the community center in walldorf.
as i'm pretty interested in modern architecture ( from the early beginnings to circa mid-century and even a little post-modernism ) i sometimes visit places just for that reason alone. that's why, after reading an article on richard neutra, an architect known for his mid-century family homes, i visited mörfelden-walldorf, a city that actually comprises two municipalities, that of mörfelden and that of walldorf. the settlement that richard neutra created in this city is situated in walldorf, at the edge of a forest, embedded into nature all around. that's also part of why these buildings are so very special, the incorporation into nature. it was very important to neutra to connect nature and architecture, to create a garden city that provided high quality of life.
while i made my way to the neutra settlement i noticed a few other interesting buildings, such as walldorf's community center from 1976.
though it looks a bit worn down ( which kinda is the reason why it is so charming to me? ), it seems to be in use still. several clubs and societies use it for events and presentations of all kind, making it an important part of walldorf's social life.
another building that stood out was the city hall of walldorf. while the basic structure stems from the 1960ies it was renovated in 2002 and enhanced to meet modern city hall requirements. the architects were wagner + ewald.
i liked this strange marble sculpture in front of the building. it's called 'pedra mar' and is the work of filipe mirante. the soft curves of the sculpture were really enticing and i also liked the marbling of the stone.
on the day i visited walldorf it was polling day for the mayoral election. just when i pressed the shutter button this dude came out and thus ended up unwillingly in my picture. he looks as startled as i probably was when i realized he would end up in my picture. i pretended to shoot a couple more pictures as if i hadn't noticed him and continued my way, lol.
the modern glass annex of the city hall.
to get to the neutra settlement you have to cross a few train tracks.
there were signs of spring everywhere, something that captures me every single year. 
NOT a neutra house, but still one of those bewobau homes.
arriving in the settlement you first notice all the ground level buildings. there's rarely a house that has two levels, something that was intented. the settlement ( called oberwaldsiedlung in german ) was built between 1961 and 1962 and first should've held about 230 buildings designed by neutra. 42 were only realized, though. the reason behind that was in fact that these houses were too expensive to sell to 'normal' citizens. and even those that had the money didn't buy them, because it wasn't a typical estate for high-income earners. the houses were built very close to each other, some were pretty 'small' and only had limited garden space. the distance to the nearby frankfurt airport was also a big factor, as wealthy people did not exactly love a hustle and bustle area, but preferred living far away from that. in relation to that, the cost of these homes was outrageous. a 530 squaremeter plot area & 97 squaremeter living space home was selling for 164.800 mark, this would be about 352.000 euro today - which was a lot of money for people in 1960ies ( and still is today, lol ). the excellent quality of these homes ( the use of premium quality building materials like mahogany wood and elaborate glass systems ) didn't convince a lot of possible buyers. therefore the 'bewobau', the construction firm responsible for the neutra houses, decided against building more, it would've meant a losing bargain. even the household name of richard neutra as their lead architect for this project wasn't enough to interest people.
many of the homes in the oberwaldsiedlung are slimmed versions of the original neutra houses, the bewobau decided to build the rest of the 230 buildings in a much cheaper way and without the architect richard neutra. therefore you can find lots of homes that maybe look like neutra, but aren't neutra.
'ikosaeder CrNi 125' by reinhard grütz. every year in august there's a sculpture festival in mörfelden-walldorf that brings many artists into town. for such a small community the town has a high ratio of interesting sculptures. i think it might be worth it to revisit again, as there seems to be a sculpture path that introduces many of them to you.
most of the oberwaldsiedlung homes are build in a similar style as the original neutra ones, therefore you are always questioning yourself whether they were designed by him a lot. especially if you don't know yet where they are. as you wander through that settlement potentially every house could be a neutra ( one level, stretched out ), but upon closer inspection they are missing the typical neutra vibe ( spider legs, fluent transitions from the interior to the exterior, integration into existing natural landscapes, biiiiiiig glass window fronts on both sides ). it was interesting nonetheless to explore the rest of the settlement, as it still was very close to neutra's concept of a garden city, lots of nature was involved everywhere, and it's probably really pretty when everything is much greener and more lush.
could be a neutra, isn't a neutra. the typical window front is missing entirely, though the L layout leans on neutra concepts.
still not a neutra, but i loved the brickstone facade and the snowflake embellishments on the wall.
little close-up ❆
i walked a long way before i finally reached the neutra houses. this here looks like a selfmade, modified home, not super generic. i think i actually liked the colour combo of red and blue a lot 😂
it's always interesting to see how people decorate their homes. this mural is a bit strange for my taste, but at least it gives the dark walls quite some pop.
