Page 36 - Dreamscapes Magazine | Winter 2021-2022

BELOW: The bar area with its modern design at the Kino International, which is a cinema on Karl-Marx-Allee 33 in Berlin. Today, the historic building serves as one of the venues of the annual Berlin International Film Festival. visitBerlin/Angela Kröll BOTTOM LEFT: Spiral staircase at the German Steelworkers Union in Berlin. visitBerlin/Angela Kröll BOTTOM RIGHT: Cafe Moskau in the Karl-Marx-Allee. visitBerlin OPPOSITE LEFT: Out for a winter stroll in the Tiergarten. visitBerlin/Wolfgang Scholvien OPPOSITE RIGHT: The Bauhaus Building in Dessau, Germany, designed by architect Walter Gropius (1925/26) is a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site. German National Tourist Board/Mette Willert
Known as the Gropiushaus, it was designed by Berlin-born Walter Gropius, who is considered the “Father of Bauhaus.” A pio- neer in minimalist architectural design, his revolutionary form-follows-function design concept carved a path in an architectural movement that would permeate around the globe throughout the 20th century.
Next to this architectural period piece looms another high-rise by famed Finnish architect Alvar Aalto that, depending on the angle, looks like one building or two sepa- rate houses. Its neighbour, designed by another fellow titan of modernism, Oscar Niemeyer, is supported by V-shaped pillars that create a sheltered walkway. In all, we are surrounded by dozens of angular, striking edifices that represent the most renowned names of modern architecture.
THE BATTLE OF THE BLUEPRINT...
The architectural legacy of this quiet neigh- bourhood is tied to one of post-war Berlin’s most fascinating chapters of history. The Hansaviertel was decimated in the Second World War like much of central Berlin. When it came time to reconstruct the urban residential quarter to rehouse families, the Cold War was in full swing. In response to the enormous Stalinesque workers palaces that were springing up in Communist East Berlin, the burgermeisters of West Berlin devised their own housing project. They
announced an international competition known as the Interbau, a model housing plan that would introduce the “City of Tomorrow.” The ideals of West Germany’s social democracy would be built into each architect’s design for this grand exhibition.
More than 50 renowned modernist archi- tects from around the world were invited to construct modern residences. Walter Gropius, Oscar Niemeyer, Le Corbusier, Alvar Aalto and Arne Jacobsen are among the greats who signed up to deliver a high- rise dwelling, bungalow or detached house which, together, turned modernist dreams of urban living into reality. Every building has its own green space to play or hang out in. Every family has their own balcony!
...ENDS IN A DRAW
My guide David tells me that the Hansaviertel project captured the imagination of all West Berliners. Actress Marlene Dietrich even helped raise money for the project. When the Interbau exhibition finally launched in 1957 a million people came to see it.
Sadly, after its promising Berlin debut, the “City of Tomorrow” was never fully realized. Only 32 of Hansaviertel’s 48 designs have ever been completed. Cost overruns came into reality. The hugely influential Swiss modernist Le Corbusier ran into municipal battles over design elements of his Unité d’Habitation building. The monumental
36 DREAMSCAPES WINTER 2021/2022