DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.45213#0059
55
BASEL 1930
WOBA exhibition - Eglisee colony
August 16th - September 14th
The Eglisee model colony was to complement a presentation staged in an exhibition hall. Thirteen
Swiss architects and architectural studios participated in designing the development: Kellermuller
& Hofmann, von der Miihll & Oberrauch, E.F. Burckhardt, Steger & Egender, Braillard, Scher-
rer & Meyer, August Hochel, Gilliard & Godet, Mumenthhaler & Meier, Artaria & Schmidt, with
August Kiinzel serving as site architect. The development comprised of multi-unit tenement hous-
es (including a gallery-access block of flats) and row- houses.
The Swiss Werkbund exhibition in Basel had been inspired by the Stuttgart project. The organisers
were keen on demonstrating new progressive tendencies in living space design on Swiss land, par-
ticularly the modern approaches to buildings with compact flats. A local building co-operative in
Basel, called Baseler Wohngenossenschaft Eglisee, agreed to open the buildings and apartments to
the public for a period of 4 weeks before the residents would move in. Like in Karlsruhe a year earlier,
the development was financed under a municipal housing plan and was to be shown to the public
as part of the exhibition.
The Eglisee colony in Basel was a continuation of the building activity of two co-operatives,
Lange Erlen and Ruttibrunnen, which had built houses for large families in Basel's Schorenmatten
district from March through to October 1929. They had been designed by August Kiinzel in collabo-
ration with the architectural firm of Artaria & Schmidt. 63 state-subsidised flats had been built for
the Lange Erlen co-operative and 26 flats for the members of the Ruttibrunnen co-operative, with
no public assistance.
The houses in Schorenmatten were arranged in a manner corresponding to that used the pre-
vious year at Dammerstock in Karlsruhe, in straight parallel rows (Zeilenbauweise). Here, however,
the architects decided on a cost-cutting measure - to erect houses with identical layouts on both
sides of the street and therefore each layout had two mirror-like positions. The project would be of
enormous importance for the WOBA development to be built the following year. The project thus
emphasised the cost-cutting advantage of flat roofs and served as a testing ground for a new func-
tional approach to living space design. The Schorenmatten estate was often regarded as part of the
WOBA exhibition. Located in the vicinity of the Eglisee development, its houses and gardens having
already been lived-in for a year before the opening of the WOBA exhibition (including one left as
a show house) provided a preview of the ideas which would represent the Werkbund project.
The 1930 WOBA exhibition was the first Swiss initiative intended to showcase modern living
space design. As it has already been mentioned, it consisted of two sections: the topical exhibition
and the model housing estate built on land owned by the Eglisee housing cooperative. The exhi-
bition featured, among others, the WOBA hotel designed by A.R. Strassle, F. Raining, and H. Leu,
a group of houses built behind the Badisher Bahnhof with 28 flats designed by E. Mumenthaler, and
a presentation of building materials.
BASEL 1930
WOBA exhibition - Eglisee colony
August 16th - September 14th
The Eglisee model colony was to complement a presentation staged in an exhibition hall. Thirteen
Swiss architects and architectural studios participated in designing the development: Kellermuller
& Hofmann, von der Miihll & Oberrauch, E.F. Burckhardt, Steger & Egender, Braillard, Scher-
rer & Meyer, August Hochel, Gilliard & Godet, Mumenthhaler & Meier, Artaria & Schmidt, with
August Kiinzel serving as site architect. The development comprised of multi-unit tenement hous-
es (including a gallery-access block of flats) and row- houses.
The Swiss Werkbund exhibition in Basel had been inspired by the Stuttgart project. The organisers
were keen on demonstrating new progressive tendencies in living space design on Swiss land, par-
ticularly the modern approaches to buildings with compact flats. A local building co-operative in
Basel, called Baseler Wohngenossenschaft Eglisee, agreed to open the buildings and apartments to
the public for a period of 4 weeks before the residents would move in. Like in Karlsruhe a year earlier,
the development was financed under a municipal housing plan and was to be shown to the public
as part of the exhibition.
The Eglisee colony in Basel was a continuation of the building activity of two co-operatives,
Lange Erlen and Ruttibrunnen, which had built houses for large families in Basel's Schorenmatten
district from March through to October 1929. They had been designed by August Kiinzel in collabo-
ration with the architectural firm of Artaria & Schmidt. 63 state-subsidised flats had been built for
the Lange Erlen co-operative and 26 flats for the members of the Ruttibrunnen co-operative, with
no public assistance.
The houses in Schorenmatten were arranged in a manner corresponding to that used the pre-
vious year at Dammerstock in Karlsruhe, in straight parallel rows (Zeilenbauweise). Here, however,
the architects decided on a cost-cutting measure - to erect houses with identical layouts on both
sides of the street and therefore each layout had two mirror-like positions. The project would be of
enormous importance for the WOBA development to be built the following year. The project thus
emphasised the cost-cutting advantage of flat roofs and served as a testing ground for a new func-
tional approach to living space design. The Schorenmatten estate was often regarded as part of the
WOBA exhibition. Located in the vicinity of the Eglisee development, its houses and gardens having
already been lived-in for a year before the opening of the WOBA exhibition (including one left as
a show house) provided a preview of the ideas which would represent the Werkbund project.
The 1930 WOBA exhibition was the first Swiss initiative intended to showcase modern living
space design. As it has already been mentioned, it consisted of two sections: the topical exhibition
and the model housing estate built on land owned by the Eglisee housing cooperative. The exhi-
bition featured, among others, the WOBA hotel designed by A.R. Strassle, F. Raining, and H. Leu,
a group of houses built behind the Badisher Bahnhof with 28 flats designed by E. Mumenthaler, and
a presentation of building materials.