Abakonverlag was a Berlin-based publishing house active primarily in the 1970s, known for its architectural and design-related publications. The company operated under several names, including Abakon-Verlagsgesellschaft and Abakon Verlag Edition Lichterfelde, and published works by notable figures such as architect Rob Krier and designer Helmut Lortz.[1][2]
Design and History
Abakonverlag was registered as Abakon Verlagsgesellschaft mit beschränkter Haftung at the Charlottenburg district court in Berlin under commercial register number HRB 9748. The company has since been deleted from the register and is no longer active.[3]
The publisher’s output spanned several series. It produced the Dahlem Workshop Reports for the Dahlem Konferenzen scientific conferences between 1975 and 1982,[4] and ran the Edition Lichterfelde imprint, which published the Skriptenreihe series from 1979 onward.[5] The journal Werkstadt, published by the Berlin Senator for Building and Housing, was issued by Abakon from 1976 to 1979 before moving to the Archibook publishing house.[6]
In 1975, Abakonverlag published three notable illustrated books: Helmut Lortz’s Bildprotokolle,[2] Rob Krier’s Notizen am Rande,[1] and Johannes Uhl’s Zeichnungen zum Zwecke Architektur.[7] The following year it published Farbe im Stadtbild under the Edition Lichterfelde imprint.[8]
Meaning and Symbolism
No official documentation has been located that describes the design, symbolism, or meaning of an Abakonverlag logo or signet. The publisher’s identity appears to have been primarily typographic, presented as “Abakonverlag,” “Abakon-Verlag,” or “Abakon Verlagsgesellschaft” on title pages and imprints, but no visual mark has been verified through available sources.
While designer Helmut Lortz created numerous book covers and signets during his career, including the well-known mark for the Internationale Funkausstellung Berlin,[9] no source confirms that he designed a logo for Abakonverlag. His association with the publisher is limited to having authored Bildprotokolle, which Abakonverlag published in 1975.[2]
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