (9) Jochen Weigel, Die Keramische Industrie auf der Interbau Berlin, in: Keramik am Bau (3) 1957, No. 2, page 5

Cinema architect G. Fritsche

One of these "unknown architects" who has meanwhile been practically forgotten was Gerhard Fritsche who made his name as a cinema architect in the 1950s. His secondary means of support involved architecture for the brewery industry. His first and most important client was the Kindl Brewery in Berlin which consistently commissioned him with assignments. As the brewery's house architect between 1952 and 1955, Fritsche was responsible for reconstruction of the brewery site in Berlin-Neukölln which had been destroyed during the war. The brewery industry celebrated the project in Neukölln as an exemplary modern brewery, and not only from a technical perspective. (10) On account of its modern design, the Kindl project even made it onto the front page of the "Bauwelt" (11) architectural magazine. Along with the brew house featuring wall panelling made of ivory-coloured glass panels, the design of the flavour filter room in the new Kindl Brewery was emphasised in particular by the press and trade literature. Its convincing spatial effect was solely attributed to the powerful design exuded by the colourful tiles which fully covered the floor, walls and columns. (12) Fritsche succeeded in skilfully complying with both the hygienic requirements and the maximum demands on design. Following the war and years of poverty, there was a surge in demand for entertainment and amusement among the population of Berlin. Dancing and the cinema were extremely popular. In 1953, Fritsche was commissioned to renovate the Tusculum Hotel on Kurfürstendamm. This hotel included a new bar with dancing called "Petit Palais" on the ground floor which soon became popular in artistic and literary circles. The establishment with its bar for dancing, restaurant and an espresso bar exuded a chic Parisian style and guests were received on Kurfürstendamm with the corresponding elegance. The entire ground floor facade featured glossy jet black (13) ceramic which presented a conscious contrast to the pale plaster facade of the upper hotel floors. And providing an exciting background for plate glass doors, exterior lights reminiscent of the art deco style and flowing neon signs which extended an invitation to visit the premises day and night. (14) The facade design featuring ceramic slabs first used by Fritsche on the Tusculum Hotel may have encouraged the architect to utilise the specific features of architectural ceramic products for his cinema projects, too.

(10) Brauwelt (93) 1953, No. 45, pp. 576-578; Die Brauerei (7) 1953, No. 20, pp. 163-164 / (11) Bauwelt (44) 1953, issue 32, pp. 625-629 / (12) Elfriede Holzbach, Keramische Fliesen, Bonn 1954, Fig. 52; Keramik am Bau (1)1955, sub-folder, page 2; Keramische Fliesen: Handbuch für Architekten, Wiesbaden 1956, p. 189 / (13) These were profiled, glazed split tiles in jet black. / (14) Unfortunately, the entrance featuring ceramic cladding has not been retained.

Image: Gerhard Fritsche, 1950ies, Source : Dr. Bodo Fritsche, Mülheim/Ruhr

"Tusculum" Hotel with "Petit Palais" bar for dancing, 1956; source: Dr. Bodo Fritsche, Mülheim/Ruhr; photographer: E. and H. Fischer

The 1950s were golden years for the cinema industry. While films were initially enjoyed in provisional surroundings, cinema architecture soon became a building task which was very much in demand. In 1959, there were 265 cinemas in West Berlin. All made possible by the economic miracle. His renovation of the "KiKi" cinema on Kurfürstendamm paved Gerhard Fritsche's way to entering the cinema metier in 1951. Over the next few years, he evolved to become Berlin's specialist when it came to cinema buildings. 17 cinema projects document Fritsche's talent for this construction task which soon earned him the nickname "Kino-Fritsche" after the German word for cinema.

His cinema buildings picked up on the idea of the film palaces of the 1920s but featuring new aesthetics and new designs. Fritsche regarded the cinema experience as starting on the street, not just inside the theatre. He opined that the building shell should increase anticipation and get cinema goers into the mood for good entertainment. Accordingly, the choice of materials is an essential aspect in the architect's design concept. Fritsche favoured "glossy" materials for the exterior design of his cinemas, especially aluminium, coloured opaque glass and ceramic tiles. His earlier "Panorama" cinemas in Berlin-Neukölln and Berlin-Zehlendorf commissioned by the Seifert Cinema Company in 1954 saw the entrance facades clad in light blue opaque glass. And this building material was also used for the "MGM" cinema on Kurfürstendamm. Visible from afar, the large letters were surrounded by jet black opaque glass panels. In combination with the striking facade featuring aluminium louvers and illuminated effectively in red and blue at night, this Kudamm cinema became a futuristic place of discovery as of 1956 (15).

The "Maxim-Lichtspieltheater" opened the same year in Berlin-Moabit required an entirely different design solution. In this case, the cinema was integrated in the ground floor of a new multi-story building of apartments and shops (16). The only way of advertising the cinema was a shop zone projecting from the building facade which included the cinema entrance in a covered box-shaped porch. In order to highlight the facade areas, the two architects also availed of the design possibilities offered by architectural ceramics. The upper floors of the facade were clad in bright glazed split tiles while the shop zone incorporating the cinema entrance featured black glazed split tiles for the rear section and dark grey mosaics for the canopy with yellow mosaics arranged in a regular design to achieve stellar highlights. The dark grey mosaics were continued along the walls of the deep box office foyer whose floor featured a bright mosaic covering and an integrated grey pattern (17).

