Werkbund Housing Exhibitions in Europe

Anna Wojtun | s1262587 | AC6 Special Subject | 2012/2013 | December 2012

Werkbund Housing Exhibitions in Europe

List of Illustrations: Figure 1: [Cover Page] Opening of the Werkbund Estate in Vienna, 1932.

Figure 2: 20th Century World Heritage by year of inscription [with examples of Modern Movement framed and housing highlited in green] Figure 3: Scheme of the Estate in Stuttgart [image source: http://www.website-architektur.de/abbildungen-milchlaedle.html Figure 4: Estate as seen shortly after the opening in 1927 [image source: http://germanhistorydocs.ghi-dc.org/sub_image.cfm?image_id=4198&language=german] Figure 5: A house by Hans Scharoun [image source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Weissenhof_Scharoun_1.jpg] Figure 6: A recently renovated house by Le Corbusier, home for Le Corbusier and Estate Museum [image source: http://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Weissenhof_Corbusier_03.jpg] Figure 7: A map of Weissenhofsiedlung. Coordinates: 48° 48 1.8 N, 9° 10 39.6 E [source: http://www.openstreetmap.org/] Figure 8: Model of the Estate in Brno. [image source: http://www.estav.cz/zpravy/juniorstav/js06-funkcionalismus-domy.html] Figure 9: Triple-house by Bohuslav Fuchs, 1928. [image source: http://www.bam.brno.cz/objekt/c192-trojdum-v-kolonii-novy-dum?filter=code] Figure 10: Triple-house by Bohuslav Fuchs, current condition. [image source: http://eng.archinform.net/stich/1215.htm] Figure 11: A map of Nowy Dum. Coordinates: 49°12 21 N,16°34 16 E [source: http://www.openstreetmap.org/] Figure 12: Breslau. Map of the Estate from 1929. [image source:http://fotopolska.eu/Wroclaw/b8910,1929__Wystawa_Werkbundu_Mieszkanie_i_Miejsce_Pracy_WuWA.html] Figure 13: Singles’ Residence by Hans Scharoun, currently Hotel Park. [image source: http://www.flickriver.com/photos/klaasfotocollectie/tags/breslau/] Figure 14: A nursery school burned in 2006, currently under reconstruction. [image source: http://dolny-slask.org.pl/879962,foto.html?idEntity=546865] Figure 15: Visual identification plans for WUWA. [image source: http://www.basis.wroclaw.pl/project/Zagospodarowanie_Terenow_WUWA] Figure 16: A map of WUWA. Coordinates: 51° 6 18 N, 17° 5 6 E [source: http://www.openstreetmap.org/] Figure 17 and 18: Aerial view of the Estate in Zurich. [images’ source: http://www.neubuehl.ch/index.asp?seite=24; http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fichier:Wollishofen_ Neub%C3%BChl.jpg] Figure 19: Detail of the row houses and green areas of Neubühl [image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Wollishofen_Neub%C3%BChl-2.jpg] Figure 20: A map of Neubühl. Coordinates: 47° 19 58 N, 8° 32 5 E [source: http://www.openstreetmap.org/] Figure 21: Scheme of the Estate in Vienna. [image source: http://www.werkbundsiedlung-wien.at] Figure 22: Poster from the opening of the Vienna Estate. [image source: http://www.werkbundsiedlung-wien.at] Figure 23: View at the Estate’s family houses in Vienna. [image source: http://www.werkbundsiedlung-wien.at] Figure 24: Vienna Estate’s panorama. [image source: http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Datei:Werkbundsiedlung_Wien_Wiesenansicht.jp] Figure 25: A map of Vienna Werkbundsiedlung. Coordinates: 48° 10 47.86 N, 16° 16 8.48 E. [source: http://www.openstreetmap.org/] Figure 26: BABA Estate model. [image source: http://www.ratio3.org/artists/katarina-burin] Figure 27: A house by Ladislav Zak. [image source: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dteil/7783014626/] Figure 28: A terrace house by Pavel Janak [image source: http://www.arch.cz/hancl/?1100390004040022190005274] Figure 29: A map of BABA Estate. Coordinates: 48°18’ 51.3’’ N, 16° 27’ 89.5’’ E. [source: http://www.openstreetmap.org/]

