Hansaviertel

Once upon a time, there was a village. Actually, there were a bunch of villages. And these villages were really cities. And these cities were all part of a league. The league was not for justice, but rather so people could make a lot of money off of other people who weren't making money making things that other people with money wanted. These people called themselves the Hanseatic League, and they thought they did a pretty good job of creating and protecting cities. So when the small locality located between the Tiergarten and the Spree in Berlin was built, the people who built it thought it would be a pretty good idea to name it after this league. The Hansaplatz, located in the center of the small locality, contains an U-Bahn, a theater, a library, and a church. The buildings in and around Hansaviertel were built by different architects from around Germany and the rest of Europe.

I (Rachel) did not like Hansaviertel's aesthetic aspects. It thoroughly reminded me of my frustration with the Gropius reading, and how I really LIKE that everything and everyone is different. I enjoy seeing quirky things about neighborhoods and people, rather than being forced to look at the same thing over and over like I was in Hansaviertel. I felt trapped in in the neighborhood, and wanted to leave as fast as I could. It was interesting though because the people there did not seem devoid of culture (the theater looked like it was playing some interesting shows), books (hansabucherei in the middle of the platz), or happiness (lots of babies playing. Everywhere.), but I really couldn't imagine ever living in such a place.

Our visit to the Hansaviertel encouraged us to explore different parts of Berlin that we probably would have never explored on our own. We stayed there for a little over an hour, walking the streets and taking snapshots of the tall, concrete apartment complexes that had an odd contrast in color; all were gray but had light blue, yellow, or red palettes—one building even had all three of those primary colors! It was a weird choice of color combination—but I guess it added color to the neighborhood!

The architecture that was in Hansaviertel was fairly modern and had little differences aside from the color palettes and adorned no decorations at all (aside from the occasional lonely flower pot sitting somewhere). According to Walter Groupis, “…but seem senseless for people to surround themselves with imitations of past times—Gothic, Rococo, Renaissance, Baroque—so utterly different in structure from our own.” Groupis highlighted on the fact that most architecture is built with reference to the past. He stated, “the effect of imitating past styles for both the interior and exterior of our buildings is just silly as if we were to wander about our streets in the clothing and hairdos of those times.” He believed that mimicking past styles, concepts, methods, medium, and etc. of the past is ridiculous. If one would like to establish one’s own identity in society, one must begin to think of new, modernized techniques that align with the present time, “Modern individuals of 1926 need cities, buildings, dwellings, and appliances from their own time, the clear results in form and technology of the means and methods that our intellectual achievements have made available.” I almost felt overwhelmed by the fact that everything appeared so dull…and gray. The buildings weren’t ugly—I guess they lacked history for me. I’m sure these structures have an interesting history, but their physicality only says to me that they were built in an organized and industrial way to accommodate the citizens of Hansaviertel and nothing else. Despite that, it was a fun and knowledgeable experience for my group and me. We enjoyed the autumn leaves and the cool, refreshing breeze.

The Hansaviertel neighborhood is home to a housing project referred to as Interbau, the buildings representing the modern, post-war world. The feelings that these buildings inspire at this point in time must be different than those of the late 50’s, as I felt they looked oppressive and cheap. I have been surrounded by architectural design that inspires feelings of beauty, for most of my life at least, and though the Interbau buildings have an embedded philosophy that brings power to the structures, the aesthetic quality left me feeling that they were relics of East Berlin, rather than the west. The slab buildings have little character besides small embellishments of color, or sections of differing construction materials, like brick. What kept coming to mind was that this uniformity and utilitarian feel was intentional, a way to construct residences with this Gropius quote as a basis for design:
“There is no justification for the fact that every house in our new outlying developments displays a different floor plan, a different exterior appearance, a different construction style, and different construction materials. On the contrary, such variety exhibits senseless waste and the uncultivated formlessness of a parvenu However, making houses completely uniform must be avoided, for the violation of individuality is always short-sighted and wrong. The planned construction methods must therefore aim at standardization and industrial reproduction of structural elements, not entire buildings…” – Gropius, pg. 442

To move away from the past is a progressive act towards the future, and at the time, these buildings looked closer to 1970’s designs, but in contrast to the last fifty years’ worth of architectural development, which always seems to include elements of the past, these buildings look dated. I am reminded of those films from the fifties that would show “the world of tomorrow”, with automatic houses and vehicles that looked futuristic at the time, but now look like relics of the age in which they were created. This quote from a long term resident of Interbau highlights the impression of the time: “My father could have bought an old villa in Dahlem" for the same amount of money, "but he was convinced the future was being built here” - Peter Schaefer, NYTimes.com - Berlin's Hansaviertel at 50
Though the Interbau development was an attempt to reach a wondrous, futuristic point of design, I find that idea of the future to be drab and sad. Like I said though, the idea was attractive at a time, so the buildings stand, to me, as a monument of time rather than attractive design.

The Hansaviertal is a modern housing community rebuilt in 1957. According to Gropius, the modern movement in building focused on creating a new architectural style that represented that time period. As a result, fundamental concepts included organic forms and maximizing simple spaces and new materials (glass, concrete, and iron). As we walked through the Hansaviertal, we noticed that the residential buildings reflected the modern movement because they were simple, minimalistic, straight-edged, and made of mainly glass, concrete, and iron. Also, most were painted in white or drab, grey tones with spots of primary colors (red, blue, and yellow).

We really like that the buildings are spaced out, surrounded by greenery, and felt like its own community. Since the buildings were further apart, it made the whole area feel more accessible and open. The incorporation of green spaces and views of the Tiergarten created a closer connection to and appreciation of nature. The prime location is really special because not only can residents feel closer to nature, but also everything was close by. The Hansa library, Hansaplatz U-bahn station, Grips Theater, Akademie der Kunste, grocery store, apothkare, and churches were all in walking distance.