6+1=7 x UNESCO World Heritage: Tour Onkel Tom Estate

The colorful housing estate was part of a construction drive launched against the backdrop of a severe housing shortage and the rapid urban growth triggered by industrialization.

The housing estate was built by the left-leaning housing association GEHAG between 1926 and 1931 in a total of seven construction phases. It was primarily designed by architect Bruno Taut, whose plans also served as the basis for four of the six housing estates that were jointly designated as a World Heritage Site back in 2008.

The approximately 34-hectare site in the middle-class, conservative neighborhood of Zehlendorf comprises a total of over 800 row houses with gardens, plus around 1,100 apartments in blocks, each with three residential floors and a half-story extension used for drying laundry. In terms of size, it is thus nearly equivalent to the Britzer Hufeisensiedlung, built between 1925 and 1930, from which numerous principles, floor plans, color schemes, and architectural elements were adopted and further developed.

As chief architect at GEHAG, Taut designed both the master plan for the entire site and a large portion of the buildings. In addition to Taut, the two architects Otto-Rudolf Salvisberg and Hugo Häring were involved in the design. They each planned a block of townhouses in construction phases I and II. Leberecht Migge and Matha Willings-Göhre were commissioned to design the open spaces and gardens.

The development was not without controversy locally: the complex—with its masterful use of color and skillful integration into the existing wooded surroundings—quickly earned the nickname “Papageiensiedlung” (Parrot Settlement). Although this term was originally intended as a derogatory label, residents themselves still use it deliberately to this day. Later, the highly ideological “Zehlendorf Roof Dispute” erupted, finding its visible manifestation along the street “Am Fischtal.” Taut responded with a sprawling building, which he himself described as “a whip crack in the face of the bourgeoisie.”

Another name derives from the proximity to the “Onkel Toms Hütte” subway station, where we’ll begin our tour. Here, Otto Rudolf Salvisberg skillfully integrated the design of two rows of shops running parallel to the tracks. This combination of transportation access and local amenities is also one of the three distinctive features that were rightly highlighted in the rationale for the expansion proposal...

Our tour on Saturday, September 29, 2026, lasts just under two and a half hours and starts at 11:00 a.m. at the station’s western exit leading to Onkel-Tom-Straße.

• The tour costs €15 (reduced rate €12) per person, payable in cash on site.
• The number of participants is limited.
• Registration is required at: tours@buschfeld.com

(in German)