Wilhelm Brodtbeck

Background

Wilhelm Eduard, son of Wilhelm senior (architect and cement factory owner) and Susanne Karoline Spinnler, grew up in Liestal.

Education

He then studied architecture, concluding at the University of Stuttgart und at the University of Karlsruhe.

Career

Primarily Wilhelm Brodtbeck visited schools in Liestal and then at a later age in Basel. Later he made various studium journeys in Germany, Holland, Austria, Italy and France, hereafter Brodtbeck worked in Lausanne. Wilhelm Brodtbeck founded his own architect"s office in 1901 in Liestal.

Later he expanded his horizon and realized schools complexes and industrial buildings.

The two founders members withdrew themselves from the daily business. Bohny retired, but Brodtbeck remained in the board of directors as president until his death in 1957.

The well renowned firm still exists today under the name Otto und Partner. These are the city of Basel casino (1939–1941) and, for the chemical enterprise Sandoz, the administrative and head office building.

Further important projects from Brodtbeck"s architecture bureau are, for example, the school complex "Rotackerschulhaus" in Liestal, the bank "Kantonalbank" in Binningen, the mill complex, including the small power station, in Lausen, Basel-Country, (1923) and the building complex for the salt mines in Schweizerhalle by Muttenz.

To the afore mentioned, addendum, the residential estate Wasserhaus (1920/21) in the sub-district „Neue Welt“ in Münchenstein. The Wasserhaus estate was developed by Brodtbeck concluding the original plans drawn by Professor Hans Benno Bernoulli, Basel, (1876–1959).

Due to the unique archetype nature and the prototypical neighbourhood, the Wasserhaus estate was taken up in the Swiss Inventory of Cultural Property of National and Regional Significance.

Inventar der schützenswerten Ortsbilder (ISOS). Honorary Work Scripts Wilhelm Brodtbeck also wrote poems, pageants and prose: "Junges Blut" Gedichte 1899, (poems dated 1899) "Doctorate Vermögesabgab".

Zeitbilder aus der jüngsten Vergangenheit. Festspiel am Kantonalschützenfest beider Basel in Liestal 1923.

(Time essays of the latest history, pageant for the festival fair featuring shooting matches of the canton Basel-Country in Liestal 1923).

Achievements

• As young architect he accomplished a large variety of residential houses. Throughout the district of Basel, the architect"s bureau W. Brodtbeck AG became famous due to their modern style buildings.

Membership

Wilhelm Brodtbeck worked 20 years in the commission for the municipality („Gemeindekommission") of Liestal and he was member of the board of management of the Basel protected historic site/landmark (Heimatschutzes).

Connections

Partner:

West. Brodtbeck