Housing estate Onkel Toms Hütte in Berlin by Bruno Taut

#Housing estate #Berlin #1926

Architects

Hugo Häring, Otto Rudolf Salvisberg, Bruno Taut

Developers

GEHAG Gemeinnützige Heimstätten-, Spar- und Bau-Aktiengesellschaft AG

Address and directions

Am Fischtal 1-91 (uneven numbers); Am Fuchspaß; Am Hegewinkel 2-124 (even numbers); Am Lappjagen; Am Wieselbau; Argentinische Allee 130-148 (even numbers), 150-213, 215, 217, 219; Auerhahnbalz; Eisvogelweg; Hochsitzweg 15-177 (uneven numbers), 42-48 (even numbers); Hochwildpfad; Holzungsweg 1-47 (uneven numbers); Im Gestell 1-6, 8-36 (even numbers); Onkel-Tom-Straße 105-141 (uneven numbers); Reiherbeize; Riemeisterstraße 57-128, 129-133A, 133B (uneven numbers), 138-176 (even numbers), 151-185 (uneven numbers); Treibjagdweg; Waldhüterpfad; Wilskistraße 1-43 (Uneven numbers), 8-46a (even numbers)
14169 Berlin, Germany

Public transport: Onkel Toms Hütte

Today's use: apartments, shops, restaurants

A housing estate built in the forest with ideas of garden cities.

Description

Description

This district in Berlin-Zehlendorf was defined as exclusive, which is why no classic large housing estate was built. Between the relatively low apartment buildings with a maximum of four storeys and 2.5 room apartments, there were many single-family houses with 3.5 or 4.5 room apartments. A total of seven construction phases were created. Roughly speaking, Taut designed the central and northern areas, Salvisberg the southwestern and Häring the southeastern areas, shown on this map. The strong and different colours throughout the housing estate is the basic concept. In addition to the settlement, an own underground station was planned. In the vicinity of this centre, a number of shops emerged, as in the streets Riemeisterstraße and Wilskistraße.

The settlement's name is also often supplemented with Waldsiedlung, meaning forest settlement. Bruno Taut planned the buildings in the pine and birch forests typical for this region. The interaction between architecture and nature is seen particularly well in the triangle Argentinische Allee, Riemeisterstraße and Onkel-Tom-Straße. Along the northern side of the street Hochsitzweg, the single-family houses were provided with corners in order to be able to retain more trees. The Masters' houses in Dessau were also designed to match with the nature.

History

History

The area was built in seven phases between 1926 and 1931. There was already a lot of controversy at the time of its creation. "Too modern and too colourful". That is why the housing estate is colloquially referred to as a parrot settlement (Papageiensiedlung) or paint pot (Farbtopf). The flat roofs also caused a scandal. The so-called Zehlendorf roof war broke out in the street Am Fischtal. The flat roofs of the GEHAG settlement on the western side of the street and in contrast the pointed roofs of the Gagfah settlement on the eastern side of the street.

Since the single-family houses in the settlement were modernized in very different ways, this entire housing estate became not part of the Berlin UNESCO World Heritage housing estates in 2008.

The housing estate was named after Harriet Beecher Stowe's book Uncle Tom's Cabin. A restaurant owner with the name Thomas called his restaurant Uncle Tom's Cabin already in the 19th century. Another official name for this housing estate is Waldsiedlung Berlin-Zehlendorf.

Sources

Sources