Architecture in the collection "Art in Berlin 1880-1980"

Fehling + Gogel was a leading name in post-war modern architecture in Berlin. Elaborating on the “organic architecture” of Hans Scharoun, the practice teased dynamic spatial structures out of functional ground plans. Its architects first caught the public eye in 1957 with a Berlin Pavilion for the building exhibition Interbau, followed by the Students’ Village in Schlachtensee (1956-1964). Their international reputation was founded on projects for universities and research facilities: the Max Planck Institute for Human Development in Berlin (1965-1974), the Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics at Garching near Munich (1974-1979), the extension to the student canteen at the Freie Universität in Berlin (1975), the European Southern Observatory (ESO) headquarters at Garching near Munich (1976-1980) and an Institute of Hygiene and Microbiology for Berlin’s Freie Universität (1978-1990).

Fehling + Gogel existed from 1947 until 1990, but partners and partnerships varied over time. Hermann Fehling began accepting freelance commissions as an architect in 1947. In 1952 he took Peter Pfankuch onto the books, followed in 1953 by Daniel Gogel. From 1956 until Pfankuch’s departure in 1960, the practice operated under the name Fehling Gogel Pfankuch, subsequently as Fehling + Gogel, although open teamwork, including with freelancers like Günter Ssymmank and Walter Arno Noebel, remained a distinctive feature. Daniel Gogel headed the practice from 1984 until it was disbanded. Before his death he handed the practice papers over to the Swiss Architecture Museum in Basel. In 2020, at the instigation of his widow Karla Gogel-Pfefferkorn, these holdings were transferred to the Berlinische Galerie.