Fritsche also took advantage of the versatility of ceramic tiles for his later major cinema projects including the "Panorama" in Berlin-Britz (1959) and the "Zoo Palast" beside the Memorial Church. Built as free-standing cinemas, their exterior shells are fully clad in tiles of various colours (18). The "Panorama" (19) built in a new residential area looks like a cinema which has been imported directly from the United States. The box-shaped structure is attributed its "space-like" appearance by inclined stringboards on the sides conveying the architectural concept of steeply climbing high stalls inside the cinema. This effect is accentuated even further by striped coverings of split tiles in white and light grey. The lower section of the cinema is entirely clad in medium-format glazed tiles in dark grey and black, thereby creating an exciting contrast to the upper section clad in white split tiles.

(15) The "MGM" and "Panorama" cinemas in Berlin-Zehlendorf were discontinued in the late 1970s. The "Panorama" in Berlin-Neukölln was closed in 1977 and renovated for a commercial enterprise with the loss of the facade design created by Gerhard Fritsche for the cinema. / (16) Gerhard Fritsche was responsible for planning the cinema design while the residential and commercial building was designed by the architect Erich Rothe. / (17) The former "Maxim" has housed a supermarket since 1978. The ceramic tile facade on the street side has been retained. (18) Ceramic tiles from AGROB Buchtal AG were used in both cinemas. / (19) The "Panorama" in Berlin-Britz was advertised as a reference project in the "Buchtal Mitteilungen" No. 16 (around 1960). The "Panorama" in Berlin-Britz was closed in late 1980 and renovated to become a supermarket. The exterior shell has been retained which is why the cinema is now a listed building.

Kindl Brewery in Berlin-Neukölln, aroma filter room, 1953; source: Radeberger Group KG, Archive; photographer: Arthur Köster

The „Zoo Palast“

Fritsche had already relied on ceramic tiles and split tiles for designing the facade of the "Zoo Palast" cinema newly built only two years beforehand. One reason for this may have been a consciously design-based distinction from the exposed concrete facades of the neighbouring "Centre at the Zoo" buildings by architects Schwebes & Schoszberger. Furthermore, Fritsche saw ceramic materials for facades as a potential for attributing his cinema designs an architectural distinction. His ingenuity involved the idea of a space-saving twin cinema with two tapered theatres one above the other – the new cinema was therefore soon nicknamed the "Klappstulle" (sandwich) by Berlin's cinema goers. The cinema shell was presented with closed facade areas on the outside. Only the front featured a large-format curved facade which is simply the counterpart to the wide screen inside the large theatre. You could say it was practical architecture at its best. But Fritsche lent the building its particular élan by cladding the building shell entirely in profiled split tiles in the colours of natural stone which creates a very lively surface structure (20). He playfully redesigned the curves on the front as a striking facade with golden buttons for hanging film posters which are extremely decorative even in their own right. Fritsche clad the facades of the extensions around the main building in graphite-coloured medium-sized mosaics: the diagonal stairwells on the side for accessing the large theatre and access to the "Atelier" cinema as well as a wide shop zone towards the street side and access to the "Zoo Palast" along with a box office lobby. Fritsche took advantage of the various formats and colours of tiles and split tiles for differentiating and creating an optical distinction between the facade, thereby reinforcing the concept of his innovative approach towards unique cinema architecture for a major cinema with theatres positioned one on top of the other. Since its opening in 1957, the "Zoo Palast" is still used as a cinema. Fritsche's cinema architecture has proven its worth with original tiles and split tiles still in existence today and retaining their absolutely practical function.

Like the Memorial Church, the "Zoo Palast" represents a true part of Berlin. Not only because of the international stars making annual pilgrimages to the Berlinale Film Festival but also as an outstanding structural testimonial to Berlin's post-war architecture. After three years of repairs and renovations, the "Zoo Palast" has been shining like new since reopening in November 2013. And its revival as the cinema for the 2014 Berlinale Film Festival has returned it to its rightful place in the city's cultural scene.

(20) AGROB facing tiles in 24.5 cm x 12 cm format

MASKE + SUHREN Architekten und Designer GmbH is an experienced Berlin-based agency currently employing 20 people. After some parallels during their studies at the HdK Berlin and Politecnico di Milano, Anna Maske and Jens Suhren set up their first agency together in 1999. Monumental projects now form a key focus of their current activities. Their core competencies include making inventories, building under protected conditions, developing concepts and revitalising architectural monuments for intelligent and sustainable follow-up use. Special buildings such as museums and cinemas, representative reception rooms and restaurants are among the ongoing tasks uniting various modern architectural concepts with high demands on function and aesthetics. The agency also continues to specialise in highquality residential buildings – from new buildings and conversions of complex residential blocks under urban, energy and ecological aspects through to designing interiors as independent architectural entities with exclusive demands on design.

Maintenance/Conversion of the „Zoo Palast“, Berlin
Planning and construction duration: 2010-2013
Property developer / Operator: PREMIUM Entertainment GmbH (Hans-Joachim Flebbe), Hamburg
Owner: Bayerische Hausbau GmbH, Munich
Architects: MASKE + SUHREN Gesellschaft von Architekten mbH, Berlin (cinema maintenance/conversion) HildundK Architekten, Berlin (facade maintenance)
Parallel exhibition entitled „Gerhard Fritsche – Bauen für ein neues Berlin 1950-1960“
Concept and realisation: MASKE + SUHREN Gesellschaft von Architekten mbH, Berlin
www.gerhard-fritsche.de

Other projects of recent years:
Residenz-ASTOR Film Lounge in Cologne, ASTOR Film Lounge in Frankfurt/Main, "Goldenes Haus" residential building in Berlin, Lukasklause in Magdeburg (Otto-von-Guericke Foundation)

MASKE + SUHREN Architekten und Designer Gesellschaft von Architekten mbH
Kurfürstendamm 22
10719 Berlin

www.MaskeSuhren.de

Architekten@MaskeSuhren.de

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