Richard Döcker studied architecture in Stuttgart, interrupted by World War I serving as a volunteer soldier. From 1922 until 1924 he worked as an assistent at the Stuttgart Technical University, dealing with the plans for tiny houses.
He took over the construction management for the famous Weissenhof housing estate in 1927. As he lived in Stuttgart, he realised most of the buildings here.
Döcker was a member of the group Der Ring and of the Deutscher Werkbund.
During the Nazi regime, he only received a few commissions and tried to remain in contact with influential modernist architects, such as Hans Poelzig or Erich Mendelsohn and Hugo Häring, who were all living in exile.Between 1941 and 1944, he was in charge of the reconstruction plans for the destroyed city of Saarbrücken. He utilised this experience again after World War II for the heavily destroyed cities. In addition to his work as an architect, he was active in teaching and research in Stuttgart, Berlin and finally in Karlsruhe.
Sources
Buildings
Stuttgart, Germany
Weissenhofsiedlung