Fränkel, Rudolf

Rudolf Fränkel was the son of the building contractor Louis Fränkel. He studied architecture at the technical university of Charlottenburg and opened his own office in 1924. His first major commission was the planning of the “Atlantic” garden city, but the focus of his activities continued to lie in the design of residences and housing complexes (e.g. in Schöneberg, Wilmersdorf and Pankow). His designs show that pragmatic solutions were always paramount for him, in addition to a modern formal vocabulary. Forewarned by an acquaintance, Fränkel fled in 1933 from Berlin to Bucharest (Romania). There, with the help of local architects, Fränkel was able to build on his successes in Germany (Cinema Scala 1936, Malaxa apartment house 1937). Fränkel also pursued his career in London, after immigrating via Switzerland in 1937, and in the USA after 1950, where he established the academic department of city planning at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.