Hansaviertel

Built for the International Building Exhibition in 1957, the Hansaviertel is a prime example of modern architecture and urban planning of the 1950s. Like its counterpart in the east, Karl-Marx-Allee, the large urban development is on its way to becoming a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Both large complexes represent different political systems that implemented housing construction of the highest standard in a variety of ways. Today, a total of 36 individual buildings and ensembles make up the Hansaviertel. They were designed by more than 50 well-known architects – representatives of the “New Building Movement” – including such renowned names as Aalvar Aalto, Egon Eiermann, Walter Gropius, Arne Jacobsen and Oscar Niemeyer. The Hansaviertel celebrated the revival of an international modernism. To this day, it showcases sophisticated floor plans from the entire range of communal living, from private bungalows to rows of terraced houses to high-rise buildings.