In 2012, while visiting Berlin for a job interview, I took the opportunity to visit three locations of the Modernism Housing Estates before my interview. The interview was at lunchtime, so I had ample time in the morning. I began my visit at Schillerstraße, then walked to Weiße Stadt before taking a bus and train to Wohnsiedlung Carl Legien.
My impression of these sites at the time aligns well with Ian's summary: In the suburbs of post World War 2 Germany, they look pretty common place, a testament to the significant influence of the architects (most notably Taut and Scharoun) and ideas behind them. What sets these early examples apart from their post-war imitations is their superior design. They exhibit thoughtful use of colour and form, a sense of artistry and artisanship, and a social commitment to enhancing workers' lives — qualities often missing in later copies.
These housing estates belong to the Neues Bauen movement, which is often confused with Bauhaus. While the two are closely related, they are distinct. While Bauhaus aimed to create architecture for the masses, it largely ended up catering to the wealthy; Fagus was built by and for the factory owner, not the workers. Neues Bauen, on the other hand, successfully provided affordable, modern housing for the working class — a legacy that continues today with these housing estates still providing affordable housing to Berliners.
Turns out, I got the job and visited Berlin frequently for work, though after-work visits to these suburban locations proved challenging due to their distance from the city centre.
Nearly a decade later, in September 2022, I received a private invitation to Berlin and stayed in Wedding at the Friedrich-Ebert-Siedlung. Though not part of the original World Heritage nomination, the Friedrich-Ebert-Siedlung is from the same period and belong to Neues Bauen as the architect is none other than Bruno Taut. Unfortunately, poor renovations excluded them from consideration. They are in the same neighbourhood as Schillerpark which we visited on a casual stroll. The next day, we visited the Bauhaus building in Bernau.
Eight months later, I finally made it to Britz. My host had become my girlfriend and she gifted me a three-night stay at Tautes Heim for my birthday — a pricey experience at over €500 for the minimum stay (fyi: we ended up splitting the cost). It’s the only way to actually experience the site's Outstanding Universal Value (OUV) first hand. The owners meticulously restored the building with great attention to historical details, including the furniture and most importantly the original colour schema by Taut. The picture is from the upstairs bedroom.
By today's standards, Tautes Heim is modest: steep stairs, a small kitchen, and no ground-floor bathroom. Yet it's a delightful place to stay, with a well-designed garden, a sunlit bedroom upstairs, and an efficient floor plan that fits many amenities into a small space. The hosts also have some info boards in the basement. Personally, I could well have seen us moving in and enjoying life in the suburbs. Small piece of trivia: The proprietors of Tautes Heim are descendants of the landscape architect (Ludwig Lesser) of Gartenstadt Falkenberg.
Only parts of the Britz settlement are inscribed. There were competing building companies at work: a progressive/socialist (GEHAG and Taut) and a conservative one (Degewo). This provides a clear contrast between the traditional architecture and Neues Bauen while you visit.
Later that year, we took guided tours of Siemensstadt and the proposed extension at Waldsiedlung Zehlendorf. Zehlendorf was underwhelming both as a tour and as a potential extension. A renovated Friedrich-Ebert-Siedlung would likely be a better extension candidate. Siemensstadt stood out as an unusual location, built as a company suburb for Siemens, which once employed 65,000 people in Berlin and even operated its own train line to their factories. The tour was memorable, offering valuable historical context.
The final piece of the puzzle was Tuschkastensiedlung, which we visited in November — more than 12 years after my first visit to Schillerpark. It's the most remote location and rather small in size. Of the bunch, it is also the oldest one, i.e. pre World War 1 when the rest were created in Weimar Germany (post World War 1). Gartenstadt (Garden City) Falkenberg still shows very strong links to the original British Garden City template, the main deviation being Taut's colours. I would consider Falkenberg a transitional location. While all housing estates have green areas and attached large public parks (Schillerpark literally means park of Schiller), the post World War 1 examples are distinct from the British movement.