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Werkbund Housing Exhibitions in Europe

Table Of Contents: 1. Justification for Inscription

1.1 Proposed Inscription Criteria

1.2 Proposed Statement of Outstanding Significance 1.2.1 Historical 1.2.2 Cultural

1.2.3 Aesthetic and Design

1.2.4 Social and Societal 2. Comparative Analysis 3. Integrity and Authenticity 4. Appendix

4.1 Site Description 4.1.1 Stuttgart 4.1.2 Brno 4.1.3 Breslau 4.1.4 Zurich 4.1.5 Vienna 4.1.5 Prague 5. Bibliography

4 4 5 5 5 6 6 7 9 10 10 10 12 14 16 18 20 23

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Werkbund Housing Exhibitions in Europe

1. Justification For Inscription 1.1 Proposed Inscription Criteria:

(ii) “exhibits an important interchange of human values, over a span of time, or within a cultural area of the world, on developments in architecture or technology, monumental arts, town-planning, or landscape design” Werkbund Housing Exhibitions symbolize ideas lying at the roots of the Modernist Movement and represent the social, aesthetic and technological changes following the end of World War I. Under the common denominator of “The Apartment” rationalized architectural standards and living conditions for an emerging “new dweller” were sought. The exhibitions span a 5 year period between 1927-1932 and, despite being proclaimed under various political circumstances, together provide an outstanding testimony of internationalization and unity of expression. Within this emerging movement the Werkbund Association presented itself a significant driving factor of changes within twentieth century architecture.

(iv) “is an outstanding example of a type of building, architectural, or technological ensemble or landscape which illustrates a significant stage in human history” The exhibitions’ series form an ensemble which testifies to ideas of residential living at the threshold of industrial mass production and catalog the beginnings of Interior-Design-as-aprofession. Their promotion was orchestrated by internationally influential architects who shaped the course of the Modern Movement in Europe and beyond. For the first time concepts of living were showcased and open to the public, taking a form customary of art fairs. These were afterwards able to be let as a regular lease apartments, serving simultaneously as model and as livable, permanent dwellings.

(vi) “is directly or tangibly associated with events or living traditions, with ideas, or with beliefs, with ariistic and literary works of outstanding universal significance” The Werkbund Exhibitions are an outstanding representation of the Zeitgeist concept which exerted a great influence on twentieth century Western culture1. As an idea, often attributed to the German philosopher Georg Hegel, it relates to the spirit of the age as embodied by a single piece of art. This belief was foundational for the Werkbund and propelled all of the association’s architectural productions.

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Werkbund Housing Exhibitions in Europe

1.2 Proposed Statement of Outstanding Universal Value 1.2.1 Historical: In the late 1920s Germany situated itself in the centre of the European avant-garde movement whilst the University of Stuttgart began to emerge as a trailblazing school of architecture.

Architects, designers, industrialists and artists who rebelled against traditionalism established an association to promote a new way of building (‘Neues Bauen’), the so-called ‘’Werkbund’’.2 Its leading voices were Herman Muthesius and Henry van de Welde. The City of Stuttgart, which aspired to be seen as supportive to cutting-edge innovative ideas, enabled the architects to exert power in municipal offices for housing and construction and in some large housing societies.3 The model estate in Stuttgart - the Weissenhof - acted as a flash-point for five similar events in Europe, mainly within German speaking countries, which were then adapted by various organizations as a means of spreading the new movement’s propaganda across the continent.

For the first time in history fully functional experimental buildings were exhibited, all of which would later serve as regular lease apartments. As a group they successfully undertook the challenge of making tangible the core concerns of the early Modern Movement. Subsequently, with the exception of Brno, all the houses had fully furnished show apartments designed to the standards strictly set by Werkbund and were accompanied by separate areas displaying the newest building techniques, materials, devices, furnishings and household equipment.

