Ernst Cramer
Encyclopedia
Ernst Cramer (December 7, 1898 (Zürich
/ Switzerland
) – September 7, 1980) (Rüschlikon/ Switzerland
) was a Swiss
landscape architect
and one of the most renowned Europe
an garden architects after 1945, who had a strong influence on present-day landscape architecture
in Europe
.
er at a renowned firm in Zürich
, where he was instructed by the landscape architect
Gustav Ammann, a close friend of Richard Neutra
and one of the most important Swiss garden architects at the time. When Cramer started his own business in 1929, he mostly designed private garden
s for wealthy clients and perfected a romantic
, rather picturesque
style. He was especially interested in the rustic gardens that were built in the southern part of Switzerland
in the canton of Ticino
.
Cramer was a member of the Zürich section of the Werkbund, headed by the Bauhaus
member Johannes Itten
and the Swiss sculptor Max Bill
, and became more and more interested in a modern method of garden design. About 1950 Cramer dramatically changed his style and started designing modern architect
ural gardens. His friendship and cooperation with many modern Swiss artist
s and his strong interest in modern architecture
reinforced his will to find a new language in garden architecture. In particular, the temporary exhibition projects of Cramer are among the most remarkable creations of modern garden architecture in Europe
. Most impressive were his contributions to national and international garden exhibitions, for example, the first national garden show in Zürich
G|59 (1959) and the IGA international garden exhibition in Hamburg
(1963). The abstract
basic conception of his gardens, the renunciation of superfluous decoration, and the use of concrete and geometrically shaped elements caused considerable irritation among his professional colleagues and added to his international reputation.
Cramer’s Garten des Poeten (Poet’s Garden), built 1959 for the G59 - 1st Swiss Horticulture Exhibition shown in Zürich
, was portrayed by Elizabeth B. Kassler in her classic book Modern Gardens and the Landscape, (MOMA
1964). This garden was probably the most important work in Cramer’s professional career. At the age of 61 the garden architect had been asked to design a poet’s garden for the first national garden show in Switzerland
. He worked with minimal means and maximum abstraction
instead of imitating nature. Kassler described the design: ”Triangular earth mounds and a stepped cone were precisely edged, grass-sheathed, and doubled by a still pool. The garden was not so much a garden as a sculpture
to walk through, abstract earth shapes independent of place, with sharp arises foreign to the nature of their material.” Just a few years later a new radical form of art called Land Art
or Earthworks came on the U.S. art scene, creating impressive, almost archaic geometrical earth sculptures, which are among the most important sources of inspiration for present-day landscape architect
s.
Many other remarkable projects by Ernst Cramer built in close cooperation with some of the most important Swiss modern architect
s and two gardens designed for houses by Richard Neutra
do still exist. Among Cramer’s clients were some of the most influential Swiss families, as well as companies such as Roche Chemicals and Ciba Chemical Industries. With his remarkable life’s work Cramer not only prepared the ground for an intensive discussion about the contemporary influence of minimalist art and Land Art
on landscape architecture
. With his courageous gardens he also helped shape the profile of modern Swiss landscape architecture and strongly influenced the work of young successors such as Willi Neukom, Fred Eicher, and Dieter Kienast from Switzerland.
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
/ Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
) – September 7, 1980) (Rüschlikon/ Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
) was a Swiss
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
landscape architect
Landscape architect
A landscape architect is a person involved in the planning, design and sometimes direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. The professional practice is known as landscape architecture....
and one of the most renowned Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
an garden architects after 1945, who had a strong influence on present-day landscape architecture
Landscape architecture
Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve environmental, socio-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions...
in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
.
Biography
Ernst Cramer learned the profession of a gardenGarden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
er at a renowned firm in Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, where he was instructed by the landscape architect
Landscape architect
A landscape architect is a person involved in the planning, design and sometimes direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. The professional practice is known as landscape architecture....
