House 33 Weissenhof

Hans Scharoun – House 33 in the Weissenhof district, Stuttgart, Germany, 1927

The house No. 33 of the Weissenhof colony built for the 1927 housing exhibition in Stuttgart (Weissenhof Siedlung) is the work of Hans Scharoun.
The designed housing is of particular attention in the Weissenhof district. The curvilinear design of this, in the purest style of Hans Scharoun, has been the subject of attention. The 12 European architects who intervened in the design of the houses were given total freedom in the external design of their houses (except in the design of the roof) and, despite this, a great unitary effect was achieved, except in the house of Hans Scharoun, whose romanticism sinuous overcomes any attempt at originality.

To explain the purpose and functioning of this house, the author's quote is presented below: the house is made up of one of the smallest housing solutions in the entire exhibition. The use and very particular attention has been given to the scale and proportions, and perhaps for this reason the impression of many visitors is that the house seems bigger than it really is. The internal unity is based on the creation of clearly differentiated spaces that correspond to the vital functions of the users. The distribution of the house plays with a main axis that functions as an invisible line in space, at the end of which a sort of water tank exists. The concept of wall as a space limiting element is overcome, and a large participation of the garden in the internal housing unit is guaranteed.
In addition to the original design of the system, Sharoun successfully achieves the differentiation of spaces, in particular the kitchen, conceived as a living space. Scharoun also presented a second exit parallel to the side of the well, an ironing room and created the distribution of pantry and kitchen from closets arranged in blocks, which closely resembles the current modern distribution.