DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.45213#0396
398
Hostel for single people and newly-wed couples
Floors reinforced concrete (15 cm slabs), spaces filled with Ackermann hollow bricks (30 x 25 x 10 cm);
restaurant's ceiling supported on hollow pillars (that drained rainwater from the balconies), with an
overhanging section supported on brackets; floor layers: linoleum, gypsum jointless floor (2 cm), sand
layer (2.5 cm), plates of reinforced concrete (5 cm), Ackermann hollow bricks (10 cm), piasterwork
(1.5 cm)
Flooring: linoleum, jointless floor (2 cm) on reinforced concrete floor
Roof: solid flat roofs, on Ackermann plate; flat roof over the right wing: asphalt board, jointless floor
(2 cm), slag concrete (6 cm), protective concrete layer (3 cm), insulation layer, plates of reinforced con-
crete (5 cm), Ackermann hollow blocks, piasterwork (1.5 cm); flat roof over the left wing - same as over
the right wing, plus external lining of concrete plates; flat roof over the central section: concrete plates
(40 x 60 cm), protective concrete layer (3 cm; sampling cuts reveal the presence of 5 cm layer of light-
weight concrete), layers of pressed tat (3.5 cm; sampling cuts reveal the presence of two layers, includ-
ing one reinforced with 1.5 cm planks), corkboards (3 cm), plates of reinforced concrete (5 cm), Acker-
mann hollow blocks, Rabitz mesh, piasterwork (1.5 cm).
DESCRIPTION (as of 1929):
For the WUWA model estate Hans Scharoun designed an innovative type of housing for modern urban
living: hostel for singles and newly-married couples. The architect insisted that the rapid development
of large urban agglomerations brought the need to expand beyond the traditional types of flats: The
modern city requires diverse housing solutions. Between the opposite poles of the detached house and the
hotel, between an adobe for the settled and a shelter for the nomads ... here I come.577. The right wing ac-
commodated 16 larger duplex (split-level) apartments for newly-wed couples (37 m2), in the left wing
there were 32 smaller duplex (split-level) apartments for single people (27 m2). One corridor, situated
on the northern side, in the middle of the building's height, served two storeys: from the corridor one
entered the small hall and descended down the stairs to the living room with the kitchen annex; from
there the stairs led down to the bedroom (located beneath the corridor) and the bathroom. The ad-
jacent module was accessible from the same corridor: up the stairs to the living room and from the
living room up again to the bedroom and bathroom. Thus, all the bedrooms faced the north and were
located either below or above the corridor. This way every apartment stretched through the building's
entire depth which ensured adequate ventilation. The bathrooms, situated between the living room
and the bedroom, were ventilated through the roof (by means of a ventilation duct). Scharoun empha-
sised his viewpoint by furnishing the interiors with furniture of his own design (tubular steel furniture,
built-in closets in the bedrooms and fitted cupboards in the living rooms) and modern mass-produced
pieces. The building's architectural form was equally innovative and original, distinguished by fluid,
dynamic lines, complex layering of volumes and windows arranged in horizontal strips. The hostel was
adjacent to Szczytnicki Park providing the dominating accent on the park's side. This hotel-style hous-
577 Johannes CRAMER, Niels GUTSCHOW, op.cit., p.140.
Hostel for single people and newly-wed couples
Floors reinforced concrete (15 cm slabs), spaces filled with Ackermann hollow bricks (30 x 25 x 10 cm);
restaurant's ceiling supported on hollow pillars (that drained rainwater from the balconies), with an
overhanging section supported on brackets; floor layers: linoleum, gypsum jointless floor (2 cm), sand
layer (2.5 cm), plates of reinforced concrete (5 cm), Ackermann hollow bricks (10 cm), piasterwork
(1.5 cm)
Flooring: linoleum, jointless floor (2 cm) on reinforced concrete floor
Roof: solid flat roofs, on Ackermann plate; flat roof over the right wing: asphalt board, jointless floor
(2 cm), slag concrete (6 cm), protective concrete layer (3 cm), insulation layer, plates of reinforced con-
crete (5 cm), Ackermann hollow blocks, piasterwork (1.5 cm); flat roof over the left wing - same as over
the right wing, plus external lining of concrete plates; flat roof over the central section: concrete plates
(40 x 60 cm), protective concrete layer (3 cm; sampling cuts reveal the presence of 5 cm layer of light-
weight concrete), layers of pressed tat (3.5 cm; sampling cuts reveal the presence of two layers, includ-
ing one reinforced with 1.5 cm planks), corkboards (3 cm), plates of reinforced concrete (5 cm), Acker-
mann hollow blocks, Rabitz mesh, piasterwork (1.5 cm).
DESCRIPTION (as of 1929):
For the WUWA model estate Hans Scharoun designed an innovative type of housing for modern urban
living: hostel for singles and newly-married couples. The architect insisted that the rapid development
of large urban agglomerations brought the need to expand beyond the traditional types of flats: The
modern city requires diverse housing solutions. Between the opposite poles of the detached house and the
hotel, between an adobe for the settled and a shelter for the nomads ... here I come.577. The right wing ac-
commodated 16 larger duplex (split-level) apartments for newly-wed couples (37 m2), in the left wing
there were 32 smaller duplex (split-level) apartments for single people (27 m2). One corridor, situated
on the northern side, in the middle of the building's height, served two storeys: from the corridor one
entered the small hall and descended down the stairs to the living room with the kitchen annex; from
there the stairs led down to the bedroom (located beneath the corridor) and the bathroom. The ad-
jacent module was accessible from the same corridor: up the stairs to the living room and from the
living room up again to the bedroom and bathroom. Thus, all the bedrooms faced the north and were
located either below or above the corridor. This way every apartment stretched through the building's
entire depth which ensured adequate ventilation. The bathrooms, situated between the living room
and the bedroom, were ventilated through the roof (by means of a ventilation duct). Scharoun empha-
sised his viewpoint by furnishing the interiors with furniture of his own design (tubular steel furniture,
built-in closets in the bedrooms and fitted cupboards in the living rooms) and modern mass-produced
pieces. The building's architectural form was equally innovative and original, distinguished by fluid,
dynamic lines, complex layering of volumes and windows arranged in horizontal strips. The hostel was
adjacent to Szczytnicki Park providing the dominating accent on the park's side. This hotel-style hous-
577 Johannes CRAMER, Niels GUTSCHOW, op.cit., p.140.