Augsburg: Lessinghof

1930 – 1931

Architect: Thomas Wechs

Rosenaustraße 70–74, Schlettererstraße 2–12, Augsburg

 

Thomas Wechs was commis­sioned by the Wohnungsbaugesellschaft der Stadt Augsburg GmbH (WBG) to build two residential complexes – the Schuberthof and Lessinghof – on Rosenaustraße.

The only requi­rement on the part of the city was to create as many low-rent apart­ments as possible.

Construction began in the fall of 1930, and Lessinghof was completed on August 1, 1931.

The four-story flat-roofed buildings are entirely committed to the principles of New Building: flat roofs, window bands, white plaster and colored window profiles.

Thomas Wechs was a member of the Circle of Friends of the Bauhaus, which had been founded in 1924 on the initiative of Walter Gropius.

The Lessinghof had a total of 68 apartments.

There were three types of apart­ments: The smallest living space averaged about 70 square meters with two to three rooms.

The medium-sized apart­ments had an average of 90 square meters with three to four rooms.

In addition, there were four large apart­ments, each with 185 square meters of living space with five rooms.

The floor plans of the apart­ments were accessed from a vestibule with a broom closet. A bathroom, kitchen and pantry were an integral part of each apartment.

The larger apart­ments were equipped with hot-water floor heating and the smaller apart­ments with stove heating.

In the attic, an ironing room and a drying loft were available for all tenants.

The flat roof allowed for a spacious, bright, and fully usable attic; in addition, aflat roof proved to be much less expensive than a conven­tional roof solution.

The basement had a laundry room, coal room, and storage rooms for tenants.

Analogous formal elements determine the design of the exterior facades of the Lessinghof.

Both rows of houses are connected by a recessed circular structure. Glazed window corners accen­tuate the dynamic transition between the cubic and curved building volumes.

The horizontal orien­tation of the building is empha­sized by the horizontal window formats and the flat roof.

The conti­nuous smooth facade facing the street is only inter­rupted by the projecting roofs of the building entrances.

The courtyard-side facade is charac­te­rized by super­im­posed semi-circular balconies that emphasize the central axis of each house unit.

Red and blue window and door frames contrast with the uniform white plaster of the facade.

In 1949, the dry floors were partially converted into apart­ments. In 1959, a workshop building was constructed in the courtyard area. In 1967, a garage wing was built.

Together with the neigh­boring Schuberthof, the Lessinghof has been a listed building since 1977.

In the summer of 2004, the building was renovated.