August 1

 

Johannes Wortmann

By Talk Design

August 1, 2022


I was born as the 3rd child of an Artist Painter in northern Germany. In 1960, when I was 5, my father escaped with his family from the melancholic teutonic grey to the brilliant light of the Mediterranean island Ibiza, “Eivissa” in Catalan. For the first time, I saw the white cubes of the peasant houses, built by their inhabitants with simple means and following a Phenician pattern. I felt fascinated and attracted by the Mediterranean architecture, please mastery into the landscape of rocks and Pine trees.

As a young boy, I was playing and drawing in the studio of Erwin Broner, a German Jew, Artist Painter, and Architect, who had known Ibiza during his first exile in the late 1930ies. After a long journey of almost 17 years, first to London and later to California, he turned back to his beloved mythic Island in 1957. In the following 20 years, Broner designed a series of contemporary houses for international clients. Conceived in the tradition of European rationalism, the uncompromising buildings yet merge at perfection with the Mediterranean landscape. Nowadays, to live in a Broner-House is still considered a privilege.

Another famous Master Architect, Barcelona born Josep Lluis Sert, Dean of the Harvard Graduate Design School from 1953 to 1969, turned back to Ibiza in 1970. As did Broner, his first act in the Island was to build his own studio house, situated in the historic “Dalt Vila” District. Sert and my father have been known each other. During five years, he lived and painted in the Sert Studio, before the family settled in the “Can Pep Simó” condominium, a design from Sert and other Catalán architects friends.

Born and educated in a medieval town in Westphalia, I undertook my architectural studies at the Technical University of Berlin. Once finished my career, I undertook a useful journey through Europe, serving as an architectural apprentice in several studios in Belgium and Spain. I was happy to learn with the renaissance like Master architect Bruno Albert in Liège, where I learned that beauty and proportions are our finest tools. My first professional steps in Barcelona a link to the PSP Studio. Ferran de los Santos and Joan Maria Pascual were so patient to explain the secrets of Catalán craftsmanship to the young German architect.

The next steps were the association with Guillermo Bañares, a practice, which lasted 20 years. I own Guillermo the knowledge of Spanish society and uncountable conversations about architecture and design, scouting together our projects, a broad range of residential, hospitality, corporate and industrial buildings.

Finally, at the beginning of the severe financial and Economic crisis, in 2007 I created my own practice, Wortmann Architects.

Although I consider myself, aware of my German roots, as a “Mediterranean Prussian”, I feel at home under the Mediterranean sun in the ancient “Marca Hispanica” of Catalonia. Since more than 30 years, I enjoy living and working as an Architect, with my family, in Barcelona. 

Connect with Johannes:

Check out some of our latest podcasts:

Greg Esparza + Frank Farkash

Greg Esparza and Frank Farkash, architects with Moontower and the creators of Cross Cabin (featured within the AIA tour). Join us as we dive into

Listen now...
Greg Esparza + Frank Farkash

Dulcie Horwitz

"I love building emotionally charged landscapes that shape and inflect one’s mood or imagination. Sculpting poetic space can happen anywhere…in the entry vestibule to your

Listen now...
Dulcie Horwitz

Parker Whitehead

Parker is an Industrial Designer and founder of Clever Little Machine Inc. and Moonshot Camper Vans. He is the former co-founder of Zsas Ice Cream

Listen now...
Parker Whitehead

Mark Savant

Mark Savant is the founder of podcast production agency Mark Savant Media. The company has produced tens of thousands of pieces of content, and uses

Listen now...
Mark Savant

Brad Hubble

From an early age, Brad envisioned himself as an Architect. Part of that vision included exposure to other cultures and fields of study. To that

Listen now...
Brad Hubble

Nancy Weinman

Nancy S. Weinman is the owner and principal architect at Weinman Architectural Services, a boutique architectural and design firm with offices in New York City

Listen now...
Nancy Weinman

Mark Benner

Chicago custom home designs creates uniquely personal living and working spaces. Based in Northbrook, Illinois his passion is for solving the challenges that Mark's clients

Listen now...
Mark Benner

Ken Rusk

Ken Rusk started his first job as a ditch digger at 15 and turned that into a successful company. Today, blue-collar trades are just as

Listen now...
Ken Rusk

Healthy Homes & Building Biology

Healthy Homes and Building Biology is all about empowering health and environmentally-conscious homeowners, designers, and builders, to create home environments that will enable each household

Listen now...
Healthy Homes & Building Biology

Architects and Building Design Professionals:

Learn How to Apply Pareto’s 80-20 Principle to Win More Projects in a FREE Architect Marketing Online Master Class with Richard Petrie.

>