Werner Seligmann

Werner Seligmann was born on March 30, 1930, in Osnabrück, Germany. His father, Fritz, was born December 31, 1902, in Krefeld, Germany, survived a labor camp in Bielefeld and deportation to KZ Theresienstadt, Terezín in Czechoslovakia. He died March 10, 1971, in Garmisch-Partenkirchen. His mother, Charlotte Louise (Czermin), was Fritz's second wife and was born June 1, 1902. She died in KZ Ravensbrück, Germany, about 1944. Fritz was Jewish but Charlotte was not. His sister, Helga Seligmann, was born in Osnabrück September 17, 1931, and died during an Allied bombing raid November 21, 1944, This appears to have been in a resettlement camp in Wentorf, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany. Wentorf was a camp for Displaced Persons (DPs) and occupied buildings that had been barracks for the German Army (Wehrmacht). From there, he was sent to the United States in 1949, leaving Bremerhaven aboard the "General J H McRae". On August 29, 1954, he married Jean Lois Liberman. They had two children: Raphael John and Sabina Charlotte. He became a naturalized citizen in 1955. He taught as an Assistant at the Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (the ETH) in Zürich, Switzerland from 1959 to 1961 and was a designer in the office of Hoesli and Aebli, Züich, Switzerland. From 1961 to 1974 he was a professor of architecture at Cornell University and from 1974 to 1976 a professor of architecture at the Graduate School of Design (GSD) at Harvard University. From 1976 to 1990, he was Dean and Professor of Architecture at the Syracuse University School of Architecture. In 1981, Seligmann was named a Fellow of the (American Academy in Rome (FAAR)). In 1986 he was the Eliot Noyes professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Design. In 1988 he was the William Henry Bishop professor at Yale University. In 1994 he was the Thomas Jefferson Visiting professor at the University of Virginia. From 1990 to 1993, he was Professor of Architecture at the ETH Zurich. On his return to Syracuse University, he was named the Distinguished Professor of Architecture. Unresolved biographical issues There are several issues that are missing or contradictory. • Sometime in the early 1970s, Seligmann mentioned that his family had "moved south" to avoid capture. No documentary evidence can be found to support this. What can be found is an indication that the family was in Braunschweig, Germany, which is some 100 milies to the east of Osnabrück, Germany. Even the stay in Braunschweig may be in error. • During a conversation with Werner Seligmann, the only occasion in which he spoke about his time in captivity, he referred to seeing "waves of bombers flying overhead," something that took "an hour and a half." They were "headed towards Munich, which at that point had no military value because that's where Hitler had his start." It's possible that this is what he recalled, but it's uncertain. (It might have been the Bombing of Braunschweig (15 October 1944)) • During the same conversation with Seligmann, he spoke about being in a resettlement camp in Holland and being called to the main office where his father, Fritz, was waiting. It was "the happiest day in my life". Given his birth date, this would be 1944, before the end of World War II. Other sources indicate that he sailed to the US in 1949 >at which point he would be 19 years old. He would thus have spent over four years in a resettlement camp. There has been no confirmation of this. • Seligmann was quite clear that he was incarcerated "in a camp". He spoke about "waking up one morning, and the gates were open" and "the guards were gone." Other sources state he "survived the Shoah in hiding with another German family." ==Career==

Architectural practice Seligmann was registered to practice architecture in 1957 by which he had already designed and constructed three small homes. Throughout his teaching career, he maintained a practice and entered many competitions, including the invited competition, Topography of Terror for Berlin, Germany in 1993. His firm, Werner Seligmann and Associates, Architects and Urban Designers was based in Cortland, New York. Launched in 1961, the firm placed in national and international competitions and work of the firm was published and exhibited often, both in the US and abroad. The architectural work of Werner Seligmann won two Progressive Architecture Design Awards, was illustrated on the cover of Progressive Architecture journal three times and was placed, or won, several national and international design competitions. Seligmann's work on developing housing prototypes for the New York State Urban Development Corporation in the 1970s and 1980s established his reputation in the design of social housing. The Ithaca Scattered Site Housing Project (now known as Elm Street and Maple Avenue) has been widely exhibited and published. The project's design was included in the permanent collection of the (Museum of Modern Art