DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.45213#0218
218
Urban planning
The opinions about the experimental estate were varied. Ernst May praised the initiative in Das neue
Frankfurt: "I have toured the WUWA with considerable scepticism since for a long time I have been
against projects that present apartments erected specially for exhibition purposes. Such a pro-
gramme carries with it an inherent risk that the architects involved may submit to the temptation to
show something special and consequently produce an opposite effect because an apartment is best
when (...) the designer's intention is least visible. Overall, the WUWA makes a strong impression. Not
disheartened by the narrow-minded people, a ubiquitous species, the city has shown great courage
to present an experimental colony which is an unwavering manifestation of Neues Bauen."444
The new approach to architectural form and urban planning was not always appreciated, par-
ticularly by traditionalists. Once the exhibition had opened, some commentators criticised its hap-
hazard overall layout and lack of spatial integrity445. Many admired the picturesque arrangement of
the houses, a remarkable achievement considering the exhibition's focused and quite strictly de-
fined programme, but observed that the estate had not been integrated with the city. Another critic
complained about the absence of "decentralised urban planning and the missing functional relation
between the living quarters and the garden (...) in the life of the new man in the new home."446 It was
observed that the "spreading", flat buildings and their arrangements echoed the flat terrain.447 The
architects were criticised for taking no account of the respective alignment of each house, resulting
in not always optimal interior lighting.448
444 M. [Ernst May ?], op.cit., p.204.
445 Georg MUNTER, op.cit., p.441. 'While the layout of the development's southern wing shows an attempt at disciplined planning, its western
section is so chaotic that the houses look like they would be scattered around without any plan whatsoever. Likewise, the balance of the
southern wing has been thrown off by the back of the flats designed by Adolf Rading: tall, articulated and brutal in terms of scale.'
446 L.M., op.cit., p. 55.
447 Edith RISCHOWSKI, op.cit., p.401.
443 Gustav LAMPMANN, op.cit., p.463. The author points out that 'in the case of blocks with small flats, a consistent adherence to the north-
south alignment of the building would have been more advantageous. (...) In Scharoun's building the bedrooms have a north-eastern position
and sunlight can reach them only in the early morning and only during the summer. It is a pity that the alignment of the buildings within the
experimental estate lacks consistency'. This was probably dictated by the site's limited area, but had the buildings' alignment been uniformly
consistent, the estate would have been much less picturesque. Edgar NORWERTEI, op.cit, p.328. In terms of architectural composition, the
estate has no master plan. The buildings' alignment seems unrelated to their respective sites and it is difficult to discern any unifying principle
in the overall layout. Nevertheless, the general impression is favourable because of a certain unity of architectural style, giving coherence to
the somewhat accidental arrangement of the buildings'.
Urban planning
The opinions about the experimental estate were varied. Ernst May praised the initiative in Das neue
Frankfurt: "I have toured the WUWA with considerable scepticism since for a long time I have been
against projects that present apartments erected specially for exhibition purposes. Such a pro-
gramme carries with it an inherent risk that the architects involved may submit to the temptation to
show something special and consequently produce an opposite effect because an apartment is best
when (...) the designer's intention is least visible. Overall, the WUWA makes a strong impression. Not
disheartened by the narrow-minded people, a ubiquitous species, the city has shown great courage
to present an experimental colony which is an unwavering manifestation of Neues Bauen."444
The new approach to architectural form and urban planning was not always appreciated, par-
ticularly by traditionalists. Once the exhibition had opened, some commentators criticised its hap-
hazard overall layout and lack of spatial integrity445. Many admired the picturesque arrangement of
the houses, a remarkable achievement considering the exhibition's focused and quite strictly de-
fined programme, but observed that the estate had not been integrated with the city. Another critic
complained about the absence of "decentralised urban planning and the missing functional relation
between the living quarters and the garden (...) in the life of the new man in the new home."446 It was
observed that the "spreading", flat buildings and their arrangements echoed the flat terrain.447 The
architects were criticised for taking no account of the respective alignment of each house, resulting
in not always optimal interior lighting.448
444 M. [Ernst May ?], op.cit., p.204.
445 Georg MUNTER, op.cit., p.441. 'While the layout of the development's southern wing shows an attempt at disciplined planning, its western
section is so chaotic that the houses look like they would be scattered around without any plan whatsoever. Likewise, the balance of the
southern wing has been thrown off by the back of the flats designed by Adolf Rading: tall, articulated and brutal in terms of scale.'
446 L.M., op.cit., p. 55.
447 Edith RISCHOWSKI, op.cit., p.401.
443 Gustav LAMPMANN, op.cit., p.463. The author points out that 'in the case of blocks with small flats, a consistent adherence to the north-
south alignment of the building would have been more advantageous. (...) In Scharoun's building the bedrooms have a north-eastern position
and sunlight can reach them only in the early morning and only during the summer. It is a pity that the alignment of the buildings within the
experimental estate lacks consistency'. This was probably dictated by the site's limited area, but had the buildings' alignment been uniformly
consistent, the estate would have been much less picturesque. Edgar NORWERTEI, op.cit, p.328. In terms of architectural composition, the
estate has no master plan. The buildings' alignment seems unrelated to their respective sites and it is difficult to discern any unifying principle
in the overall layout. Nevertheless, the general impression is favourable because of a certain unity of architectural style, giving coherence to
the somewhat accidental arrangement of the buildings'.