 He became a member of the Deutscher Werkbund in 1928, and in that same year collaborated on the Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne.From 1939 to 1941, he studied biology at the University of Stuttgart, and until 1944 performed military duty in Saarbrücken.He was appointed general construction director of Stuttgart, a position he gave up the next year after disagreements with the city's lord mayor, Arnulf Klett.