The series of Housing Exhibitions organized under the umbrella of the Werkbund Association made a significant contribution to international architecture being an expression of ambition and aspirations of the early Modern Movement. The success of the exhibition in Stuttgart directly leads to the creation of the International Congress of Modern Architecture (CIAM), starting in June of 1928 near Lausanne, arguably the most influential conference of 20th century planning and architectural history. Thinkers of the English speaking world emphasized the significance of the exhibition in Stuttgart as an emblem of the formation and internationalization of the Modern Movement.4 In 1947 the American critique Philip Johnson wrote about the exhibition in Stuttgart: “The Weissenhofsiedlung proved to be the most important group of buildings in the history of modern architecture. They demonstrated conclusively that the various architectural elements of the postwar years had merged into a single stream. A new international order had been born”.5 And shortly after William Curtis describing the exhibitions’ series followed with: “ostensibly an exhibition of housing ideas sponsored by Deutscher Werkbund was an affirmation that a shared language had at least been achieved”.6 It was not only a shared architectural language, but also a shared cultural experience that allowed for such unity and clarity of expression.

1.2.2 Cultural: The estate exhibitions associated with Werkbund were spokesmen of the emerging architecture movement advertising new living ideas to the postwar society more effectively than any journals and magazines of the time.7 They had tremendous influence, attracting a great number of visitors, with Stuttgart alone receiving over 500,000 people. Despite destruction during World War II, the ensemble today represents highly valued cultural heritage of the twentieth century with early works of architects who helped define modern architecture.

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Werkbund Housing Exhibitions in Europe

The settlements’ architecture aspired to evoke the spirit of the time. Their design adhered to the idea of minimum housing and maximum urban functionality and a simultaneous use of mass production and craftsmanship. Each estate within this collective addresses these aspects in diverse ways, complementing each other and co-defining the idea behind Werkbund. All the buildings slightly vary in form, but reach towards a great coherence in style. They consist of terraced and detached houses and apartment buildings with facades usually in white and simple in their immediate appearance. Their flat roofs frequently serve as terraces, they have strip windows and open plan interiors. A high level of prefabrication allowed for an unusually short construction period per dwelling for twentieth century architecture.

1.2.3 Aesthetic and Design: The aesthetic of Werkbund follows the idea of functionalism, where a common denominator was seen through the relation between art, industry, economy and mass production. Its value was seen in the tendency to eliminate merely affixed decorative forms and to create shapes dictated by particular function requirements.8 Additionally, the aesthetic framework to the exhibitions was supported by a treatise formulated by Le Corbusier which defined five principal points of new architecture, for the first time fully applied in the Weissenhof Estate.

The points came from the use of a reinforced concrete structure and included “(1) the pilotis elevating the mass off the ground, (2) the free plan, achieved through the separation of the load-bearing columns from the walls subdividing the space, (3) the free facade, the corollary of the free plan in the vertical plane, (4) the long horizontal sliding window and finally (5) the roof garden, restoring, supposedly, the area of ground covered by the house”.9 1.2.4 Social and Societal: The leading concept of the Werkbund exhibitions was to reflect the needs of a modern dweller in the era of industrial production and therefore emphasize the societal needs which were symptomatic of a change in living customs. Communal living was the main exhibition theme in Breslau, where buildings for growing numbers of single people, young marriages and for the purposes of collective living were constructed.10 The exhibition in Zurich was planned holistically to offer a wide range of dwelling types for mixed family types and young professionals. Nowadays, it holds a special position in Zurich cultural history as a place which attracted progressive artists’ communities and provided accommodation to famous individuals.

This image is complimented by the estates in Prague and Vienna which prioritized individual concerns of the future owners.11 Nowadays, the estates’ remain on cultural maps, being either a tourist’s treasure hidden off the beaten track (Prague, Brno, Zurich) or established creative hubs with museums and visitors centres located in uninhabited houses (Le Corbusier House in Stuttgart, Vienna12). In Breslau there is a headquarter of County Architectural Committee being developed in a former nursery (currently under reconstruction after a serious fire in 2006) and greater regeneration strategies are being implemented in order to rehabilitate the estates’ communal values.13 Most importantly however, almost all the houses serve today their original function of providing dwellings and short term accommodation to cities’ permanent residents and visitors.

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Werkbund Housing Exhibitions in Europe 2.

