His father, Johann (1640–1719), was a shoemaker and
guild master. His half-brother, from his father's second marriage, was the
cartographer, . After grammar school, he studied
theology at the
University of Tübingen, then studied mathematics at the
University of Jena. In 1687,
Anthony Ulrich, Duke of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, assigned him to the
Rudolph-Antoniana, a
Ritterakademie in Wolfenbüttel, where he taught mathematics and architecture. Two years later, he was appointed Master Builder, in charge of a new princely Building Authority, assisted by
Hermann Korb. In 1692, he became the Fortress Engineer and proceeded to expand the city's fortifications. He died in 1694, following a long illness, aged only thirty. Korb succeeded him as Master Builder and took his place at the Ritterakademie. His largest project was the initial draft for the
Schloss Salzdahlum. Although monumental in appearance, much of it was actually made of timber and wood panels. During the
Napoleonic Wars, it fell into neglect and was demolished in 1813. From 1688 to 1692, he worked on a major expansion of the
Schloss Wolfenbüttel. He also created the original designs for the , , and the first church
St. Trinitatis, Wolfenbüttel. His treatise,
Compendium Architecturae Civilis Harmonicae Antiquae et Novae, was published posthumously in Amsterdam in 1698. == Sources ==