Johann Friedrich Höger

Höger opened his own architecture office in 1907, but because of his lack of higher education he was not admitted to the Association of German Architects.

It features a strong vertical and horizontal layout with the placement of the eaves and stepped floors, a technique which became typical to Höger's style of building.

[1][2] Höger's preference for the use of brick was along the lines of ideas espoused by Fritz Schumacher, the Hamburg chief architect beginning in 1909; Schumacher expounded his ideas in polemical writings, including the book Das Wesen des neuzeitlichen Backsteinbaues (The Essence of the Modern Brick Building), which appeared around 1920.

The office block features a curving facade reminiscent of a ship's hull, coming together at a sharp angle on the corners of Pumpen and Niedernstrasse.

Later during World War II Höger sympathized with National Socialism (Nazism) and joined the party in 1932.

As Höger did not follow the preferred classicist marble style of Nazi architecture, he could not obtain a position as state architect.