• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

Hansaviertel Berlin

Hansaviertel Berlin

  • English
  • Deutsch
  • Interbau 1957 live
    • Interactive map
    • Guided Tours
  • Interbau 1957
    • The History of Interbau 1957
    • Architects
    • Buildings
    • the city of tomorrow
    • Landscape architecture
    • Art
    • Unité d’habitation and the Congress Hall
    • Impressions
  • History
    • History until 1933
    • The years 1933–1945
    • November 22nd, 1943
    • The years 1945–1953
    • Jewish Neighbors
    • Prominent residents
    • Views of the old Hansaviertel
  • Actuality
    • News
    • Marketplace
    • Hansaviertel for children and young people
    • Sources of the Hansaviertel
  • Bürgerverein
    • About us
    • Activities and Working Groups
    • Partner
    • Charter
    • Become a member
    • Shop
  • UNESCO
    • On the way to becoming a World Heritage Site
    • Coalition Agreement
    • Submission
  • Downloads
  • Interbau 1957 live
    • Interaktive Map
    • Guided Tours
  • Interbau 1957
    • The History of Interbau 1957
    • Architects
    • Buildings
    • Impressions
  • History
    • History until 1933
    • The years 1933–1945
    • November 22nd, 1943
    • The years 1945–1953
    • Jewish Neighbors
    • Prominent residents
    • Views of the old Hansaviertel
  • Actuality
  • Bürgerverein
    • About us
    • Activities and Working Groups
    • Partner
    • Charter
  • UNESCO
    • On the way to becoming a World Heritage Site
    • Coalition Agreement
    • Submission
    • Publication of the proposal
Start | Interbau 1957 | Landscape architecture

Landscape architecture

“The greenery and the feeling of space can be felt in every room and at every front door.” (1)

The green spaces in the Hansaviertel of Interbau

For the urban architecture of the Hansaviertel, the green spaces are as fundamental as the buildings themselves. Indeed, they were an integral feature in the winning plans in the Ideas Competition for the Reconstruction of the Hansaviertel in 1953, won by Gerhard Jobst and Willy Kreuer, along with Wilhelm Schließer. In a radical departure from the “stone city” structures typical of the imperial era, consisting of dense building developments and narrow alleyways, the architects proposed a Hansaviertel that was extensively landscaped. By building upwards on a small surface area, Jobst and Kreuer’s design reduced the area physically taken up by the building, thereby making large open spaces possible. The borders between the residential areas and the green area of Tiergarten were dissolved so that both could merge into each other, and the architects positioned the proposed high-rise buildings in two “bays” opening up onto Tiergarten. In addition, in the final layout of the Hansaviertel, a drop in height of the buildings towards Tiergarten and the wide spaces between the buildings allowed the green to enter into the residential area. While the ratio between built-up areas and green spaces was 1 to 1.5 in the old Hansaviertel, a ratio of 1 to 5.5 was achieved in the new Hansaviertel.

Fünf Bereiche werden von insgesamt 10 Landschaftsarchitekten geplant
The five planning areas for the landscape architects in the Hansaviertel Landesarchiv Berlin, Amtlicher Katalog der Internationalen Bauausstellung Berlin 1957
Model of the Hansaviertel Landesarchiv Berlin, Amtlicher Katalog der Internationalen Bauausstellung Berlin 1957

Section I by René Pechère (1908–2002) and Hermann Mattern (1902–1971)
Section II by Otto Valentien (1897–1987) and Ernst Cramer (1898–1980)
Section III by Herta Hammerbacher (1900–1985) and the Swede Edvard Jacobson (1923–1986)
Section IV by Gustav Lüttge (1909–1968) and Pietro Porcinai (1910–1986)
Section V by Wilhelm Hübotter (1895–1976) and Carl Theodor Sorensen (1893–1979)

To have modern designs of the highest quality for the open spaces, the Senate commissioned five teams, each team being responsible for one section and consisting of a German and an international garden designer. Sitting on almost every committee of Interbau, the landscape architect Walter Rossow (1910–1992) played an important role by advocating that the planning of the landscape and the planning of the buildings should be of equal importance. Time and again, Rossow pointed to the discrepancy between the motto of Interbau – “people in a green metropolis” (2) – and the lack of a dedicated landscaped design for the Hansaviertel. In a 1955 article “Green Spaces in the Hansaviertel” (3), Rossow called for the close collaboration between the structural architects and the landscape architects during the design phase, and at his insistence the steering committee decided to involve landscape architects in the planning of the Hansaviertel. The teams of garden designers eventually started work at the beginning of 1956 (4), though only after the layout had been completed and after most of the buildings had been designed.