Comparative analysis

Nr

Site

Country

Year

1979 - 2000 1

Auschwitz Concentration Camp

Poland

1979

2

Historic Centre of Warsaw (Reconstruction)

Poland

1980

3

Works of Antoni Gaudí in and near Barcelona

Spain

1984/2005

4

City of Brasilia

Brazil

1987

5

Skogskyrkogården, Stockholm

Sweden

1994

6

Bauhaus and its Sites in Weimar und Dessau

Germany

1996

7

Hiroshima Peace Memorial (Genbaku Dome)

Japan

1996

8

Wouda Steam Pumping Station, Lemmer

Netherlands

1998

2000 - 2012 9

Major Town Houses of the Architect Victor Horta, Brussels

Belgium

2000

10

Rietveld Schröderhuis, Utrecht

Netherlands

2000

11

Ciudad Universitaria de Caracas

Venezuela

2000

12

Tugendhat-Villa, Brno

Czech Republic

2001

13

Zollverein Coal Mine Industrial Complex, Essen

Germany

2001

14

White City of Tel Aviv - the Modern Movement

Israel

2003

15

Luis Barragán House and Studio, Mexico City

Mexico

2004

16

Varberg Radio Station, Halland

Sweden

2004

17

Le Havre, the City Rebuilt by Auguste Perret

France

2005

18

Centennial Hall in Wrocław

Poland

2006

19

Bordeaux, Port of the Moon

France

2007

20

Sydney Opera House

Australia

2007

21

Berlin Modernism Housing Estates

Germany

2008

22

Fujian Tulou

China

2008

23

Rhaetian Railway in the Albula / Bernina Landscapes

Italy – Switzerland

2008

24

Stoclet House

Belgium

2009

25

Bikini Atoll Nuclear Test Site

Marshall Islands

2010

26

Fagus Factory in Alfeld

Germany

2011

27

Historic Town of Grand-Bassam

Cote d’Ivoire

2012

28

Pearling, Testimony of an Island Economy

Bahrain

2012

29

Rabat, Modern Capital and Historic City: a Shared Heritage

Morocco

2012

Figure 2: 20th Century World Heritage by year of inscription [examples of Modern Movement highlited in grey, with a subset of housing sites in green]

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Werkbund Housing Exhibitions in Europe

Currently in the World Heritage List there are 962 properties of outstanding universal value inscribed. These include 745 cultural properties with 12 transboundary properties and 1 delisted property in 140 State Parties.14 20th century heritage appears to be underrepresented with only 29 sites inscribed, although this trend seems to have changed with 21 of them included in the list since the year 2000. Within those there are 11 examples of Modern Movement architecture, 4 of which represent the broad area of housing. The group of Berlin Modernist Estates exemplifies ideas closest to those of the Werkbund Exhibitions, however it embraces radically different aspects of modernist housing as shown in the comparison below:15

Berlin Modernist Estates:

8

•

A group of social housing estates designed from a town planning perspective

•

Constructed for accommodation only

•

Battling housing shortages through city reforms – mass housing

•

Associated with social reforms

•

Quantity of housing as a priority

•

Nationally important

•

Primarily social needs addressed

Werkbund Estates:

•

A group of housing exhibitions unified by the architectural appearance, style and aspirations

•

Constructed for exhibition purposes and future accommodation in mind

•

Battling housing shortages through investigating new building techniques, materials and technologies

•

Associated with emerging architectural movement

•

Quality housing for “modern dwellers” as a priority

•

Marked the internationalization of Modern Movement

•

Primarily form and aesthetics addressed

Werkbund Housing Exhibitions in Europe

3. Integrity and Authenticity The Werkbund Housing Exhibitions achieved architectural unity through both their aesthetic and ideological compatibility. Despite being constructed under various different political arrangements and each prioritizing different aspects of association’s agenda, all the estates were raised with efforts to express a collective notion of modernity. However, the quick construction periods often resulted in bad quality materials posing a maintenance challenge to modern conservationists.

As history progressed some interference within the housing’s structure occurred. During the Nazi period the Stuttgart Estate was ostracized, similarly the other Estates suffered damage during the Wolrd War II with some of the houses being completely destroyed. During the communism period in Poland (Breslau) and Czech Republic (Prague, Brno) insensitive refurbishment took place causing further damage to the fragile fabric of the apartments.

