Rudolph Frankel was born in Germany 1901. He studied at the Berlin Institute of Technology, before serving his apprenticeship in Munich. Very early in his career he was commissioned to design the Gesundbrunnen area of Berlin's Mitte. During this period, from 1922 until he left Germany for Bucharest in 1933, he made significant contributions to the Modern movement in architecture, stimulated by Walter Gropius and the Bauhaus school.

Frankel's work included a wide variety of buildings and projects. He achieved international recognition during his time in Bucharest, material on his work was published widely and was included in outstanding formal exhibitions in Berlin, Moscow, Leningrad, Tokyo, Milan and London.

He moved to London with his wife in 1937 fleeing the Nazis. His architectural output in England included a special clothing factory at Congleton, Cheshire, and the E. H. Jones Machine Tools, Ltd. offices and showrooms, as well as several large homes.

In 1950, he emigrated to the United States. He was invited by several universities to join their faculties of architecture, ultimately accepting a position at Miami University in Ohio. He quickly became a strong motivating force within the Department of Architecture and was renowned amongst students for his enormous capacity for effective organisation and creative approach to the teaching of architecture.

Frankel believed that architecture must be considered as a practice with human beings at its heart. It was his belief that the total topography of the land was of first design consideration with any building; green spaces, parks and the spaces between buildings were elements that the architect and planner must acknowledge and prioritise as much as gross internal areas.

After retirement, Frankel continued in private practice and was at the time of his death in 1974 still actively engaged with the firm of Frankel, Newman and Associates. He was a Fellow of the Royal Institute of British Architects, a member of the American Institute of Planners and a registered architect in Ohio and in England.