Elevated slab apartment block by Oscar Niemeyer Landesarchiv Berlin, Foto: Horst Siegmann
Courtyard garden as a “green room”, single-family house by Eduard Ludwig Landesarchiv Berlin, Foto: Horst Siegmann

As a guide for the landscape architecture, Rossow stated that the green spaces should neither be decoration, nor should they be “romantic landscapes”. Rather, spaces should be created out of the “freely and openly positioned houses and trees, and in the transition towards the parkland” (5) of Tiergarten. Moreover, a “visible connection between the outside and the inside” (6) should emerge. Otto Bartning also pointed out that the green spaces should be made “pleasant for the residents and their children” (7), a requirement which was widespread in the 1950s and which was also advocated by the landscape architect Hermann Mattern in his book “Die Wohnlandschaft”. (8)

At the same time, the green should enter into the houses, for example by having the courtyard gardens of single-family homes act as a “green room”, which was realized in the atrium and courtyard houses of the Hansaviertel. Efforts to dissolve the borders between the green areas and the buildings are also apparent in the slab buildings of the quarter. For example, Oscar Niemeyer’s elevated apartment block on Altonaer Straße allows views into the green and guides the open space through the building. Shared spaces are divided up through the modelling of the ground, pathways with different paving and the installation of trellis fences and seating. In the larger green areas, individually placed tall trees, ornamental shrubs and connecting paths form the transition into Tiergarten.

Plans for the open spaces by Herta Hammerbacher and Edvard Jacobson Bezirksamt Tiergarten von Berlin, Abt. Bau- und Wohnungswesen, Naturschutz- und Grünflächenamt / 1993
Laying pattern of the paving slabs on Hansaplatz by Herta Hammerbacher Bezirksamt Tiergarten von Berlin, Abt. Bau- und Wohnungswesen, Naturschutz- und Grünflächenamt / 1993
Design of Hansaplatz by Herta Hammerbacher near the slab apartment blocks by Egon Eiermann and Oscar Niemeyer Landesarchiv Berlin, Foto: Unbekannt
Reading garden in the Hansa Library by Werner Düttmann Landesarchiv Berlin, Foto: Horst Siegmann
Design of the green area between the slab block by Alvar Aalto (left) and the so-called Schwedenhaus (right, partial view) Landesarchiv Berlin, Foto: Otto Hagemann
Altonaer Straße in front of the slab apartment block by Oscar Niemeyer and the viewing crane on Hansaplatz. Landesarchiv Berlin, Foto: unbekannt

An outstanding example of this is the design of Hansaplatz by Herta Hammerbacher, who was the only woman among the landscape and building architects involved in the creation of the new Hansaviertel. Largely undefined by architecture, the vast square was planted with tall-growing trees, which appear to be randomly arranged, looking like they have always been a part of Tiergarten. An organically laid-out path system unobtrusively gives structure to the large grassy areas of the square. Partly made out of customised slabs, the laying pattern of the paving on the square was particularly admired. In some places, irregular shapes are created by gently radial patterns made up of light and dark concrete slabs and Bernburger crazy paving reaching out into the grassy areas. As this surface covering features only in certain areas of the vast square rather than over the whole area, it appears as though the paving flows through the residential area, just as the green area of Tiergarten flows through the housing development. Moreover, this paving pattern unites the residential area. This is particularly successful at the corner of Altonaer Straße and Klopstockstraße, where the pattern continues on the corresponding side of the road, optically connecting the different parts of the square. Hammerbacher thereby integrated the design of the green areas with the town planning and architectural guiding principles of Interbau.


Dr. Sandra Wagner-Conzelmann

 


Die Lanschaftsarchitekten des Hansaviertels

Hermann Mattern © Landesarchiv Berlin
Otto Valentin © Landesarchiv Berlin
René Pechère
Ernst Cramer
Herta Hammerbacher © Landesarchiv Berlin
Gustav Lüttge © Landesarchiv Berlin
Petro Porciani © Landesarchiv Berlin
Walter Russow © Landesarchiv Berlin
Wilhelm Hübotter © Landesarchiv Berlin

> Art

Primary Sidebar

Interactive map

Building types

  • Solitary high-rises
  • Slab high-rises
  • Linear buildings
  • Special buildings
  • Bungalows