Despite this, the estates’ overall core integrity and legibility remains hardly affected, with some of the houses being preserved almost intact. The dwellings serve their originally intended function of providing permanent and short term accommodation, although ownerships issue sometimes impede restoration processes. Most recent restoration works were carried out to high professional standards revealing the estates’ true appearance with some of them involving social and tourism-oriented regeneration (Vienna, Stuttgart, Breslau).

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Werkbund Housing Exhibitions in Europe 4.

Appendix

4.1 Site Description 4.1.1 STUTTGART name: Weissenhofsiedlung country: Germany year: 1927 artistic director: Mies van der Rohe architects involved: Mies van der Rohe Jacobus Johannes Pieter Oud Victor Bourgeois Adolf G. Schneck Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret • Walter Gropius • Ludwig Hilberseimer • Bruno Taut • Hans Poelzig • Richard Dicker • Max Taut • Josef Frank • Hans Scharoun • Mart Stam • Peter Behrens • Adolf Rading • • • • •

number of dwellings: 33 houses, 63 apartments construction period: 5 months

Figure 3: Scheme of the Estate Figure 4: Estate as seen shortly after the opening in 1927 Figure 5: A house by Hans Scharoun Figure 6: A recently renovated house by Le Corbusier, home for Le Corbusier and Estate Museum

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Werkbund Housing Exhibitions in Europe

background information and distinctive features: Weissenhofsiedlung was created as part of the municipal housing building program. On June 27, 1925, the Mayor of Stuttgart [Karl Lautenschlager], and the President of Deutscher Werkbund [Peter Bruckmann] outlined the exhibition’s intentions: Efficiency measures in all areas of our lives do not stop where housing is at issue. The economic conditions of today prohibit any kind of waste and demand the maximum effect with minimum amount of means, requiring the implementation of such materials and technological appliances which will lead to lower building and operational costs, and will lead to a simplification of households, and to improvements of living itself. Yet eventually, standardization was slightly moved to the background because of the hillside exposure of the property, and partly because Mies van der Rohe granted a great degree of design freedom to the architects. He also made it possible to create larger living quarters targeted to middle class workers. The estate involved single-family houses, apartment buildings and row houses. 16

Figure :7 A map of Weissenhofsiedlung. Coordinates: 48° 48′ 1.8″ N, 9° 10′ 39.6″ E

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Werkbund Housing Exhibitions in Europe

4.1.2 BRNO name: Nowy Dum country: Czech Republic year: 1928 artistic director: Cenek Ruller and František Uherek architects involved: • • • • • • • • •

Bohuslav Fuchs Josef Stepanek Jaroslav Grunt Jiri Kroha Foltyn Hugo Miroslaw Putna January Visek Jaroslav Syriste Arnost Wiesne

number of dwellings: 16 construction period: 7 months

Figure 8: Model of the Estate.

Figure 9: Triple-house by Bohuslav Fuchs, 1928 .

Figure :10 Triple-house by Bohuslav Fuchs, current condition.

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Werkbund Housing Exhibitions in Europe

background information and distinctive features: Nowy Dum Estate was a private venture of architects Cenek Ruller and František Uherek, supported by Czechoslovak Arts Union associated with Werkbund architects. It was a considerably smaller estate, with only national representative, accompanied by a contemporary art fair at the opening. There were no starting conditions apart from the plot sizes, the agenda was to achieve the maximum height and efficient layout. The industrially prefabricated elements were designed by Bohuslav Fuchs. As most of the architects did not follow the requirements, the exhibitions did not meet the intended targets. Nowadays it is an important testament of functionalism in Czech architecture. 17

Figure 11: A map of Nowy Dum. Coordinates: 49°12′21″ N,16°34′16″ E

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Werkbund Housing Exhibitions in Europe

4.1.3 BRESLAU name: WUWA (Wohnung und Werkraum) country: Germany (currently Poland) year: 1929 artistic director: Heinrich Lauterbach / Silesian Committee of Deutscher Werkbund architects involved: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Theodor Effenberger Moritz Hadda Paul Häusler Paul Heim i Albert Kempter Emil Lange Heinrich Lauterbach Ludwig Moshamer Adolf Rading Fritz Roder Hans Scharoun Gustav WolfLudwig Moshamer Adolf Rading Fritz Roder Hans Scharoun Gustav Wolf

number of dwellings: 32 houses construction period: 3 months

Figure :12 Map of the Estate from 1929.

