Family southwest of Berlin, where Bruno Arons was raised after 1880 Bruno Arons was born in
Berlin,
Germany on 9 April 1878 as the eldest son of Berlin banker Barthold Arons (1850–1933) and his wife Bertha (1855–1932). He was raised in wealthy conditions in Villa Arons, close to
Großer Wannsee southwest of Germany's capital. He had two younger siblings, Katharine (1879–1969) and Edmund (1883–1965). His uncle was the entrepreneur, philanthropist and patron of the arts,
Henri James Simon. Due to
cultural assimilation, in 1904, he changed his
biblical family name Arons to the German-sounding Ahrends, possibly at the same time that he and his siblings
converted to
Christianity. That same year, he married Johanna Springer (1882–1970), the granddaughter of German publisher
Julius Springer. They became three sons and one daughter, Hans Peter Bruno Ahrends (1905–2001),
Steffen Ahrends (1907–1992), who also became an architect, Marianne (1910–1994) and Gottfried Bruno (born 1917).
Education Ahrends wanted to study
Shipbuilding at
Kaiserliche Werft in
Kiel, but at imperial shipyard,s any participation of
Jews was excluded. When visiting the
Alsatian city of
Strasbourg, Ahrends was so impressed by the
Strasbourg Cathedral that he turned to
architecture. He studied at the
Technical University of Munich and later at
Technische Hochschule Charlottenburg. After graduating in 1903 he worked as a
referendary for the public construction works managements of the cities
Magdeburg and
Hanover. During that time, Ahrends completed his second
state examination.
Work , his first self-contained project in
Berlin-Zehlendorf Ahrends left
civil services to establish himself as an architect in Germany's capital, where the design of housing estates and single homes was a prosperous and prestigious business. In 1911-12, his first self-contained project was his own family's home, a cottage in the borough
Dahlem, today used as the villa of the
President of the German parliament. He even planned its ample backyard, which was sited in 1914. In 1917, he sold the cottage to a Berlin banker. After
World War II it was used for the US legate in West-Berlin until 1991. Since about 1996, it has been the service villa of the President of the German parliament Bundestag. Different from that, between 1999 and 2004, the estate was used by the
President of Germany,
Johannes Rau and his family. Between 1921 and 1925, Ahrends built a new unostentatious cottage for his family. It was located at
Großer Wannsee, on the estate of his father, close to
Villa Arons. Later, he planned and built numerous residential buildings and housing developments in several boroughs of Germany's capital, Berlin. His architectural style went from a traditional cottage style to a very modern style at that time. Between 1927 and 1928, he planned a building in Berlin-Wannsee, which was used by his friend Hans Krüger (1884–1945), a president in the Prussian ministry of agriculture, preserves and forestry. The cubic home was residence of the President of Germany,
Heinrich Lübke, during his stays in West-Berlin between 1959 and 1969.
Schule am Meer on the German island
Juist Between 1929 and 1931, Ahrends planned and built a multifunctional hall on the German island
Juist for the
progressive boarding school
Schule am Meer (School by the Sea). In the German Reich, it was the sole theatre hall of any school. With reference to
William Shakespeare's
role play, its stage was open to all sides and no longer separated from the auditorium.
Martin Luserke, the school's founder and principal, used it for amateur play of his students, which was recognised across the country and also the predecessor of today's school role play. The school's theatre hall was also meant as a nationwide training post for role-play teachers. Ahrends was able to work until 1935, when the
Nazi government
ordered a general professional disqualification through
Berufsverbot for Jews and others. In 1936, he flew to Italy. From there, he made it to Britain in 1939, where he lived without a job in poor conditions. As an
enemy alien, he was detained at
Hutchinson Internment Camp on the
Isle of Man, where he produced stencil prints of his surroundings as well as architectural drafts for a replacement of the whole location at Hutchinson Square. After World War II he emigrated to South Africa, where his two sons were living. He died soon after his arrival. == Style ==