Hans Pfann

Austrian architect Hans Pfann received Honorable Mention for his work Refinement of the Danube Island near Langenzersdorf together with his compatriot Erwin Ilz at the 1936 Berlin Olympics in the Art Competitions in the category Architecture, Designs For Town Planning. Langenzersdorf marks the northern end of the Vienna Danube Island, which has been artificially landscaped since the 1970s. There used to be a series of islands between the branches of the river along the section of the Danube between this place and Klosterneuburg. Here, they planned a water sports facility (Ilz, 1936) and a sports complex with a sports settlement (Pfann, 1932), but the plan was not realized. Pfann studied at the Technical High School in Wien (Vienna). His career started with town planning projects mainly in Wien and he later often worked with Ilz. Like Ilz, Pfann mostly planned buildings in a conservative style. As an architect he built single-family homes in Austria and abroad, residential buildings, city regulations, engineering and industrial buildings, sports facilities and public buildings.

Later, he focused on garden and interior design. In 1941 Pfann was appointed professor for “Decorative art and garden art” at the Technical High School, and in 1954 professor for “Crafts, Interior Design, Garden Art and Architecture”. He then also installed an own institute for garden art. He mainly worked on public contracts for apartment blocks, industrial and sports facilities, city regulations, but also single family homes. Pfann was married to the daughter of his fellow architect Friedrich Ohmann.