Buildings

  • All buildings
  • Klopstockstraße 7-11
    Hans C. Müller
  • Klopstockstraße 13-17
    Günther Gottwald
  • Klopstockstraße 19–23
    W. Luckhardt – H. Hoffmann
  • Klopstockstraße 25–27
    Paul Schneider-Esleben
  • Klopstockstraße 29
    Kindergarten
  • St. Ansgar
  • Shoppingcenter
  • Bartningallee 5
    Luciano Baldessari
  • Bartningallee 7
    J. H. Van den Broek – J. B. Bakema
  • Bartningallee 9
    Gustav Hassenpflug
  • Bartningallee 11–13
    R. Lopez – E. Beaudouin
  • Bartningallee 16
    Hans Schwippert
  • Hanseatenweg 10
    Akademie der Künste – Werner Düttmann
  • Bartningallee 12
    Otto H. Senn
  • Bartningallee 10
    Kay Fisker
  • Hanseatenweg 1–3
    Max Taut
  • Hanseatenweg 6
    Franz Schuster
  • Bartningallee 2–4
    Egon Eiermann
  • Altonaer Straße 4–14
    Oscar Niemeyer
  • Altonaer Straße 3–9
    Schwedenhaus
  • Altonaer Straße 15
    Stadtteilbibliothek – W. Düttmann
  • Klopstockstraße 30–32
    Alvar Aalto
  • Händelallee 3–9
    W. Gropius – TAC, W. Ebert
  • Klopstockstraße 14–18
    Pierre Vago
  • Klopstockstraße 2
    K. Müller-Rehm – G. Siegmann, Giraffe
  • Ev. Kaiser-Friedrich-Gedächtniskirche
  • Altonaer Straße 1
    Eternit-Haus
  • Händelallee 26–34
    Eduard Ludwig
  • Händelallee 33–39
    Arne Jacobsen
  • Händelallee 29 & 41
    Gerhard Weber
  • Händelallee 43–47
    H. Mäckler – A. Giefer
  • Händelallee 49–53
    Johannes Krahn
  • Händelallee 59
    S. Ruegenberg – W. v. Möllendorff
  • Händelallee 55 & 57
    Sep Ruf
  • Händelallee 63
    Günter Hönow
  • Händelallee 67
    Haus – Prof. Blumentahl
  • Händelallee 65
    Klaus Kirsten
  • Händelallee 61
    J. Kaiser – G. Bodammer
  • Lessingstraße 5
    Hansa-Grundschule – B. Grimmek
  • Flatowallee 16
    Unité dʼHabitation Typ Berlin
  • John-Foster-Dulles-Allee 10
    Kongresshalle
  • Straße des 17. Juni 100
    Berlin Pavillon

Architects

  • All architects
  • Alvar Aalto
  • Jacob Behrend Bakema
  • Luciano Baldessari
  • Paul G. R. Baumgarten
  • Eugène Beaudouin
  • Gunter Bodammer
  • Johannes Hendrik van den Broek
  • Le Corbusier
  • Werner Düttmann
  • Wils Ebert
  • Egon Eiermann
  • Herrmann Fehling
  • Kay Fisker
  • Alois Giefer
  • Daniel Gogel
  • Günther Gottwald
  • Bruno Grimmek
  • Walter Gropius
  • Gustav Hassenpflug
  • Günter Hönow
  • Hubert Hoffmann
  • Arne Jacobsen
  • Fritz Jaenecke
  • Josef Kaiser
  • Klaus Kirsten
  • Johannes Krahn
  • Willy Kreuer
  • Ludwig Lemmer
  • Raymond Lopez
  • Wassili Luckhardt
  • Eduard Ludwig
  • Herrmann Mäckler
  • Wolf von Möllendorff
  • Hans Christian Mueller
  • Heinz Nather
  • Oscar Niemeyer
  • Peter Pfankuch
  • Hansrudolf Plarre
  • Klaus Müller Rehm
  • Sergius Ruegenberg
  • Sep Ruf
  • Sten Samuelson
  • Paul Schneider-Esleben
  • Franz Schuster
  • Hans Schwippert
  • Otto H. Senn
  • Gerhard Siegmann
  • Hugh A. Stubbins
  • Max Taut
  • Pierre Vago
  • Gerhard Weber
  • Ernst Zinsser
  • Bezirk Tiergarten Hochbauamt

Search

Footer

This website was created with the kind support
of the LOTTO-Foundation Berlin

LOTTO-Stiftung

Unterstützen Sie uns!

Support us with a donation!
We will share our bank details with you at
info(at)hansaviertel.berlin.
If you give us your address, we will
gladly issue you with a donation receipt.

  • Bibliography
  • Contact
  • Imprint
  • Privacy Policy

Deprecated: Hook genesis_footer_creds_text is deprecated since version 3.1.0! Use genesis_pre_get_option_footer_text instead. This filter is no longer supported. You can now modify your footer text using the Theme Settings. in /kunden/72263_10557/hv18/wp-includes/functions.php on line 5758

Copyright © 2023 · Bürgerverein Hansaviertel e. V.

  • Downloads
  • Interbau 1957 live
    ▼
    • Interaktive Map
    • Guided Tours
  • Interbau 1957
    ▼
    • The History of Interbau 1957
    • Architects
    • Buildings
    • Impressions
  • History
    ▼
    • History until 1933
    • The years 1933–1945
    • November 22nd, 1943
    • The years 1945–1953
    • Jewish Neighbors
    • Prominent residents
    • Views of the old Hansaviertel
  • Actuality
  • Bürgerverein
    ▼
    • About us
    • Activities and Working Groups
    • Partner
    • Charter
  • UNESCO
    ▼
    • On the way to becoming a World Heritage Site
    • Coalition Agreement
    • Submission
    • Publication of the proposal