MOMA) in New York City. Beth David Synagogue in Binghamton NY (1963) was often seen as a significant synthesis of Wright and Le Corbusier although it was derived from the preliminary sketches for the Villa Shodhan by Le Corbusier. Seligmann also published numerous articles on the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, Le Corbusier, and modern architecture in general. Professional activities Source: • Juror, International Competition for Campione, Italy 1984 • Professional Advisor, N.I.A.E. Van Allen Competition 1984–85 • Participant, Symposium, "The Rise of Modernism", Syracuse University 1984 • Participant, Symposium "Woche der Verbrannten Bucher", University of Osnabruck, Germany 1983 • Member, Team Leader, Chicago World's Fair Charette, Chicago 1983 • Miami University, Team Leader, Charette, Dayton, Ohio 1982 • Chairman, Juror, A.I.A., N.Y.S., Honor Awards Jury 1982 • Chairman, Juror, A.I.A., Honor Awards Jury, Puerto Rico 1981 • Participant, Symposium on Palladio, Syracuse University 1980 • Juror, Skidmore Owings and Merrill Annual Traveling Competition • Juror, A.I.A., N.Y.S. Honor Awards Jury 1979 • Participant, Symposium on Le Corbusier, Syracuse University 1979 • Juror, Progressive Architecture Awards Program 1978 • Participant, Symposium "The Future Roles of Professionals in the Built Environment:", Harvard University 1975 • Participant, Symposium "Public Policy and the Built Environment", Harvard University 1974 Significant built works Source: • Bradley House, Corning NY, 1955 • Miller Summer House addition, Skaneateles Lake, 1964 • Beth David Synagogue, Binghamton NY, 1963 • Science Building II, Cortland State University, Cortland NY, 1967 • Sproull Summer House, Cayuga Lake, 1967. Demolished • Temple Brith Sholom, Cortland NY, 1969 • McDermott Hall, Camp Huntington, Raquette Lake NY, 1970 • Willard State Hospital Administration Building, Willard NY, 1971 • Ithaca Scattered Site Housing (now Elm Street and Maple Avenue), Ithaca NY, 1973 • Olean Central Fire Station, Olean NY, 1980 • Ithaca Commons Center (now Center Ithaca), Ithaca NY, 1981 Significant urban design works Source: • Buffalo Waterfront Urban Design Study, done by the Cornell Graduate Studio with Colin Rowe and Jerry A. Wells, 1965–66 • Binghamton Urban Renewal, Binghamton NY, 1966–1974 • Architectural Competition - Professional Advisor: organization of competition, programming, administration • Buffalo, New York "Buffalo: Waterfront", Urban Design Study Cornell University, Urban Design Graduate Program critics: Colin Rowe, Werner Seligmann, J Alan Wells, with students Richard Baiter, Richard Cardwell, David Chan, Wayne Copper, Harris Forusz, Alfred Koetter, Makoto Miki, Elipidio Olympio, Frans Oswald. 1965–66, Exhibited Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo New York, Jun 23-September 1, 1969 Significant competition entries Source: • Beauborg Arts Center (later Centre Georges Pompideiu), Paris, France, 1971 • Ft Lauderdale Riverfront Plaza, Ft Lauderdale, Florida, 1983 • Opera de la Bastille, Paris, France, 1983 • Prinz-Albrecht-Palais Park, Berlin, Germany, 1984 • Arizona Historical Society Museum, Phoenix, Arizona, 1985 • XVII Triennale di Milano Exhibition, Milan, Italy, Invited Competition, 1988 • Tokyo International Forum, Tokyo, Japan, 1989 • Topography of Terror, Berlin, Germany, 1993 • Cardiff Bay Opera House, Cardiff, Wales, 1994 • Felix Nussbaum House, Osnabrück, Germany, 1994 Guest lecturer Source: Graham Foundation; Temple University; Rhode Island School of Design; University of Venice; University of Rome; Rice University; University of Houston; University of Kansas; University of Texas at Arlington; University of Illinois, Chicago; University of Puerto Rico; Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies, New York; University of Notre Dame in Rome; Harvard University; Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Princeton University; Cornell University; Syracuse University; Washington University in St. Louis; University of Southern California; University of California at Los Angeles; Hampton University; Iowa State University; University of Virginia; Virginia Polytechnic Institute; University of Houston; Carnegie-Mellon University; Cooper Union; SUNY Buffalo, Binghamton University; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Brandeis University; New Jersey Institute of Technology; Osnabrück University. Guest juror Source: Harvard University; Columbia University; Yale University; Princeton University; Rhode Island School of Design, Cornell University; Iowa State University; Boston Architectural College; Washington University in St. Louis; Architectural Association, London; Polytechnic of Central London, London; University of Greenwich, London; Institute for Architecture and Urban Studies, New York; Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Eigenoessische Technische Hochschule, Zürich; University of Stuttgart; University of Virginia; University of Toronto. ==Bibliography==