1913: Example of the Darmstadt style - HfG building occupied
January 23, 1913 was a Thursday. The wind was playing with flags on Schlossstrasse. The people of Offenbach at the side of the road shouted hurrahs as Grand Duke Ernst Ludwig and his wife drove up, and they greeted the Prince and Princess of Isenburg-Birstein with good grace. The highest and also the lesser dignitaries hurried into the auditorium of the technical schools. The inauguration of the building, which is now called the College of Design, was to be celebrated there.
It was a proud day for the city and for the landlord, Professor Hugo Eberhardt. He had achieved his goal of freeing the traditional institute from the confines of its domicile on Mathildenplatz. It had been built for the school in 1885. Now the city of Offenbach gave it a larger and more modern building.
Eberhardt had been struggling to find a new building since he was appointed head of the school in 1907. He had his eye on today's D'Orville Park on Mainstraße as the location. It is thanks to honorary citizen Ludo Mayer that the building was constructed in front of Isenburg Castle instead. To mark its 50th anniversary, his large tannery Mayer & Sohn donated an artistically designed fountain. It was to be installed at the castle, which was regarded as the town's landmark at the time. However, because the castle square was built up with unsightly old houses, Mayer also donated money so that the town could buy up these properties.
The city council, said Lord Mayor Dr. Dullo in his speech, accepted both gifts "with the most heartfelt thanks". But then the planners recognized a danger: once uncovered, the castle courtyard would probably be tempted to frame it with an "unworthy backdrop of tenements". The state monument conservationist shared this concern and suggested that the entire area around the castle should be listed.
It was still being debated whether the city would be able to withstand the protests that would then erupt from local residents, when Eberhardt recognized the opportunity. He suggested framing the castle courtyard with the new building planned for the technical colleges. This could create an inner courtyard architecture with the Ludo-Mayer fountain in the center.
Eberhardt's project seemed to solve several problems in one fell swoop. Although some city councillors saw a contradiction in wanting to first uncover the castle and then "build on" it again, Eberhardt prevailed. And because he was also highly regarded as a freelance architect, he was allowed to design and plan the new building himself. The city granted him 750,000 marks. He did not exceed this amount. Donations from citizens and companies were available to him for the artistic decoration of the building. The people of Offenbach regarded the technical schools as their school. Construction began in the summer of 1910.
"The house," the Lord Mayor addressed the Grand Duke at the ceremony, "will be described by professional critics as an example of the Darmstadt style and when Your Royal Highness walks through the rooms, you will feel a strong breath of the spirit that Your Royal Highness has awakened and cultivated in the Darmstadt artists' colony".
Keynote speaker Hugo Eberhardt saw "two large educational groups" together in the new building: "On the one hand, crafts, arts and crafts, building trades, on the other, mechanical and electrical engineering. If one group emphasizes the artistic element, the other emphasizes the scientific element". It was also important to him that all the windows offer a view of Isenburg Castle, which inspires creativity and taste. It was important to him not only to have created a modern teaching facility, but also a building museum.
Less than two years after this ceremony, the students had to leave the beautiful new building again. During the First World War, it became a reserve hospital with a special character. As a "workshop and vocational training hospital", it endeavored to prepare war victims suffering from permanent damage for a working life with disabilities. Hugo Eberhardt became the head of the institution, whose pupils were taught in temporary accommodation.
Three institutes were housed under one roof in the Technical Training Institute building, which was inaugurated in 1913: an arts and crafts school, a construction school and a mechanical engineering school. A school for craftsmen also offered classes. This developed into a "Werkkunstschule" in 1949 and the State College of Design in 1970. Much of the building's original appearance was lost due to bomb damage during the Second World War and the simple reconstruction. Its architect Hugo Eberhard, who also left behind other notable buildings in the cityscape, is only known to many Offenbach residents as the founder of the German Leather Museum. Lothar R. Braun