this bronze garage door was pretty damn amazing and i think it was part of a neutra home - though neutra would never have incorporated such a garage door in his original buildings ;)
here's our first neutra, altough it is quite a modified one, the existence of the pale fences is a sure clue and also the big window next to the entry door. the fences were designed in such a way that you could not look into the gardens of the homes, creating privacy. the brickstone structure also points towards neutra, he built all of his houses in the oberwaldsiedlung out of bricks. it made me a little sad while i explored the area, that all these houses were so very hidden! i know that that's actually volitional, to stay hidden mostly, to maintain privacy, but it made it so hard to see the actual interesting parts of neutra's houses. because the charm of his houses lies in the private parts. the fronts are designed to detain the looks of strangers walking by, while the backs are designed open and fluent and full of light. while this concept is actually understandable, for people like me, who want to capture the essence of them, it's a bit unfortunate. fortunately there are a few occasions were you can visit some of these homes and also are able to enter them. there's an association that organizes architecture walks around here and every september, on heritage day, some home owners open their doors to let interested people in! i made myself a note to keep that appointment this year ( in hopes that the covid pandemia doesn't throw a wrench into that plan as well :( ), it would be so amazing to take in all the details more closely.
on the other hand, though, the fact that there was so much nature and trees and bushes around probably makes these houses so worth living in! ( despite being so close to frankfurt airport, lol ). neutra called his architectural style 'biorealistic architecture', it was important to him to synergize nature and architecture, to embed his work into existing landscapes, or create a natural landscape around it.
lovely magnolias 🌸 all the buildings in the back are neutra houses, btw.
this one is not so hidden and it is a two-storey one! it reminded me a lot of bauhaus architecture and it turns out that neutra taught at the bauhaus university for a very short time in 1930! here the front is crisscrossed by tiny window rows, still shielding the owners from the looks of passersby. that's something that's also known from bauhaus architects and representatives of 'neues bauen' ( or rather new objectivity )
richard neutra was actually an austrian compatriot who emigrated to the americas, california ( where he got famous and built most of his incredible work ) in 1923. when people hear his name here in germany, most will look at you strange and ask who the fuck you are talking about. when you ask an american citizen, you might be a little more successful! he only realized a very small amount of his work in europe and in germany there's about 6 projects in total! in truth, we have a lot of his homes here, probably over 100 when you count all the homes inside the settlements he completed. there's another very equal settlement in quickborn near hamburg, 2 villas in wuppertal ( villa pescher & villa kemper ) , one villa rang in königstein (taunus) - you know where i'm heading next, soon ;) - and he also designed a cemetery near berlin in luckenwalde. that's it and that's at least a little more than in his actual homeland of austria ( only one! ). he is known for his lofty and open-space villas he built in the californian landscapes, some of them being truly iconic, such as the kaufmann desert house or the lovell health house. in the grand scheme of things he belongs to the international style movement and is one of the most important representatives of that style. back when he first started his architectural career his work was really, utterly alien to many people, it was like he actually build UFOs to live in. of course that had a high price, 'normal' people weren't able to afford his homes, they were quite luxurious in their execution. it's not surprising that he chose california to be his main hub for his career, he catered to the rich people there, the ones who made it in sunny sunshine california, the ones who were openminded enough to live in luxurious, fluent, openspace dwellings in the middle of nowhere.
the same house from its side face. it's actually much bigger than it looks here, the length of the house extends a bit in the back. a tiny detail that i want to mention are the white blends on the left side. they are typical for neutra architecture and are supposed to radiate more light into the interior. unfortunately i was not able to take a better picture of the garden side. oh, did you notice the pale fence again? it's small things like this that help me identify the work of architects, because every single one has some quirks and traditions they use again and again in their work ;)
this here got remodeled into a contemporary home that still maintains most of its original charm.
this one was in the middle of being renovated. here you can see one of those window fronts i've been mentioning before, a typical element of neutra architecture. since it is the front of the house - you know, maintaining privacy - these windows are not full-length ( these kind of windows are reserved for the garden side ). i do like the skylight situation at the main door, that's something i know from many mid-century buildings ( it's not exclusive to neutra 😉 )
another garage door / main entry drive. the rock steles are probably a later addition, but it fits well into the overall appearance. i have a thing for those narrow doors that seem to be cut in half with a window frame. i'd totally remove the curtains though to let in more light and for decorational purposes.
not a neutra fence! neutra was not known to use much visible concrete. the house in the back is also not a neutra house. i still loved the brutalist stance on this concrete fence.
and then i finally managed to get a garden view of a neutra house! yay! and only because of this i completely fell in love with his work. as you can see, the living room walls were entirely replaced by a window wall creating a seamless transition out into the garden. you can also see a tiny little 'spider leg' - a steel pillar neutra used for widely cantilevering roofs or as a way to allow the glass facades to stay free of muntins. now you also realize that while the fronts always look a bit defensive, they actually aren't! the houses that have front windows are thus actually pretty transparent, seeming a little like an aquarium, giving the residents a view out to the street but also into their garden.
