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@PHDTHESIS{Knecht:997236,
      author       = {Knecht, Stefan},
      othercontributors = {Naujokat, Anke and Lohmann, Daniel},
      title        = {"{D}as {W}erk des rheinischen {A}rchitekten {B}ernhard
                      {R}otterdam als {B}eispiel der {M}ultiplen {M}oderne“},
      school       = {Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen},
      type         = {Dissertation},
      address      = {Aachen},
      publisher    = {RWTH Aachen University},
      reportid     = {RWTH-2024-11148},
      pages        = {1 Online-Ressource : Illustrationen},
      year         = {2024},
      note         = {Veröffentlicht auf dem Publikationsserver der RWTH Aachen
                      University 2025; Dissertation, Rheinisch-Westfälische
                      Technische Hochschule Aachen, 2024},
      abstract     = {This paper examines the life and work of architect Bernhard
                      Rotterdam as a representative of Multiple Modernity. Born in
                      1893 in Immigrath (Langenfeld), Rotterdam contributed to the
                      shaping of architecture in the Rhineland during the 1920s,
                      confronted the challenges of the Nazi dictatorship, and
                      ultimately left a significant mark on the region with
                      numerous projects following World War II, until his passing
                      in 1974 in Bensberg (Bergisch Gladbach). Despite his
                      extensive body of work, which greatly influenced the
                      architectural landscape of the Rhineland and particularly
                      the territory of the Archdiocese of Cologne, there remains a
                      notable absence of comprehensive scholarly research on his
                      life and oeuvre even fifty years after his death. This paper
                      aims to address this research gap and provide initial
                      insights into fundamental questions: Who was Bernhard
                      Rotterdam? What architectural legacy did he leave behind?
                      Why is his work significant? The first chapter of this paper
                      provides a detailed biography of Bernhard Rotterdam,
                      exploring his origins, family background, and significant
                      personal, societal, and political events within the context
                      of his life. It demonstrates that Rotterdam's sustained
                      success in his architectural career can be primarily
                      attributed to the support from his father's construction
                      company in Langenfeld, which prioritized economic interests,
                      the influence of his teacher Emil Fahrenkamp with his
                      pragmatic understanding of the profession, Rotterdam's
                      extensive education in the field of architecture and
                      construction in Cologne and Düsseldorf, as well as his
                      ability to cultivate a broad clientele. The second chapter
                      examines the foundational concepts in Bernhard Rotterdam's
                      body of work through a comprehensive retroperspective,
                      elucidating the overarching principles of his architectural
                      practice and how these evolved over the course of his
                      career. In this context, it is hypothesized that Rotterdam
                      pursued three essential design strategies: the strategy of
                      abstract regionalism, the strategy of abstract power
                      representation, and the strategy of formal reduction.
                      Through analysis of realized buildings and consideration of
                      unrealized designs, it is explained that these seemingly
                      contradictory tendencies, along with their combinations and
                      interactions, reveal numerous connections that integrate
                      individual works into a larger context and illustrate the
                      shared, albeit not always linear, process of abstraction and
                      reduction in Rotterdam's fifty-year career. Finally, the
                      third chapter contextualizes Bernhard Rotterdam's work
                      within the art and architectural historical context of its
                      time of creation. Building upon the insights developed
                      during the survey of his work, it is emphasized that
                      Rotterdam's highly heterogeneous body of work defies easy
                      categorization within established frameworks and largely
                      eludes conventional interpretive patterns. Beyond a brief
                      discussion of the relationship between modernity and
                      tradition in German architecture during the interwar and
                      postwar periods, and an attempt to explain the concept of
                      another Modernity, this paper connects Rotterdam's work with
                      the principles of Multiple Modernity borrowed from
                      sociology. This approach enables, for the first time, a
                      coherent understanding of the architect's body of work,
                      highlighting Rotterdam's significance as a crucial mirror of
                      Rhenish architectural history in the 20th century.},
      cin          = {217110},
      ddc          = {720},
      cid          = {$I:(DE-82)217110_20160502$},
      typ          = {PUB:(DE-HGF)11},
      doi          = {10.18154/RWTH-2024-11148},
      url          = {https://publications.rwth-aachen.de/record/997236},
}