Fehling + Gogel

Moving through space
Berlin architects Fehling + Gogel (1953–1990)
Hermann Fehling (1909–1996) and Daniel Gogel (1927–1997) were major figures in post-war modernist architecture. They were influenced by the “organic” style of Hans Scharoun (1893–1972), who designed the Philharmonie in Berlin, and developed it in new ways. Their buildings are distinctive for unusually dynamic structures that evolve out of functional floor plans.
Haus Schatz (1965–1968) in Baden-Baden was the first project where Fehling + Gogel plotted the likely movements of the future occupants, then translated those flows into a complex space wrapped around a spiral staircase at the centre. This idea fed into their designs for science facilities commissioned by the Max-Planck-Gesellschaft and the European Southern Observatory (ESO) in Berlin and Munich. The Max Planck Institute for Human Development (1965–1974) winds around a central tower that opens inwards onto a web of stairs across several storeys. Tent-like roofing supports the elaborate direction of light. The Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics (1974–1979) was conceived by Fehling + Gogel as a ring arrangement encasing a courtyard. The curving façades of the ESO headquarters (1976–1980) track a 60-metre suite of rooms punctuated by skylights and stairwells.