Figure :13 Singles’ Residence by Hans Scharoun, currently Hotel Park Figure:14 A nursery school burned in 2006, currently under reconstruction.

Figure :15 Visual identification plans.

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Werkbund Housing Exhibitions in Europe

background information and distinctive features: The exhibition was organised under the theme of communal living. It offered new functional solutions for small apartments and single family houses. In 1929 a review by Ernst May was published: “The overall achievement of the exhibition seems absolutely remarkable to me.

Here, a municipality of decisive courage has dared, in defiance of numerous petty bourgeois and in a bright-and-breezy manner, to erect a housing development which represents a clear confession to the Neues Bauen”. Only local architects participated in the exhibition, Each of the houses was equipped in kitchen and toilet, and often small bathroom and central heating.

One of the most remarkable houses was the Kollektivahaus by Adolf Rading, which undertook the theme of communal living together with the singles’ residencce by Hans Scharoun. The latter was also one of the first building in Europe to use the split levels building technique. 18

Figure 16: A map of WUWA. Coordinates: 51° 6′ 18″ N, 17° 5′ 6″ E.

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Werkbund Housing Exhibitions in Europe

4.1.4 ZURICH name: Neubühl country: Switzerland year: 1930-32 artistic director: ? architects involved: • Max Ernst Haefeli • Carl Theodor Hubacher • Rudolf Steiger • Werner Max Moser • Emil Roth • Paul Artaria • Hans Schmidt number of dwellings: 121 houses, 194 apartments construction period: 2 years

Figure 17 and 18: Aerial view of the Estate.

Figure:19 Detail of the row houses and green areas.

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Werkbund Housing Exhibitions in Europe

background information and distinctive features: The Estate was planned collectively and is the largest from the whole Werkbund group, but not sponsored directly. It consisted of row houses and offered a great diversity of housing types.

Such arrangement enabled the orientation towards the sun, provided better noise insulation features and allowed for a more efficient air exchange. The group of architects responsible for the design of the estate participated in the CIAM meeting in 1928. They were presented with a skeleton outline by Mies van der Rohe and encouraged to maximized the efficiency of the internal layout. There was a great attention paid to the furnishing, including the establishment of a laboratory for a new developments in the field of interior design AG(WOBAG). Publicity materials were solely prepared by Max Bill. The first inhabitants of the estate were young professionals, musicians, writers and artists attracted by the modern estate features, such as roof gardens and wide windows.19

Figure 20: A map of Neubühl. Coordinates: 47° 19′ 58″ N, 8° 32′ 5″ E.

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Werkbund Housing Exhibitions in Europe

4.1.5 VIENNA name: non given (Werkbund Siedling Vienna) country: Austria year: 1932 artistic director: Josef Frank architects involved: • Richard Bauer • Karl A. Bieber and Otto Niedermoser • Anton Brenner • Otto Breuer • Joseph F. Dex • Max Fellerer • Josef Frank • Hugo Gorge • Jacques Groag • Arthur Grünberger • Gabriel Guévrékian • Oswald Haerdtl • Hugo Haring • Josef Hoffmann • Clemens Holzmeister • Julius Jirasek • Heinrich Kulka • Ernst Lichtblau • Adolf Loos • Walter Loos • André Lurçat • Richard Neutra • Otto Niedermoser • Ernst Plischke • Gerrit Rietveld • Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky • Walter Sobotka • Oskar Strnad • Hans Adolf Vetter • Eugene Wachsberger • Helmut Wagner Freynsheim • Josef Wenzel • Oskar Wlach number of dwellings: 70 houses (today 64 houses remain)

18

construction period: 2 years

Figure 21: Scheme of the Estate.

Figure 22: Poster from the opening.

Figure 23: View at the Estate’s family houses.

Figure 24: Estate’s panorama.

