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Hans Schmidt (architect)

Hans Schmidt (architect) is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Hans Schmidt (architect) rather than just read about it. In short: Johannes "Hans" Schmidt (10 December 1893, Basel – 18 June 1972) was a Swiss architect and urban planner. Biography Hans Schmidt was born in to the family of the geologist Carl Schmidt.

Hans Schmidt (architect) — main illustration
Hans Schmidt (architect) — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Hans Schmidt (architect) belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Hans Schmidt (architect) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Hans Schmidt (architect) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Johannes "Hans" Schmidt (10 December 1893, Basel – 18 June 1972) was a Swiss architect and urban planner.

Biography Hans Schmidt was born in to the family of the geologist Carl Schmidt. He was the older brother of the art historian Georg Schmidt. Schmidt studied history, art history, and archaeology for a semester at the University of Geneva. He then completed an apprenticeship as a draftsman in the Zurich office of Curjel & Moser before turning to the study of architecture under Carl Hocheder and Friedrich von Thiersch at the Technical University of Munich in 1913. In 1917, Schmidt transferred to ETH Zurich to study under Karl Moser and Hans Bernoulli, where he earned his degree as a certified engineer in 1918. After a brief period working for Bernoulli and Ernst Eckenstein, Schmidt moved to the Netherlands in 1920. There he was influenced by Jacobus Johannes Pieter Oud and in 1922 obtained a position with the renowned architect Michiel Brinkman. In 1924 he returned to Switzerland. His first completed project was the Hodel House in Riehen, finished in 1925. After founding an architectural firm with Paul Artaria in 1926, Schmidt designed and built various residential and housing developments with them until 1930, establishing himself as one of the leading architects of the New Objectivity movement. In 1928 he became one of the founders of the Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne (CIAM) and travelled to Moscow in 1930 as an advisor to the People's Commissariat of Heavy Industry. In the following years, he participated in the planning and construction of several industrial cities in the Soviet Union, returning to Switzerland in 1937. In 1944, he was one of the co-founders of the Labour Party, which he represented in the Grand Council of the Canton of Basel-Stadt from 1944 to 1955. In 1956, he accepted a position as chief architect at the Institute for Typification in East Berlin. In 1958, he was appointed director of the Institute for Theory and History of Architecture at the German Building Academy. In 1963, the Building Academy awarded him an honorary doctorate, and in 1968 he was awarded the Patriotic Order of Merit in Silver of the GDR. In 1969, upon his retirement, Schmidt returned to Switzerland, where he died three years later at the age of 78.

References

Illustrations

Hans Schmidt (architect): Hans Schmidt (center) in 1965
Hans Schmidt (center) in 1965

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Hans Schmidt (architect)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Hans Schmidt (architect) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Hans Schmidt (architect) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Hans Schmidt (architect) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Hans Schmidt (architect)

In research
Hans Schmidt (architect) appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Hans Schmidt (architect) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Hans Schmidt (architect) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1893 births, 1972 deaths, 20th-century Swiss architects, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Hans Schmidt (architect) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.
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How to study Hans Schmidt (architect) in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Hans Schmidt (architect) means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Hans Schmidt (architect) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Hans Schmidt (architect) in simple terms?

Johannes "Hans" Schmidt (10 December 1893, Basel – 18 June 1972) was a Swiss architect and urban planner. Biography Hans Schmidt was born in to the family of the geologist Carl Schmidt.

Why does Hans Schmidt (architect) matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Hans Schmidt (architect)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Hans Schmidt (architect).

Tags

  • 1893 births
  • 1972 deaths
  • 20th-century Swiss architects
  • Architectural theoreticians
  • ETH Zurich alumni
  • Members of cantonal legislatures of Switzerland
  • People from Basel-Stadt
  • Recipients of the Patriotic Order of Merit in silver
  • Swiss Party of Labour politicians
  • Swiss architecture writers
  • Swiss printmakers
  • Swiss urban planners

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