Karl Langer (1903-1969)

Libby Winter for Karl Langer 2007 Awards Presentation, 29 February 2008

return <<

Karl Langer was an architect and town planner who had an impressive impact on Brisbane's cultural landscape in the 1940's through to his death in 1969.Together with his wife Gertrude, a well known art critic and Patron of the Arts, they greatly influenced the development of the Arts and design in Qld. Karl Langer was born in Vienna, Austria in 1903. He studied architecture under Peter Behrens at his famous school of architecture within the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. He graduated in 1928 and headed Behren's Architectural Studio in Vienna where he was responsible for some landmark architecture such as the massive tobacco factory at Linz.

Meanwhile he studied Town Planning and after that achieved a Doctorate in Art History. In 1932 he married fellow doctoral student Gertrude Froschel and 2 years later they set up their own small practice. Langer's work was well reviewed and reflected his experience with the modernists he had worked with, however the annexation of Austria by the Third Reich threatened Karl's creative expression and he and Gertrude personally. He was a social democrat and she was Jewish. They contrived to travel to Greece from there sailed to Australia, reaching in Sydney in 1939. Although warmly welcomed there was little demand for avant-garde architects and he found temporary employment with Cook & Kerrison Architects in Brisbane where he and Gertrude settled.

I can imagine Brisbane must have seemed like a frontier town to them compared to the depth of history and culture they had left behind in Europe. However, it seems Karl embraced his new home and spent much time studying the local landscape and flora. The Langers were soon contributing to the city's literary and artistic pursuits and gathered a youthful following. Due to wartime manpower regulations Karl was transferred to a mundane position with Queensland Railways, but also lectured part time in Town Planning at Queensland Uni and taught at Qld Institute of Technology. Both institutions award student prizes in his memory.

In 1944 he published his influential 'Sub-Tropical Housing' which led to later commissions in central & north Queensland. Karl became well-known throughout Australia this same year when his appointment as Assistant Town Planner to Brisbane City Council resulted in a Parliamentary Enquiry. The primary cause for complaint was the appointment of an "enemy alien" over a returned soldier. The enquiry found that Karl Langer's talent & experience clearly distinguished him as the most suitable applicant. However he was unable to take up the position as QR refused to release him under wartime regulations until 1946. After this he established his own architectural and planning practice and the protracted publicity he had received brought him many commissions all over Australia.

These included revising the City of Mackay Town Plan & advising on a site for the civic centre in Perth. In Queensland, his work took him from Darwin to Ingham, Toowoomba to Yeppoon and Kingaroy to Mt Isa. He was also commissioned by the planning authority for Sydney to examine the development of the city and advise on many civic and regional planning issues. It was Karl who came up with the proposal to build an opera house on the site of the Bennelong Point tram depot. He also advocated the Capital Hill site for the federal Parliament House while working for the National Capital Development Commission in Canberra.

His town plan for Mackay embraced his modernist design philosophy for sub-tropical living and incorporated "avoidance of fatigue", the use of light and minimisation of glare, and designing to the client's budget. These are all common sense to us now, but new in an age where traditional British and European design ideals were the norm. His town plan proposed 6 neighbourhood clusters each surrounding a central green community hub and linked by strips of parkland. These were grouped around a civic centre in the heart of the city. Industry was to be relocated away to the outskirts and traffic patterns revised to increase pedestrian movement. The plan was never realised due to financial and then political constraints.

Other more local projects Langer did complete include the first Gold Coast canal developments, the famous Lennon's Hotel at Broadbeach and, his favourite building, the chapel at St Peters Lutheran College which embodied lessons he had learnt from Classical Greek Architecture. His and Gertrude's own house at St Lucia is registered on the Qld Government Environmental Protection Agency cultural heritage list. It survives as an inventive & pioneering solution to the problem of domestic design under Brisbane's post war building restrictions.  It incorporates climatic design principles and an innovative approach to garden design including early examples of gardening in the Japanese style and the suburban rainforest garden.

 Karl Langer had a deep belief in community responsibilities. He campaigned for a more creative use of the Brisbane River and the pedestrianisation of Queen Street, an idea that was rejected at the time and later instigated by others who collected the credit. Karl Langer was active in many professional and community organisations including the RAIA, Qld division of the Royal Australian Planning Institute, National trust of Queensland, Qld Art Gallery Society and the Australian Council for the Arts. He was a founding member and Chairman of the Queensland Branch of the AILA. He was a visionary man ahead of his time and well-deserving of a memorial award in his name.

I was excited and honoured to receive the Karl Langer Award 20 something years ago. It was a boost to my confidence as I entered the profession of Landscape Architecture. It is an achievement that is well recognised and respected within the design professions and looks really good on your CV! I believe that receiving this award is less about a judgement of your success with the 3 R's and more about your grasp of the 2 E's – Ethics and Enthusiasm.  Karl Langer had plenty of both and as long as you know what you believe in and uphold those beliefs you will do well in life, no matter where it takes you. I would like to say congratulations to all the candidates and wish you all the best in your future in Landscape Architecture.

Libby Winter for Karl Langer Awards Presentation, 29.2.08

Internet Sources
Ian Sinnamon, Langer, Karl (1903-1969) Australian Dictionary of Biography  Online; Qld Environmental Protection Agency, Langer House; Robert Riddel Architect, Significant Queensland 20th Century Architecture p.14; Josephine Noonan, AA – Unbuilt – November/December 2007, Modernist Ideals for Subtropical Living.

return <<