Berlin Modernism Housing Estates

In the 1920s, Berlin was one of the most exciting cities in the world. Regarded as liberal and cosmopolitan, the city was a hub for modern art and culture and epitomised rapid industrial development. And… the city was bursting at the seams!

‘Greater Berlin’ is formed

In 1920, many surrounding towns and municipalities were merged to form ‘Greater Berlin’, which meant that new land was also available for development. To solve the problem of the severe housing shortage, new residential districts were built all over Berlin. Seven of these developments in Berlin have been designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites of outstanding and universal value . Their design sought to cater to the general longing for light, air and green spaces. These fundamental needs became increasingly important in many of Europe’s major cities in the wake of industrialisation.

A longing for light and air

Berlin in the 19th century: its rise to the status of a world city was accompanied by massive housing problems. Factory workers lived in cramped, dark flats, often without windows, in tenement blocks with several courtyards. Legislative changes at the end of the 19th century, the founding of building cooperatives and, finally, the creation of Greater Berlin paved the way for socially reformist housing construction, the realisation of a new social housing culture and lifestyles modelled on English garden cities. Light and air were the stated objectives. In keeping with the austere aesthetics of the Bauhaus, the developments were free of ornamentation and frills, albeit designed with colourful patterns.

Kitchen, bathroom, balcony: new standards in housing construction

The new flats were equipped with their own kitchen, bathroom and balcony overlooking greenery. This stood in stark contrast to the dark, sometimes damp rooms in Berlin’s back-courtyard tenements. The housing estates also set new standards in hygiene. This was because the new flats, with running water, had their own bathrooms, where from then on only the family themselves would bathe. Those living in tenement blocks, on the other hand, had to go to one of Berlin’s public baths for their weekly bath. In the slightly better-off homes, there were at least toilets on the landing. Everyone else had to use the outhouse in the back courtyard.

The abrupt end to social-reform housing construction

In 1933 , democratic housing construction came to an abrupt end: The National Socialists’ housing policy was based on a completely different, anti-modern concept. Fortunately, the existing buildings were left largely unchanged and were, for the most part, spared from the bombs of the Second World War. Even today, the flats and houses in Berlin’s modernist housing estates remain highly sought-after properties on the property market.

The Modernist housing estates

Seven Modernist buildings have been included on the UNESCO list:

• Gartenstadt Falkenberg (Treptow), built in 1913–16 by Bruno Taut, with open spaces designed by Ludwig Lesser
• Schillerpark Estate (Wedding), built in 1924–30 by Bruno Taut and Franz Hoffmann, partially rebuilt in 1951 by Max Taut, extended in 1954–59 by Hans Hoffmann
• Britz Large-Scale Housing Estate (Hufeisensiedlung) ( Neukölln), built 1924–31 by Bruno Taut and Martin Wagner, open spaces designed by Leberecht Migge
• Carl Legien Housing Estate (Prenzlauer Berg), built 1928–30 by Bruno Taut and Franz Hillinger
• ‘White City’ (Reinickendorf), built 1929–31 by Bruno Ahrends, Wilhelm Büning and Otto Rudolf Salvisberg, with green spaces designed by Ludwig Lesser
• Siemensstadt housing estate (Charlottenburg and Spandau), built 1929–34 by Otto Bartning, Fred Forbat, Walter Gropius, Hugo Häring, Paul Rudolf Henning and Hans Scharoun; open spaces designed by Leberecht Migge
• Zehlendorf Forest Housing Estate – Uncle Tom’s Cabin (Steglitz-Zehlendorf), built between 1926 and 1932 by Bruno Taut on behalf of the Gemeinnützige Heimstätten-, Spar- und Bau-Aktiengesellschaft (GEHAG).