this wall decor out of steel was a super cute detail, and it is actually an original one! house decors like this were common in mid-century architecture, and i feel they should take up space in contemporary architecture again. while mid-century architecture was always more functional than beautiful to most, these kind of details show you that the architects, planners & designers were actually more playful than you granted them. oftentimes you find art and more elaborate design elements on mid-century structures, and i think of them as the real stars, because they are what makes a building pop out even more. like a phoenix rising high on a functional building, remember that one?
another frontyard with a clearsight view. these windows really slay me, i like them so much! there's something about the horizontal form that really appeals to me.
and that was the last bit of the neutra houses, even though there are a loooot more of them and i seemed to have only focussed on the details. it was difficult to take proper photos of them, and the fact that people are indeed living here also is a reason of why i felt a little intimidated to take more. but now that i know that the association i mentioned earlier offers architecture walks and open memorial days, i think i will be back eventually to get more insight!
my walk was not over yet, though, and i continued to explore the settlement. i love the fresh and almost neon green colour of willow tree leaves!
a contemporary take on the original 60ies houses you can find everywhere. the overgrown street lamp was my favourite detail, looking like a figure on a leash.
sometimes peaking into gardens reveals interesting surprises. this pool is probably a relict of the 60ies! at least it looks really old judging from the crumbly state.
a wild mix of plants and bushes, many of them not native. also a way to design your frontyard, haven't seen anything like this before. maybe someone was inspired by californian landscapes and decided to get a little of that mood to a small german city?
another design idea: a sculpture garden! especially good for all those people who hate flowers and bushes and natural landscaping, lol.
this is a contemporary art sign, not a construction sign! i found it in the same garden where the sculptures stood. so i reckon it is either an artist or a collector who lived there.
this is the oberwaldsiedlung, too. these housing blocks did not look like much at first, but in connection with its surroundings it got a litte more pizzazz. cute forsythia bushes, pine & birch trees surrounded them, making it actually a nice place, probably being quite lovely in summer!
see what i mean? the colour combo of the light grey facade and the salmon balconies was good, too! i found out that it was built in 1972, other details are lost in archives that i can't access ^^;
the back is not that attractive ( i want more salmon balconies! ). there is some cute frontyard situation going on, though, doesn't make it as bleak as it would probably be otherwise.
kinda was into that three-staged side facade 😏
continuing my little walk and finding gorgeous greens, yellows and blues! mahonias, hyacinths and ivy!
of course some fruit tree blossoms should not be missed! i think these are plum tree blossoms.
i just can't get enough of these blossoms, ever.
on my walk back to the car i passed by this colourful art nouveau house! everything about it made me excited! i wish more people would have the guts and do a little bit of colour-blocking on their houses. it's a breath of fresh air! unfortunately there's no info on when it was built or by whom.
there were all these cute details that fit so well into the are nouveau era! the tiffany lamp under the canopy for example ( that basically boasted a tiffany pattern as well ). or the skylight above the door.
what was decidedly not an art nouveau piece was the clay sculpture on the balustrade! it was a real eye-catcher though with its spiky blue hair and long nose! actually rather punk, isn't it?
there were more of these clay sculptures around. i also completely adored the metal gate with the blue glass inlays, continueing the swirly tiffany theme!
a few houses further away laurel and hardy waited for me on a bench, while a little sneaky gnome peaked around the corner! i wonder what he had on his little mischievous mind?
i passed by an interesting church building - the christ-könig-kirche ( christ king church ). it was built in 1960 and completed in 1961 by josef leibl, an architect from darmstadt. the big canopied church gates were my favourite part of the church.
i mean, despite looking massive and brutal, the little glass inlays on the sides forming crosses or stars make it appear a little less stern. also, blue and red together is such a nice combination... i don't know about you, but in recent years i've developed a taste for colour-blocking colouration.
the church building in almost all its glory. brickstone clinkers, light beam windows, side chapels that are actually visible instead of being incorporated into the building, and a rather simple church spire form a coherent whole structure.
closing this very architectural post with a not so architectural painting ( even though we could argue about that 😉 )! i found this random gustav klimt print on a rather uninteresting street while i walked back to the car. i love gustav klimt's work quite a lot, so it was a lucky and at the same time sad find, because it was in a rather bad state, which is why i decided against taking it with me. i can assure you that i pondered over it for quite some time, though! this painting is called 'the kiss' and it's probably the most popular klimt painting ever.
and here i kiss you good-bye, until next time 😘
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