The Weisse Stadt in the Berlin district of Reinickendorf is one of six estates of Berlin Modernism (Siedlungen der Berliner Moderne). It was designed and built in the late 1920s by the architects Otto Rudolf Salvisberg, Bruno Ahrends and Wilhelm Büning. It is seen as an icon of early 20th-century estate construction.
‘White is not a mere absence of colour; it is a shining and affirmative thing, as fierce as red, as definite as black,’ the English author Gilbert Keith Chesterton once wrote. Although he wasn’t writing about the Weisse Stadt at the time, his words describe the unique development perfectly. It is in fact the colour white that stands out immediately here on Aroser Allee. It’s as clear and pure as the shapes of the buildings and simple facades. It includes the bridge building that spans the road and the two tower blocks. In this estate, the architects created a milestone in architectural history. So it’s no wonder that the estate has been a UNESCO World Heritage site since 2008.
One year later, Deutsche Wohnen began extensive, sustainable refurbishment and repair works on the roofs, facades, stairwells, arcades and balconies. The green spaces and courtyards were also redesigned and restored in line with garden conservation principles. Since 2012, an eco-friendly thermal power plant has supplied the estate with heating and hot water and has dramatically improved its primary energy balance.
What was new and even revolutionary in the 1920s is still popular today. Only rarely do any of the estate’s 1,268 apartments become vacant.
Photos: Georgios Anastasiades
