QUEENSLAND'S GERMAN CONNECTIONS - PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

The 1939 arrival in Brisbane of Karl and Gertrude Langer, refugees from the rising tide of National Socialism which was about to burst the banks of Europe, was timely in more ways than one. It heralded a sea-change in architecture, town- and landscape-planning and design, which was to transform aspects of urban life in many towns and cities throughout Australia, introducing methods and practices which, though considered new and radical at the time, became routinely adopted. Born in Vienna in 1903, Karl studied under the pioneer modernist Peter Behrens in the architectural school within the Vienna Academy of Fine Arts. Graduating in 1928, he was employed by Behrens to head his architectural studio. There he was responsible for many landmark buildings in Vienna, Salzburg and Linz. He continued his studies to achieve qualifications in landscape architecture in 1931 and a doctorate in Fine Arts from the University of Vienna in 1933. Gertrude Fröschel was a fellow student in doctoral studies. They married in 1932, and in 1934 set up a small practice in Vienna, receiving favourable reports in professional journals in Austria and Britain. The rise of National Socialism, and the Anschluss , incorporating Austria into the Reich, presented great danger, as Gertrude was Jewish and Karl held strong political views. They decided it was essential to leave Europe but, as Karl was eligible to be called up for military service, they had to resort to a ruse, fleeing via Greece before sailing to Australia. Karl’s reputation as an architect assured him of a warm welcome in Sydney, but there was little call for a modernist, even avant garde approach to architecture. They therefore moved to Brisbane, where Karl found employment in the architectural firm Cook and Kerrison. When war broke out, Karl was conscripted under wartime regulations to a mundane position in Queensland Railways. He also lectured part-time at the University of Queensland in architecture and architectural design. With his reputation and the sophisticated European culture which they brought to 1940s Brisbane, they gathered a circle of young people with artistic and literary interests, and Gertrude, particularly, continued to be a strong cultural influence in Brisbane for the next 40 years. An advocate of design accommodating and reflecting the climate, he became a powerful influence on post-war design and architecture. In 1944 he published an influential book, titled Sub-Tropical Housing , which brought him a number of commissions in north Queensland. His name also came to public attention when he was appointed Assistant Town Planner by Brisbane Legacy of the Langers

City Council. It proved controversial, as there was a public outcry at the appointment of an ‘enemy alien’ in preference to a returned soldier. A parliamentary enquiry found firmly in his favour but, in the event, the Railways Department refused to release him from his wartime placement. The controversy had a later benefit when he set up private practice after his release from duty in 1946. The earlier publicity had enhanced his reputation, and he received commissions from as far afield as Perth (where he recommended the site for the new civic centre), Mackay, Toowoomba, Mt Isa, Ingham and Darwin. Commissioned by the Sydney planning authority to recommend on a range of issues, he was the first to propose that the old tramway depot at Bennelong Point should be replaced by an opera house. In 1950 he and Gertrude built their own home in Swann Road in Brisbane’s leafy St Lucia. It became an iconic building, and reflected his firm belief in the relationship between the built and the natural environment. Its garden, drawing upon Japanese influences in the front and with a self-sustaining rainforest design at the back, became a model for generations of students. The house provided brilliant solutions to the problems of post-war restrictions in domestic housing. In many respects his visionary thinking was reflected in both his domestic architecture and his civic plans. He was involved in planning the canal developments on the Gold Coast and the famous Lennons Hotel at Broadbeach. He was committed to a seamless merging of all elements, and believed that the built environment had a powerful influence on civic and community life and lifestyles. Among his recommendations for Brisbane was a vast open space corridor from Central Railway Station, surrounding the GPO and St Stephen’s Cathedral, as far as the Brisbane River. It was too grand a vision, too European in its concept, to win general or official approval. It was only one of the far-sighted proposals whose outright rejection caused him some frustration. Above: Karl Langer’s hand-coloured sketch of a proposed city transport hub, designed as part of his 1948 commission by Mackay City Council, which included (opposite): A grand and very Germanic approach to his proposal for the town centre.

68