Biography Konrad Wachsmann
1901 May 16th born in Frankfurt (Oder)
1917 apprenticeship as a carpenter for furniture and construction (workshop Münnich)
1922 student of arts and crafts in Berlin
1923 student at the Academy of Art in Dresden (Professor Tessenow)
1924 student at the Academy of Art in Berlin (Professor Poelzig)
1926 architect at the "Christoph & Unmack AG" in Niesky/Oberlausitz
1929 construction of the "Sommerhaus" for Albert Einstein in Caputh and completion of a house for Dr Estrich in Jüterbog
opening of an architecture office in Berlin
1930 publishing the book "Holzhausbau - Technik und Gestaltung" (construction of wooden houses - technique and design) at "Ernst Wasmuth Verlag", Berlin
1932 winning the prize "Prix de Rome" awarded by the Prussian Academy of Art, including a scholarship for spending one year in the "Villa Massimo" in Rome
1933 leaving the "Villa Massimo" in protest against the NS-regime
contributing to Granada city planning
1934 architecture office in Rome, mainly dealing with steel constructions
1935 last visit to his home town before World War II
1938 protective custody in Rome, escaping to France
1939 internment, volunteer in the French army
1941 emigration to the USA
1941 - 1949 development of the "General Panel System", together with Walter Gropius
1942 his mother, his sister and her 16-year-old son were deported to Riga and killed
1942 founder and managing director of the "General Panel Corporation" in New York, together with Walter Gropius
development of the "Mobilar Structure Building System"
1944 exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art, New York
development of a fully automatic factory for building panels, carried out for the "General Panel Corporation" in California
1947 obtained US citizenship
appointed professor at the "Institute of Design", part of the Illinois Institute of Technology Chicago
1949 - 1956 director of the "Department of Advanced Building Research"
research activities for the "Federal Housing Agency", the US Airforce and the steel industry
1954 guest professor at Karlsruhe University, visiting his colleague Egon Eiermann
1955 - 1956 journey around the world, sponsored by the US Ministry for Foreign Affairs; lectures and tutorials in Japan, Israel, Germany and Austria
1956 - 1960 organisation of annual tutorials at the International Summer University Salzburg
1958 exposition "Bauen in unserer Zeit" (building in our time) in Vienna, Munich, Zurich, Rome, Amsterdam, Delft and Essen
1959 tutorial about the industrialization of building at the "Ecole Polytechnique de l'Universitè de Lausanne" (Polytechnique school of the University of Lausanne, France)
Exhibition "Corbusier and Wachsmann" at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Rome
Publishing the book "Wendepunkt im Bauen" (turning point in building)
1960 Tutorial at the Yale University
Marriage with Judith
1961 Publishing of the illustrated book "Aspekte" (aspects)
Birth of his daughter Ray
1962 - 1964 outline of a 50-floor steel-made skyscraper for the Italian steel industry in Genoa as well as city and harbour planning in Genoa
1964 appointed professor at the "School of Architecture", University of Southern California
1966 Development of a pre-stressed cable construction for the city hall of California City
1969 Member of the managing committee of the "Bauhaus-Archiv" in Berlin
Invited by the "Bauakademie" to visit the GDR
1970 Wachsmann is awarded the "Gold Medal of the Senate of the Italian Republic"
Visit to the USSR as guest of the state's building control department
1971 Touring exhibition "Konrad Wachsmann - 50 Jahre Leben und Arbeit für die Industrialisierung des Bauens" (Konrad Wachsmann - 50 years of living and work dedicated to the industrialization of building)
Over 100 registered patents in the building sector
1972 Exhibition at the Octagon, the historical building of the "American Institute of Architects" in Washington D.C.
1973 Appointed member of the Academy of Art in Berlin
Appointed Dr.-Ing. honoris causa at the Technical University of Stuttgart
Repeated visits to the GDR and Poland
1976 Appointed honorary member of the American Institute of Architects
1977 Appointed Doctor of Laws honoris causa at the University of Southern California
1978 Invitation by the "Generalkonservator" (head of the department for the protection of historical monuments) in the GDR, to take part in the restoration of the "Albert-Einstein-Haus"
1979 Guest at the GDR Academy of Science to celebrate Einstein's 100th birthday in the GDR
1980 Konrad Wachsmann dies in Los Angeles on November 25th
1981 His urn is taken to "Frankfurt/Oder Hauptfriedhof" (main cemetery)