Thursday, February 29, 2024

Peter Behrens a figure in between centuries



Behrens' The Kiss, a six color woodcut, controversial for its androgynous imagery (first reproduced in Pan magazine)

Peter Behrens is one of the most influential Twentieth-Century German designers. At the beginning of the century, he brought forth outstanding works in painting, architecture, graphic design and industrial design, which exerted a paramount influence in all these various fields, opening up uncharted territory for the generations to come.


He is viewed as the founder of modern objective industrial architecture and modern industrial design.

Behren's AEG Turbine Factory (1908-1909)

so what's behren's importance?

he contributed the hexagonal trademark of the AEG, its catalogs, and its office stationery, products such as electric fans and street lamps, and retail shops and factories. 

in 1909-1912 he built the AEG factory complex. his turbine assembly works with its glass curtain wall was the most influential building in Germany at that time. 

added bonus: during this period Walter Gropius, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, and Le Corbusier worked in his office!