Rothenberg (1929)

The steel skeleton: a construction to save money

Description

For a cheaper construction was chosen a steel skeleton. In the houses with four floors and two apartments per floor and stairway, small apartments were created to guarantee low-income people the same comfort with heating, bathroom and running water. The apartments varied from so-called 2-bed apartments between 33 and 42 square meters to 6-bed apartments between 60 and 78 square meters. The kitchens and bedrooms were originally on the east side. Due to extensive conversions done in the 1970s, the floor plans of the apartments have changed significantly.

The stairways are designed as avant-corps, dominating the west facades. They are a trademark of Otto Haesler, which he uses in Rathenow (1928) and Karlsruhe-Dammerstock (1929) as design features for his apartment houses. They represent an assembly structure, since they were put together in the workshop and were incorparted into the houses.

A washhouse and boiler house were built at the street Hersfelder Str. 35. In the basement there used to be two gas-powered boilers for central heating. The washing areas for the laundry were located in bunks on the ground floor. Laundry can still be hung out to dry on first floor.

In 1931 the second construction phase took place in the street Hersfelder Straße 1-13. The stairways of those houses are attached to the east side to enable direct access from the main road.

All other houses on Hersfelder Strasse, which enclose the settlement to the north, were built after 1933. They show the negation of modern architectural principles, like the use of gable roofs.

The block at the street Frankenberger Straße 2-20 is an extension from the 1950s. This block takes up Haesler's architecture.

History

It was a way of the municipality of Kassel to search for cheaper construction. The works started in 1929 and had to be stopped in 1931 because of the world economic crisis. It was planned a larger housing estate stretching more north east with up to 2,500 apartments. The result was first phase of buildings in six rows and 216 apartments.

The aim for Otto Haesler was to create a affordable, small apartment. He wanted for each person a single bed (not a matter of course at that time) and that each person should sleep in a single room, also seperated by sex.

The houses along the street Hersfelder Str. 1-13 with 56 apartments were built in 1931 as a second phase.

During the 1970s the settlement was modernized. The loggias were closed and allocated to the living space. With the current modernizations, the loggias are or will be restored to underline the original character of the settlement.

Sources

• Wikipedia Otto Haesler
• Otto Haesler Initiative Rothenberg-Siedlung
• Wikipedia Rothenberg-Siedlung
• Haesler: Mein Lebenswerk als Architekt, 1957