deconarch

The German Weissenhofsiedlung (1927) in Stuttgart (Southern Germany) is one of the most influential architectural residential developments of classical Modernism. The architects’ names, represented here, read like who’s who of avant-garde architecture of the 1920s – among them Le Corbusier who has realized 2 edifices here.

Both of them have been part of an application to enter the UNESCO list of world cultural heritage, which has been considered positively, though has to be revised.

Le Corbusier/Jeanneret: "House Citrohan" (left), semi-detached house (right) © SK

On a meeting of the UNESCO committee in Sevilla on June 27, 2009, the corporate request by Argentina, Belgium, Germany, France, Japan and Switzerland, proposing 22 of Le Corbusier’s buildings to be included in the world heritage, was well received. Within the next three years the request is to be revised and amended and can thus be presented to the committee again.

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Le Corbusier/Jeanneret: Semi-detached house | Weissenhofmuseum © SK

In deciding so, the ICOMOS‘ (Internat. Council on Monuments and Sites) suggestion to consider only three single buildings by Le Corbusier – Unité d’habitation in Marseille, the Ronchamp Church and the Villa Savoye in Poissy – was rejected. A good decision as the architect has definitely erected more milestones of architecture!

The Stuttgart buildings in particular are memorable: not only has Le Corbusier written out his 5 point program for the first time, but the detached house is the first realisiation of his “House Citrohan”. (I wrote more about the estate and the museum housed in Le Corbusier’s semi-detached house here)