Werkbund Housing Exhibitions in Europe

background information and distinctive features: At the time of its opening referred to as “Europe’s largest construction exhibition”. It was, just like Stuttgart, an international event. Its goal was to achieve the maximum spaciousness with a minimum of floor allowance. All the the apartments were developed with a great attention to detail. The estate comprised of several different models of modern single-family houses. It is the only Estate which deliberately rejected rationalization and standardization, as it was seen “lifeless” by its organizer. The harmonious appearance of the estate was achieved through a number of the exterior specifications, such as treatment of the facades and flat roofs. The traditional building techniques were utilized in the estate instead of prefabrication and a choice of windows was left solely to individuals. It was also the only estate which applied a heterogenous color scheme developed by the artist Laszlo Gabo, with only a few houses left whitewashed.20

Figure 25: A map of Vienna Werkbundsiedlung. Coordinates: 48° 10′ 47.86″ N, 16° 16′ 8.48″ E

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Werkbund Housing Exhibitions in Europe

4.1.6 PRAGUE country: Czech Republic year: 1932 artistic director: Pavel Janak architects involved:

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Zdenek Blazek Otokar Fischel Jaroslav Fiser Karel Fiser Josef Fuchs Josef Gocar Antonin Heythum Pavel Janak Frantisek Kavalir Frantisek Kerhart Vojtech Kerhart Jan Evangelista Koula Hana Kucerova-Zaveska Evzen Linhart Ladislav Machon Mart Stam Oldrich Stary Frantisek Zelenka Ladislav Zak

number of dwellings: 33 houses construction period: 6 months

Figure 26: BABA Estate model.

Figure 27: A house by Ladislav Zak. Figure 28: A terrace house by Pavel Janak.

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Werkbund Housing Exhibitions in Europe

background information and distinctive features: Bourgeois was the driving force of avant-garde movement in Bohemia and Moravia and therefore the Estate in Prague was the only one privately funded and not constructed for the working class.

The left wing of Prauge considered the BABA Estate as a monument for rich, not a solution to the housing question. As the traditional role of architect and client were upheld in Prague, the more radical communal concepts, such as row houses were impossible to implement. Subsequently, only a single dwelling concept with two-storey flat buildings was agreed upon. It offered large multipurpose rooms on the first floor and bedrooms above. The Estate did not follow the architectural experiment agenda to the letter, and it involved only one non-Bohemian architect: Mart Stam. However, its opening met with a great interest, it attracted 12,000 people and was open to the public for an additional month.21

Figure 29: A map of BABA Estate. Coordinates: 48°18’ 51.3’’ N, 16° 27’ 89.5’’ E

21

Werkbund Housing Exhibitions in Europe Endnotes: 1

K. Michael Hays, ed., Architecture Theory Since 1968 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1998), 529

2

Karin Kirsch, The Weissenhof Siedlung (New York: Rizzoli, 1989), 12

3

“Weissenhofsiedlung,” http://www.weissenhof2002.de/english/weissenhof.html (accessed December 8, 2012)

4

Richard Pommer and Christian F. Otto, Weissenhof 1927 and the Modern Movement in Architecture (Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1991), 3

5

Philip Johnson, Mies van der Rohe (New York: 1947), 42

6

William J. R. Curtis, Modern Architecture Since 1900, 3d ed. (London: Phaidon Press, 1996), 175

7

Stephan Templ, Baba Die Werkbundsiedlung Prag / the Werkbund Housing Estate Prague (Basel: Birkhauser, 1999), 16.

8

Frederic J. Schwartz, The Werkbund: Design Theory and Mass Culture Before the First World War (Yale: Yale University Press, 1996), 41

9

“Le Corbusier’s Five Points On Architecture”, http://anibal.gyte.edu.tr/hebe/AblDrive/73746022/w/ Storage/987_2011_1_310_73746022/Downloads/5-points-of-arch.pdf(accessed December 8, 2012)

10

Beate Eckstein et al., Towards a New Kind of Living: Werkbund Housing Estate Breslau 1929 (Basel: Birkhauser, 1996), 22

11

Eve Blau, The Architecture of Red Vienna 1919 – 1934 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1998), 132-133

12

“Restoration of the Werkbund Housing Estate”, http://www.wien.gv.at/english/transportation-urbanplanning/ werkbund-housing-estate.html (accessed December 8, 2012)

13 “Przestrzenie Publiczne Wuwa [Public Spaces Of WUWA]”, http://www.mackow.pl/projekty/funkcja/ publiczne,przestrzenie_publiczne_wuwa_wohnung_und_werkraum_ausstelung (accessed December 8, 2012) 14

