[1] In 1879, after passing the first state examination, Hoffmann began working for the government of Berlin as a construction foreman under Franz Heinrich Schwechten.

[2][3] His architectural career began in 1880 when he and Peter Dybwad, both unknowns, won the competition to design the Supreme Court building in Leipzig against 118 other entries.

[7][12] In addition he designed bridges, fountains, public baths, schools of every kind, orphanages, hospital complexes, cemeteries, private villas, and apartment buildings.

[6][7] In his memoirs, he describes the long history of work on the Märchenbrunnen (fountain of fairy tales) for the Volkspark Friedrichshain, the first public park in Berlin.

Hoffmann's work was long out of favor for its historicism, but is now recognized as an important part of the effort to accommodate Berlin's rapid growth prior to World War I.