Gustav Ammann, a close friend of Richard Neutra
Richard Neutra
Richard Joseph Neutra is considered one of modernism's most important architects.- Biography :Neutra was born in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Vienna, Austria Hungary, on April 8, 1892. He was born into both-Jewish wealthy family...
and one of the most important Swiss garden architects at the time. When Cramer started his own business in 1929, he mostly designed private garden
Garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the display, cultivation, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The garden can incorporate both natural and man-made materials. The most common form today is known as a residential garden, but the term garden has...
s for wealthy clients and perfected a romantic
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
, rather picturesque
Picturesque
Picturesque is an aesthetic ideal introduced into English cultural debate in 1782 by William Gilpin in Observations on the River Wye, and Several Parts of South Wales, etc. Relative Chiefly to Picturesque Beauty; made in the Summer of the Year 1770, a practical book which instructed England's...
style. He was especially interested in the rustic gardens that were built in the southern part of Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
in the canton of Ticino
Ticino
Canton Ticino or Ticino is the southernmost canton of Switzerland. Named after the Ticino river, it is the only canton in which Italian is the sole official language...
.
Cramer was a member of the Zürich section of the Werkbund, headed by the Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
member Johannes Itten
Johannes Itten
Johannes Itten was a Swiss expressionist painter, designer, teacher, writer and theorist associated with the Bauhaus school...
and the Swiss sculptor Max Bill
Max Bill
Max Bill was a Swiss architect, artist, painter, typeface designer, industrial designer and graphic designer.Bill was born in Winterthur...
, and became more and more interested in a modern method of garden design. About 1950 Cramer dramatically changed his style and started designing modern architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
ural gardens. His friendship and cooperation with many modern Swiss artist
Artist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
s and his strong interest in modern architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
reinforced his will to find a new language in garden architecture. In particular, the temporary exhibition projects of Cramer are among the most remarkable creations of modern garden architecture in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. Most impressive were his contributions to national and international garden exhibitions, for example, the first national garden show in Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
G|59 (1959) and the IGA international garden exhibition in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
(1963). The abstract
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
basic conception of his gardens, the renunciation of superfluous decoration, and the use of concrete and geometrically shaped elements caused considerable irritation among his professional colleagues and added to his international reputation.
Cramer’s Garten des Poeten (Poet’s Garden), built 1959 for the G59 - 1st Swiss Horticulture Exhibition shown in Zürich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
, was portrayed by Elizabeth B. Kassler in her classic book Modern Gardens and the Landscape, (MOMA
Moma
Moma may refer to:* Moma , an owlet moth genus* Moma Airport, a Russian public airport* Moma District, Nampula, Mozambique* Moma River, a right tributary of the Indigirka River* Google Moma, the Google corporate intranet...
1964). This garden was probably the most important work in Cramer’s professional career. At the age of 61 the garden architect had been asked to design a poet’s garden for the first national garden show in Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. He worked with minimal means and maximum abstraction
Abstraction
Abstraction is a process by which higher concepts are derived from the usage and classification of literal concepts, first principles, or other methods....
instead of imitating nature. Kassler described the design: ”Triangular earth mounds and a stepped cone were precisely edged, grass-sheathed, and doubled by a still pool. The garden was not so much a garden as a sculpture
Sculpture
Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping or combining hard materials—typically stone such as marble—or metal, glass, or wood. Softer materials can also be used, such as clay, textiles, plastics, polymers and softer metals...
to walk through, abstract earth shapes independent of place, with sharp arises foreign to the nature of their material.” Just a few years later a new radical form of art called Land Art
Land art
Land art, Earthworks , or Earth art is an art movement which emerged in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s, in which landscape and the work of art are inextricably linked...
or Earthworks came on the U.S. art scene, creating impressive, almost archaic geometrical earth sculptures, which are among the most important sources of inspiration for present-day landscape architect
Landscape architect
A landscape architect is a person involved in the planning, design and sometimes direction of a landscape, garden, or distinct space. The professional practice is known as landscape architecture....
s.
