Chair with armrests
Bundes Stuhl
designed by Johannes KRAHN (1908-1974)
Germany, 2nd half of the 20th century, design 1949.
navy blue artificial leather, wood
dimensions: width 70 cm, height 100 cm, depth 50 cm
Johannes KRAHN (1908-1974) studied architecture from 1923-1927 at Technische Lehranstalten Offenbach. He continued his studies from 1927-1928 at Kölner Werkschulen. He worked with Rudolf Schwarz from 1928 to 1940. He completed his engineering studies at RWTH Aachen University.
In Frankfurt, he led the reconstruction of the Paulskirche, starting in 1947, and later was a member of the Städel reconstruction team. In 1950, he built the French embassy in Bad Godesberg. In 1954, he realized the early skyscraper Bienenkorbhaus at the Konstablerwache in Frankfurt. His building of the St. Wendel Church in Frankfurt (1957) has been compared to Le Corbusier in terms of materials and light flow. In 1962 he built the St. Nicholas von Flüe Catholic Church in Wörsdorf. In 1965 he created a variation on the interplay of stonework, glass and concrete of St. Wendel in St. Martin, Idstein. In 1966 he built St. Sebastian in Frankfurt. In 1973, together with Richard Heil, he built the City-Hochhaus in Frankfurt. He died in Orselin, Switzerland.
Krahn was a teacher at the Kunstgewerbeschule Aachen, and from 1954 a professor of architecture at the Städelschule Frankfurt. He was director of the Städelschule from 1965 to 1970. With a dedication to detail, he emphasized function, construction and material, avoiding pure ornamentation.
Awards:
1955 Member of the Akademie der Künste, Berlin
1951 Gold medal for Krahn-Stuhl (Krahn chair) at the 9th Triennale di Milano
