World Heritage Site Weisse Stadt Berlin
by Thomas Michael Kruger, illustrated by Florian Bolk
World Heritage Site Weisse Stadt Housing Development Berlin-Reinickendorf, 1929 -1931 Architects: Otto Rudolf Salvisberg (1882- 1940), Bruno Ahrends (1878 – 1948), Wilhelm Buning (1881-1958), Martin Wagner (1885- 1957) Open-space planning: Ludwig Lesser (1869- 1957) The housing development in Reinickendorf embodies the ideals of the Neues Bauen (new building) movement in a way that is purer and more distinct than any other housing development in Berlin from the ’20s. In particular the white, unembellished facades of the matter-of-fact, flat-roofed buildings, the two townhouses and the so-called Bruckenhaus or bridge building make this complex an icon of housing-development construction in this reform-oriented – period. In 2008, it was awarded UNESCO world heritage status, along with five other Berlin housing developments. Dubbed the Weisse Stadt (White City) by locals, the residential development in Aroser Allee was designed and built between 1929 and 1931 by three architects: Bruno Ahrends, Wilhelm Buning and Otto Rudolf Salvisberg. It is the first housing development in Berlin that consists entirely of apartment buildings. Terraced or single-family houses are eliminated in a complex that stands for the radical modernisation of tradition – al residential buildings – clearly turning its back on the five-storey dense block structures built around gloomy rear courtyards that were once so char acteristic of Berlin. The facades of these new buildings were painted white to enhance the impact of light, air and sun. By avoiding the use of ornamental stucco, the architects sought to emphasise the break with the past, rejecting superfluous decoration in favour of pure, abstract forms.
- By (author) Thomas Michael Kruger
- Illustrated by Florian Bolk
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