“World Heritage List”, http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/ (accessed December 8, 2012)

15

“Berlin Modernism Housing”, http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1239 (accessed December 8, 2012)

16

Karin Kirsch, The Weissenhof Siedlung (New York: Rizzoli, 1989); Richard Pommer and Christian F. Otto, Weissenhof 1927 and the Modern Movement in Architecture (Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1991)

17

“Kolonie Nowy Dum”, http://www.archiweb.cz/buildings.php?action=show&id=462&type=24(accessed December 8,

18

Beate Eckstein et al., Towards a New Kind of Living: Werkbund Housing Estate Breslau 1929 (Basel: Birkhauser,

19

“Genossenschaft Neubuhl Zurich”, http://www.neubuehl.ch (accessed December 8, 2012)

2012) 1996)

20

Anna Stuhlpfarrer, “Werkbundsiedlung Wien”, http://www.werkbundsiedlung-wien.at/en/exhibition-1932/ the-architectural-concept/ (accessed December 8, 2012); “Werkbundsiedlung Vienna”, http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Werkbundsiedlung_Wien (accessed December 8, 2012)

21 Stephan Templ, Baba Die Werkbundsiedlung Prag / The Werkbund Housing Estate Prague (Basel: Birkhauser, 1999), 16.

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5. BIBLIOGRAPHY: Books in Print: Blau, Eve, The Architecture of Red Vienna 1919 – 1934 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1998) Curtis, William J. R., Modern Architecture Since 1900, 3d ed. (London: Phaidon Press, 1996) Eckstein, Beate, Andreas Denk, Christine Nielsen, Dietrich W. Schmidt and Jadwiga Urbaniak. Towards a New Kind of Living: Werkbund Housing Estate Breslau 1929 (Basel: Birkhauser, 1996) Hays, K. Michael, ed., Architecture Theory Since 1968 (Cambridge, Massachusetts: MIT Press, 1998) Johnson , Philip, Mies van der Rohe (New York: 1947) Kirsch, Karin, The Weissenhof Siedlung (New York: Rizzoli, 1989) Pommer , Richard and Christian F. Otto, Weissenhof 1927 and the Modern Movement in Architecture (Chicago and London: The University of Chicago Press, 1991) Schwartz, Frederic J., The Werkbund: Design Theory and Mass Culture Before the First World War (Yale: Yale University Press, 1996) Templ, Stephan, Baba Die Werkbundsiedlung Prag / The Werkbund Housing Estate Prague (Basel: Birkhauser, 1999)

Online Resources: Anna Stuhlpfarrer, “Werkbundsiedlung Wien”, http://www.werkbundsiedlung-wien.at/en/exhibition-1932/thearchitectural-concept/ (accessed December 8, 2012) “Berlin Modernism Housing”, http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1239 (accessed December 8, 2012) “Brnenský architektonický manuál [Architectural Manual of Brno]”, http://www.bam.brno.cz (accessed December 8, 2012) “Genossenschaft Neubuhl Zurich”, http://www.neubuehl.ch (accessed December 8, 2012) “Kolonie Nowy Dum”, http://www.archiweb.cz/buildings.php?action=show&id=462&type=24(accessed December 8, 2012) “Le Corbusier’s Five Points On Architecture”, http://anibal.gyte.edu.tr/hebe/AblDrive/73746022/w/ Storage/987_2011_1_310_73746022/Downloads/5-points-of-arch.pdf(accessed December 8, 2012) “Przestrzenie Publiczne Wuwa [Public Spaces Of WUWA]”, http://www.mackow.pl/projekty/funkcja/ publiczne,przestrzenie_publiczne_wuwa_wohnung_und_werkraum_ausstelung (accessed December 8, 2012) “Restoration of the Werkbund Housing Estate”, http://www.wien.gv.at/english/transportation-urbanplanning/ werkbund-housing-estate.html (accessed December 8, 2012) “Weissenhofsiedlung,” http://www.weissenhof2002.de/english/weissenhof.html (accessed December 8, 2012) “Werkbundsiedlung Vienna”, http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werkbundsiedlung_Wien (accessed December 8, 2012) “World Heritage List”, http://whc.unesco.org/en/list/ (accessed December 8, 2012)

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