Unfortunately I do not have any information besides the photos. They were all presumably built during the restoration of East Prussia between 1915 and 1925.
Wednesday 27 June 2012
Alexey Shchusev on the Bolsheviks
"They've told me to build a torture chamber and I built them a cheerful one." (This chamber was located in the headquarters of the KGB on Lubyanka Square which Shchusev between 1940 and 1947).
"I am willing to give my monthly salary to a person, who would be able to explain to me what does the social realism in architecture mean." (Apparently Shchusev was quite greedy).
And yet another one, this time backed by a written account:
"Shchusev used to tell his students: 'If I was able to negotiate with the Popes [the Orthodox priests, whom he built a few churches before the Russian revolution], I will somehow negotiate with the Bolsheviks as well'."
From S.O. Han-Magomedov. Ivan Fomin. Moscow, 2011, p.90.
Strange enough, these and other bold statements didn't hinder Alexey Shchusev to remain one of the most acknowledged architects of the High-Stalinist era. He was awarded the Stalin Prizes in 1941, 1946, 1948, and posthumously in 1952; the Order of Lenin and other orders and medals.
Sunday 10 June 2012
Wiegand House by Peter Behrens in Berlin-Dahlem
The house owner and the architect
Until 1899, Theodor Wiegand, the successful excavator of Priene, Miletus, Didyma and Samos, lived in Constantinople and served as the representative for the Berlin Museum. In the following year he married Marie von Siemens, daughter of Georg Siemens, whom he had met when she visited the excavation at Priene. In 1911, he was named Director of the Department of Antiquity at the Berlin Museum and moved to Berlin. As a modern scholar, who pursued a thorough exploration of whole cities and landscapes, he brought an unusual broad dimension to the study of archaeology. Wiegand likewise strove to create a private house whose architecture would be of the highest standards and ahead of its time and therefore commissioned one of the most talented architects Peter Behrens for this house building project.
Behrens began his carrier as a painter and in 1899 was in the artist circle of the Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt where he was permitted to design and build his own house. With this first architecture design Behrens became famous and in 1907, after having been the Director of the School of Art and Design in Düsseldorf, he was called to Berlin by the AEG to serve as designer and architect. He designed products for this company with such craftsmanship that many of them are now in museum collections. His reputation as a innovative architect began in 1909 when he designed the AEG turbine factory in Berlin-Moabit.
Wiegand Haus
On a large lot in the newly developed villa quarter of Dahlem (Peter-Lenné Str. 28-30), Behrens designed for Wiegand not a country home, but a model villa in a classical style that alluded to the occupation of the owner which was characteristic of Behrens’ work at this point in time. All of his designs from this period featured clear, horizontal forms, sharp classical moldings and cool materials. As owner of the villa, Wiegand, inspired by classical architecture revealed during his excavations, had himself determined the form of certain formal details; therefore the front of the house facing the street is taken up by a peristyle similar to that of House 33 in Priene dating from the Hellenistic period. Behrens changed the function of this intimate inner courtyard allowing him to forgo the inclusion of a simple gable while retaining representative elements for the facade. Moreover, Behrens' modern classicism is expressed in an open-mindedness towards all technical innovations. Thus, glass blocks were utilized for the coffered ceiling of the peristyle (the first to be seen in private houses) in order to lighten the effect of the heavy architecture.
Peter Behrens was greatly inspired by Karl Friedrich Schinkel. His influence is apparent in the formation of the ground plan. With Wiegand House, it shows itself also in the arrangement of four corner rooms around a central room and through the addition of asymmetrical elements like the arcaded walkway carried by the heavy columns. Furthermore, the influence of Schinkel can be seen in the type of roofing and overall in the interior decoration. Both architects postulated that they created "complete works of art" designing the wallpaper, carpeting and curtains as well as the encompassing architecture.
The ground plan of Wiegand House is determined by the representative ground floor with its six palatial rooms furnished with expensive furniture made from a variety of materials. It is a rare occurrence when representative rooms of such houses still retain their original furnishings to such an extent.
Wiegand House - Location of the Berlin Head Office of the DAI
The former location of the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut on Maienstraße was severely damaged during the war and it was fortuitous that in 1957 the home of the earlier president of the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut could be acquired. During the 150th anniversary celebration of the DAI in 1979, the federal government furnished the means for the restoration of Wiegand House and placed it under the protection of historical monuments. Today, this protected monument serves as the seat of the president of the DAI and is the meeting place for the central management. Source
Behrens began his carrier as a painter and in 1899 was in the artist circle of the Mathildenhöhe in Darmstadt where he was permitted to design and build his own house. With this first architecture design Behrens became famous and in 1907, after having been the Director of the School of Art and Design in Düsseldorf, he was called to Berlin by the AEG to serve as designer and architect. He designed products for this company with such craftsmanship that many of them are now in museum collections. His reputation as a innovative architect began in 1909 when he designed the AEG turbine factory in Berlin-Moabit.
Wiegand Haus
On a large lot in the newly developed villa quarter of Dahlem (Peter-Lenné Str. 28-30), Behrens designed for Wiegand not a country home, but a model villa in a classical style that alluded to the occupation of the owner which was characteristic of Behrens’ work at this point in time. All of his designs from this period featured clear, horizontal forms, sharp classical moldings and cool materials. As owner of the villa, Wiegand, inspired by classical architecture revealed during his excavations, had himself determined the form of certain formal details; therefore the front of the house facing the street is taken up by a peristyle similar to that of House 33 in Priene dating from the Hellenistic period. Behrens changed the function of this intimate inner courtyard allowing him to forgo the inclusion of a simple gable while retaining representative elements for the facade. Moreover, Behrens' modern classicism is expressed in an open-mindedness towards all technical innovations. Thus, glass blocks were utilized for the coffered ceiling of the peristyle (the first to be seen in private houses) in order to lighten the effect of the heavy architecture.
