#interbau

Haus der Kulturen der Welt (House Of World Cultures), formerly the Kongresshalle, Berlin

Together with the Weissenhof and Dammerstock Estates the Hansaviertel in Berlin is one of the most important showcases of modern architecture in Germany. It was conceived for the 1957 international building exhibition „Interbau“ and involved more than 50 architects from all over the Western world, among them Walter Gropius, Oscar Niemeyer, Arne Jacobsen and Egon Eiermann. At the same time it was a reaction to the GDR’s model project Stalinallee in East-Berlin which the initiators sought to outshine with a gathering of modernist buildings representing contemporary visions of dwelling.

That these visions over the course of almost 70 years haven’t lost any of their appeal proves the present volume by Anna Frey and Caterina Rancho: in „Hansaviertel Portraits“, published recently by Distanz Verlag, the authors revisit the architecture of the Hansaviertel and portray twelve locals in their apartments. The result is a wonderful stroll through the neighborhood in which the reader gets to stop at each building, receives information about it and its architect(s) and occasionally is invited in to peek into the apartments of some of the inhabitants. The first stop is Daniel’s apartment in Paul Baumgarten’s Eternithaus: with a great attention to the historic detail he has winkled out the lofty character of the apartment, underscored by few but carefully selected pieces of furniture. In fact, the attention to detail as well as respect and appreciation for the original character of each apartment is what connects all portrayed individuals. Anna and Thomas for example, who live in the so-called „Schwedenhaus“ by Fritz Jaenecke and Sten Samuelson, have juxtaposed the clean and brightly lit character of their apartment with jazzy furnishings that come into their own perfectly in the otherwise reduced ambience.

sunday blues