Many other remarkable projects by Ernst Cramer built in close cooperation with some of the most important Swiss modern architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
s and two gardens designed for houses by Richard Neutra
Richard Neutra
Richard Joseph Neutra is considered one of modernism's most important architects.- Biography :Neutra was born in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Vienna, Austria Hungary, on April 8, 1892. He was born into both-Jewish wealthy family...
do still exist. Among Cramer’s clients were some of the most influential Swiss families, as well as companies such as Roche Chemicals and Ciba Chemical Industries. With his remarkable life’s work Cramer not only prepared the ground for an intensive discussion about the contemporary influence of minimalist art and Land Art
Land art
Land art, Earthworks , or Earth art is an art movement which emerged in the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s, in which landscape and the work of art are inextricably linked...
on landscape architecture
Landscape architecture
Landscape architecture is the design of outdoor and public spaces to achieve environmental, socio-behavioral, or aesthetic outcomes. It involves the systematic investigation of existing social, ecological, and geological conditions and processes in the landscape, and the design of interventions...
. With his courageous gardens he also helped shape the profile of modern Swiss landscape architecture and strongly influenced the work of young successors such as Willi Neukom, Fred Eicher, and Dieter Kienast from Switzerland.
Selected commissions
- 1933 Garden Vogel-Sulzer (rustic garden style), Itschnach, Zürich canton, SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
- 1945-1948 Garden Göhner (rustic garden style), Morcote, Ticino canton, SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
- 1955-1959 School Bernarda, Menzingen, Zug, Switzerland
- 1957 Gardens for the International Building Exhibition "Interbau", Berlin, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
- 1959 Garten des Poeten (Poet’s Garden), garden exhibition G|59, Zürich, SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
- 1963 Theatergarten (Theater Garden), International Garden Exhibition IGA, HamburgHamburg-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
, GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate... - 1964-1966 Public place, Sulzer office building, Winterthur, Zürich canton, SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
- 1965 Garden for the Casa Ebelin Bucerius (with architect Richard NeutraRichard NeutraRichard Joseph Neutra is considered one of modernism's most important architects.- Biography :Neutra was born in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Vienna, Austria Hungary, on April 8, 1892. He was born into both-Jewish wealthy family...
), Brione, Ticino canton, SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition.... - 1965 Garden for Haus Rentsch (with architect Richard NeutraRichard NeutraRichard Joseph Neutra is considered one of modernism's most important architects.- Biography :Neutra was born in Leopoldstadt, the 2nd district of Vienna, Austria Hungary, on April 8, 1892. He was born into both-Jewish wealthy family...
), Wengen, Bern canton, SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition.... - 1968-1972 Open space design for Bruderholzspital hospital, near Basel, SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
- 1972-1978 Public space design for central Post- and Administration building, Vaduz, LiechtensteinLiechtensteinThe Principality of Liechtenstein is a doubly landlocked alpine country in Central Europe, bordered by Switzerland to the west and south and by Austria to the east. Its area is just over , and it has an estimated population of 35,000. Its capital is Vaduz. The biggest town is Schaan...
- 1974-1978 Open spaces for Roche chemical industry, Sisseln, SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
Literature
- Weilacher, UdoUdo WeilacherUdo Weilacher, Prof. Dr. sc. ETH, is a German landscape architect, author and Professor for Landscape Architecture.-Biography:Udo Weilacher, born in Kaiserslautern/ Germany, was originally educated as a gardener in 1984...
: Visionary Gardens. Modern Landscapes by Ernst Cramer. Basel: Birkhäuser, 2001, 287 p. ISBN 3-7643-6567-6 - Garten des Poeten: G59 / 2009. Textbuch zur Ausstellung im Architekturforum Zürich, April 2009. Texte von Stefan Rotzler et al. Zürich: Architekturforum Zürich, 2009. 88 p. ISBN 978-3-033-01985-0
External links
- Article about Ernst Cramer from the international landscape magazine TOPOS