In 1921 Häring moved to Berlin, where he briefly shared an office with Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. In 1926 they founded Der Ring, an architecture organization that included several German modernists. Both Mies and Häring believed in a return to basic principles of architecture, but while Mies designed simple and universal spaces, Häring believed in the primacy of functionalism and sought to create buildings tailored to very specific programmatic requirements. According to his theory of Organic Functionalism, architectural form must be discovered rather than imposed, and should grow from the function of the building.
Garkau Farm, completed in 1925, was Häring's first major work, and its unusual curvilinear form caused a sensation. This drawing shows the farmhouse, although in the end only the cowshed and barn were built. It demonstrates the range of coloristic expression in the work of architects in the 1920s, long concealed by black-and-white reproductions of their drawings.
Gallery label from 75 Years of Architecture at MoMA, 2007.