Peter Behrens was greatly inspired by Karl Friedrich Schinkel. His influence is apparent in the formation of the ground plan. With Wiegand House, it shows itself also in the arrangement of four corner rooms around a central room and through the addition of asymmetrical elements like the arcaded walkway carried by the heavy columns. Furthermore, the influence of Schinkel can be seen in the type of roofing and overall in the interior decoration. Both architects postulated that they created "complete works of art" designing the wallpaper, carpeting and curtains as well as the encompassing architecture.
The ground plan of Wiegand House is determined by the representative ground floor with its six palatial rooms furnished with expensive furniture made from a variety of materials. It is a rare occurrence when representative rooms of such houses still retain their original furnishings to such an extent.
Wiegand House - Location of the Berlin Head Office of the DAI
The former location of the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut on Maienstraße was severely damaged during the war and it was fortuitous that in 1957 the home of the earlier president of the Deutsches Archäologisches Institut could be acquired. During the 150th anniversary celebration of the DAI in 1979, the federal government furnished the means for the restoration of Wiegand House and placed it under the protection of historical monuments. Today, this protected monument serves as the seat of the president of the DAI and is the meeting place for the central management. Source
Wiegand House occasionally opens its doors to the general public. Anyone can sign up for a guided tours during "Lange Nacht der Wissenschaften" or "Tag des offenen Denkmals". I realized I was luckier than most of the people when one of my TU advisors acquired a position there. Now I can come for a visit whenever I wish..
Front of the house facing the street, seen from SE
Peter-Lenné Str.
Front of the house, seen from NW
Peter-Lenné Str. on intersection with Drygalskistr.
Peristyle
Peristyle (detail)
Back of the house, inner courtyard and a summer pavilion
Summer pavilion
View from the summer pavilion
The courtyard
Photo: Olga Voronova ©
Further readings:
| Klaus Rheidt - Barbara A. Lutz (Hrsg.) Peter Behrens, Theodor Wiegand und die Villa in Dahlem (2004). |
W. Hoepfner - F. Neumeyer, Das Haus Wiegand von Peter Behrens in Berlin-Dahlem, Das Deutsche Archäologische Institut, Geschichte und Dokumente, Band 6 (1979).
Friday 1 June 2012
Bruno Taut's Gartenstadt Falkenberg or what people are capable of just in order to avoid their dispatch to the Eastern front :)
The garden city housing estate Gartenstadt Falkenberg also known by the name Paintbox estate (Tuschkastensiedlung) is situated in Berlin district Treptow/Köpenick. It was the first of six Berlin Modernist Housing Estates (among with Schillerpark, Wohnstadt Carl Legien, Großsiedlung Britz (Hufeisensiedlung), Siemensstadt and Weiße Stadt), which are featured on the UNESCO world heritage list. Built between 1913 and 1915 by architect Bruno Taut it is exceptional not only because of its architectural and historic importance, but also due to their good state of preservation.
The architects of the modern movement responded to the lack of housing on the eve of the First World War at the highest architectural level: modern, affordable flats with kitchens, bathrooms and balconies, in houses without backyards or side wings, which provided light, air and space for the inhabitants. The high quality of the architecture, its formal language, floor plans and urban design became a model for the entire 20th century.
It is famous for its colourful façades, at that time the cheapest and most successful method of providing the prefabricated houses with individuality. However, Taut's choice of colours was sometimes very bold and unusual, at least for the estate houses exterior.
Berlin Senate Department for Urban Development and the Environment offers guided tours by bus and on foot, with apartment visits to all six housing estates, plus a seventh, which is not on the UNESCO-list, but still the most visited modernist settlement: Onkel Toms Hütte, designed by Bruno Taut, Hugo Häring and Otto Rudolf Salvisberg. More info can be found at www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de
Layout of the settlement from the library of the TU Berlin
The architects of the modern movement responded to the lack of housing on the eve of the First World War at the highest architectural level: modern, affordable flats with kitchens, bathrooms and balconies, in houses without backyards or side wings, which provided light, air and space for the inhabitants. The high quality of the architecture, its formal language, floor plans and urban design became a model for the entire 20th century.
Houses at Gartenstadtweg
Row houses at Akazienhof
What was also remarkable for that time was the decision to hire a renowned landscape architect like Ludwig Lesser to design the estate’s gardens and public spaces. Alongside with Taut and Lesser another renowned architect and urban planner Heinrich Tessenow was working at Falkenberg (only responsible for the building at am Falkenberg 119).
Houses am Falkenberg
Houses at Gartenstadtweg
Photo: Olga Voronova ©
Berlin Senate Department for Urban Development and the Environment offers guided tours by bus and on foot, with apartment visits to all six housing estates, plus a seventh, which is not on the UNESCO-list, but still the most visited modernist settlement: Onkel Toms Hütte, designed by Bruno Taut, Hugo Häring and Otto Rudolf Salvisberg. More info can be found at www.stadtentwicklung.berlin.de
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