Metastadt (architecture)

Metastadt (originally also Metapolis / Überstadt ) describes an experimental urban development approach of the 1960s in Germany. The concept of the architects Richard J. Dietrich and Bernd Steigerwald wanted to use industrial production methods to enable dynamic and flexible architectural structures that could expand existing cities not only in terms of area but also into space and thus re-use space above traffic areas or redevelopment areas should do. In contrast to many other experimental concepts, the project was actually developed to the point where it was ready for series production and a first model settlement was built in 1975. However, due to construction defects, the system turned out to be unsuitable and was dismantled in 1987 after only 12 years.

concept

The meta city saw itself as a counter-model to the centrally planned large housing estates of the 1950s and 1960s derived from the demands of the Athens Charter (1933) with their high land consumption , spatially strongly separated uses such as work and living ( sleeping city ) and their socio-structural problems. With the help of contemporary technology, flexibility and scalability and the inclusion of space should enable the compression and recapture of diverse urban spaces and establish a more “democratic” planning and design process that can react more directly to the requirements of the residents.

Technical implementation

The development group for urbanism around Richard J. Dietrich in Munich succeeded in 1969 in finding a business partner for their concept in the prefabricated house provider OKAL who was ready to support and finance the development of the project. The system was designed as a grid construction system in steel construction, which consists of standardized and industrially prefabricated components that were screwed together. Any uses should then be integrated into the easily expandable grid of terraced units with an area of 4.2 m by 4.2 m and a height of 3.6 m: apartments, shops, communal facilities, transport infrastructure .

In 1970, a test building was built on the corner of Heßstrasse and Arcisstrasse in Munich, where the technical implementation could be tested and checked under real conditions. The system was manufactured in the Blohm + Voss shipyard, which belonged to the Thyssen steel group , which had also joined the project. A first major project followed with the OKAL administration building in Lauenstein south of Hanover.

Metastadt Wulfen

In the "New City of Wulfen" , today a district of Dorsten , a meta city complex with a good 100 apartments and some commercial space was built in 1973-75 as part of several experimental and publicly funded building projects. In 1987 the meta city was demolished again due to structural defects. In the decision to demolish, other factors such as the large vacancy rate in the entire quarter probably played a role.

Web links

A city from the stable construction kit. In: Der Spiegel . 48/1971 of November 22, 1971, pp. 166-170.
Metastadt and Metastadt building system, 1965 to 1975. Website of the architect Richard J. Dietrich
Development group for urban / meta-city. Website of the architect Erhard Gentzsch
Meta city. Entry in the Wulfen Wiki, with a list of literature

Individual evidence

↑ cf. Der Spiegel 48/1971 of November 22, 1971, p. 166 (available online: text , images )
^ Metastadt Bausystem, 2nd phase 1972 , website of the project from Richard J. Dietrich (accessed on January 28, 2015)
↑ cf. Interview: The architect of the meta city Richard J. Dietrich. Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung of October 30, 2009 ( Memento of September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ).

[1] . Der Spiegel 48/1971 of November 22, 1971, p. 166 (available online: text , images )

[2] Metastadt Bausystem, 2nd phase 1972 , website of the project from Richard J. Dietrich (accessed on January 28, 2015)

[3] . Interview: The architect of the meta city Richard J. Dietrich. Westdeutsche Allgemeine Zeitung of October 30, 2009 ( Memento of September 24, 2015 in the Internet Archive ).