Berlin Großsiedlung Siemensstadt Ringsiedlung Hans Scharoun

#Housing estate #Berlin #1929

Architects

Fred Forbát, Walter Gropius, Hugo Häring, Hans Scharoun, Paul Rudolf Henning, Otto Bartning

Developers

Gemeinnützige Baugesellschaft Berlin-Heerstraße

Address and directions

Goebelstraße 2, 4, 6, 8, 10-12, 14-16, 18-30, 32, 34-36, 38-40, 42, 44-46, 48-52, 54-56, 58, 60-64, 66, 68-72, 74-76, 78-80, 82-84, 86-88, 90-92, 94-96, 98-100, 102-104, 106-114, 116, 118, 120, 122; Geißlerpfad 1, 3-11, 13-29; Heckerdamm 283, 283A-I, 285, 285A-I, 287, 287A-I, 289, 289A-G, 291, 291A-H, 293, 293A-H, 295, 297, 299; Jungfernheideweg 1, 3-16, 18, 20-46, 48; Mäckeritzstraße 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22
13627 Berlin, Germany

Public transport: Siemensdamm / Goebelplatz

Today's use: apartments, shops, restaurants

Light, air, sun and green. Berlin's most modern housing estate of the interwar period.

Description

Most of the blocks of the housing estate are built lengthwise in a north-south orientation, which became typical of the period, as well as row building. We start to describe the houses from west to east.

In the southwest part are located the buildings of Hans Scharoun next to the underground station Siemensdamm along the streets Jungfernheideweg and Mäckeritzstraße. The are the only houses south of the S-Bahn line. The best-known building, because it is also the most conspicuous, is the Armoured cruiser or Battleship at Jungfernheideweg No. 3-15. With the shape of the roof and the southern tip, it reminded Berliners of the ship and the Soviet film Battleship Potemkin from 1925. This southern tip was destroyed in World War II and rebuilt in modified form. Apparently Scharoun didn't like it at all. He was able to observe the reconstruction because he lived across the street at Jungfernheideweg No. 2. Both blocks of flats along the Jungfernheide converge like a funnel and are designed as an entrance to the settlement.

All other construction phases of the housing estate are north of the S-Bahn line.

The northern part of the street Jungfernheideweg was designed by Walter Gropius. On the corner of Goebelstraße and Jungfernheideweg, he designed an arcaded-side house that can only be recognized from the courtyard. He laid out two long blocks of houses on the Jungfernheideweg. They are characteristic because they attract attention with their long ribbon windows as parts of the stairways and the simple, already severe house's shape. The shops on the ground floor mark a functional centre for the entire housing estate.

Otto Bartning created a very unusual block on the south side of Goebelstrasse (No. 11-111). It is the only block in east-west orientation. The basic idea was to use this block to separate the rest of the settlement from the noise of the S-Bahn track. Bartning had the unpleasant task of determining the location of the rooms in the apartments. Bathrooms and kitchens on the north side, that seems appropriate. But the living rooms and bedrooms are on the south side, which heat up a lot in summer. In addition, the windows of the bedrooms face the S-Bahn, which exposed the residents to the noise. Colloquially, this seemingly endless block is called the Langer Jammer (Long Misery).

Parts of this long block were destroyed during World War II. It was again Hans Scharoun, who designed a completely new block (Goebelstraße No. 1-9), with a architecture inspired again by ships. The pink colour differs this part from the Long Misery, as does the arcaded sidewalks.

Hugo Häring's blocks are north of Goebelstraße and are eye-catching with their brownish balconies. They are attached to the east facades of the houses. They are designed in a rounded shape up to the third floor. They are wider on one side, as if to mean that residents should put their chairs in this position to enjoy the evening sun.

Paul R. Henning erected his buildings in a second construction phase of the housing estate from 1930 to 1931. The houses only have four floors, three of them for living areas. They can be recognized by the ocher paneling and the rounded balconies. The residents also have access to a garden section. This flatter area of the housing estate leads into Park Jungfernheide. Henning was still able to build two blocks under Nazi rule, but with some modifications, but with a flat roof, which the Nazis despised.

The two most eastern block along Geißlerpfad and Goebelplatz are the work of Fred Forbát. Similar as his collegue Henning he had to keep a reduced budget and had to construct cheaper houses. In the south and north of the blocks he added shops.

A basic principle of the settlement was the connection to nature. The original meadow and tree landscape was largely retained. This park character can best be enjoyed in the middle of the settlement, i.e. north of Goebelstraße. Care should be taken when stepping onto the lawn as the rabbits have made many entrances to their burrows. Leberecht Migge as one of Berlin's main landscape architects designed the green zones.

History

The core of the housing estate was built between 1929 and 1934. Six architects created distinctive houses. Some parts were destroyed during World War II and replaced by new buildings. Responsible for the whole concept was Hans Scharoun.

The name Siemens is much related to the well known company. They had a big factory next to this area, but this housing estate was organised and built by the municipality.

Some people call this housing estate Großsiedlung Siemensstadt, that means a big housing estate. Some call it Ringsiedlung. The majority of the architects were member of the group Ring with Mies van der Rohe as director. They focused on new meterials and new construction methods in architecture.

The listed building became part of the UNESCO world heritage in 2008.

Sources