Stuttgart: Le Corbusier Detached House

1927

Architects: Le Corbusier, Pierre Jeanneret

Bruckmannweg 2, Stuttgart, Germany

Weissenhof Estate

The Weissenhof Estate was built in 1927 as part of the “Die Wohnung” building exhibition, organised by the Deutscher Werkbund and financed by the city of Stuttgart.

During the exhibition, visitors could view the 33 completed houses from the inside and outside. Afterwards, the city rented them out.

Model Houses

Under the artistic direction of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, seventeen international architects presented their innovative designs for modern, healthy, affordable and functional living.

Alongside the model houses in the Weissenhof Estate, there were three other exhibitions: one on modern building worldwide, one on interior design, and one on new building materials and constructions.

Within just four months, the exhibition attracted 500,000 visitors and received worldwide attention.

Avantgarde

The Weissenhof Estate showcased the latest developments in architecture and housing.

A sense of formal coherence was achieved through the avant-garde architectural designs of the contributing architects and the specification of flat roofs.

Corbusier and Jeanneret: Single-Family House

This house by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret showcases the potential of a free floor plan and façade design supported by a reinforced concrete skeleton. It is enhanced by a roof garden and a two-story living space.

It is one of the most notable examples of classical modernism.

In this building, Corbusier implemented the five basic principles of his architectural program: variable floor plans; elevation of the first floor through columns; a roof terrace; continuous window bands; and free façade design.

1933–1945

During the Nazi dictatorship, the housing estate was threatened with demolition and sold to the German state for this purpose.

However, the outbreak of war prevented this from happening.

In response, the Kochenhofsiedlung was built within sight of the Weissenhof by representatives of the Stuttgart School.

Three further examples of the Neues Bauen style had previously been built in Stuttgart: the Ziegelklinge estate (1927–1928), the Inselsiedlung (1929–1930) and the Wallmersiedlung (1929–1931).

During the Second World War, an anti-aircraft position was established below the Weissenhof estate. Parts of the estate were destroyed during the air raids on Stuttgart.

After 1945

Some buildings that were only slightly damaged were demolished following the war, while others were severely altered by the addition of gable roofs.

In 1958, the settlement was designated a historical monument.

The remaining buildings were renovated in the 1980s.

Le Corbusier World Heritage Site

In 2002, the city of Stuttgart acquired the house designed by Le Corbusier and Pierre Jeanneret from the federal government.

In July 2016, the house was added to the UNESCO World Heritage List alongside the Citrohan House, as part of a total of 17 sites designated as The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier – An Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement.

The Weissenhof Estate today

In January 2019, the Stuttgarter Wohnungs- und Städtebaugesellschaft mbH (SWSG) took over the Weissenhof estate from the Federal Agency for Real Estate Services (BImA).

A total of 37 buildings containing 87 apartments are now under municipal ownership.