For those with limited time in Berlin, I recommend prioritizing Britz. With the Hufeisen and Red Wall, it offers iconic structures and a comprehensive experience. If time is very tight, Carl Legien is the most accessible but lacks iconic elements and will not give you much appreciation of the OUV. Schillerpark and Weiße Stadt are within walking distance of each other and make a convenient pair. In addition, the area has more housing estates from the period, providing ample opportunities to explore the architecture of Weimar Republic Berlin, including the tainted Heimatschutz style. Siemensstadt features the widest range of architects but lacks a cohesive feel and as sole company town it's not very representative of the locations. Tuschkasten is only suited for completionists.
Historic Background
The tour we took of Siemensstadt was very entertaining and informative. The guide hammered home why these buildings are important and what their OUV is. Key bit you need to understand is that Germany pre World War 1 was ... very conservative. It also wasn't very friendly to workers or renters. Basically, a building in Berlin only needed to meet two criteria and both were related to fire: The facade wasn't allowed to be higher than the street, so if it were to fall it would not start a fire across the street. And the inner yards needed to be large enough for the fire fighters to turn their carriage (5.34x5.34m). There were no requirements on light, sanitation, maximum occupancy, ventilation, ...
It was common for people to sleep in shifts in these flats, i.e. that you would rent out your bed for the day while you were off working, like a bunk bed in a barrack. The name of these buildings was "Mietskaserne" (rental barrack). The typical Mietskaserne was built in Blockrandbebauung, that means every building (Bebauung) reached the full edge (Rand) of the area (Block) and would connect with backwards buildings via multiple inner court yards sized min. 5.34.x5.34m. No room for greenery.
After World War 1 Berlin faced a massive housing crisis due to returning soldiers, fleeing Germans, and the economic crisis driving people to the capital. With the restrictions of the Empire lifted, progressive minds set to find new solutions. Apart from the many involved architects, Martin Wagner in his role as politician (he was also an architect) had a key influence by driving the construction of new buildings for the lower classes in Berlin. It should be noted that for their time these buildings were very luxurious, intentionally, each having their own toilets in a time when most toilets were shared between multiple flats. Wagner also came up with a way to finance these building projects. The hyper inflation of 1923 basically devalued most financial assets, but real estate kept its value. It was via a dedicated real estate tax that new housing was paid for, giving many German modernist architects ample opportunities to practice their craft.
Looking at today's housing challenges in Berlin, I am ambivalent on the historic lesson. On the one hand side, if crisis ridden, hyper inflationary and broke Weimar Germany can solve housing, today's wealthy and stable Germany should easily be able to, too. On the other hand, we aren't.
In a twist of irony, the former Mietskasernen have become quite sought after. With some renovations (toilets, windows) and a 50% lower occupancy these are quite nice flats.
Getting There
It follows from their history, that the sites are mostly located outside the S-Bahn Ring of Berlin in what used to be the outskirts of Berlin; they aren't anymore. Again, following from their history, all sites have good public transport connections with subways or rail linking them up. Given their distribution (Siemensstadt West, Schillerpark and Weiße Stadt North, CarL Legien North West, and Britz and Falkenberg South East), covering all locations in a day means spending a lot of time on trains.
Getting In
There really aren't many options to experience the "housing" in "housing estates". Tautes Heim is basically your only option. It's a very nice experience, but often booked months in advance and it comes with a high price point. At Britz, there is also a small exhibition, but the opening times (Sundays) weren't working for us when we stayed. At Siemensstadt, there used to be one. Otherwise, I am a bit at a loss. While I appreciate, housing being used as housing, making a world heritage site accessible, should be part of the deal; here, it isn't.
While You Are There
Germany aims to extend the site by including Zehlendorf. On our visit, it didn't add much to the overall experience and given it's yet again far off location (South West), I wouldn't make the effort. The Friedrich Ebert Siedlung meanwhile is near Schillerstraße and should be included in a visit. If you compare the renovated parts with the old ones, you can see what a difference the original colours by Taut make. You also can see Brick Stone Expressionism and the Heimatschutz style in Wedding. Last but not least, Wedding sheds a little light on the colonial past of Germany with the Afrikanisches Viertel.
If you are interested in Neues Bauen or Bauhaus, Berlin offers many additional sites, most notably the AEG Turbinenhalle and the union building in Bernau (WHS).
