WOGA complex on Lehniner Platz
The Woga complex on Lehniner Platz is an urban building ensemble by Erich Mendelsohn , which was built between 1925 and 1931 in the Berlin district of Wilmersdorf (today: Wilmersdorf district ). It represents a combination of cultural sites, shopping facilities and residential buildings. The complex is stylistically assigned to the New Objectivity . If you go to Lehniner Platz at the end of Kurfürstendamm, you will notice two sprawling front buildings, in the middle of which there is a small shopping street that runs towards a building that stands across. This is followed by a residential complex with green areas and tennis courts. The Schaubühne is currently housed in one of the two head buildings. The WOGA complex is a listed building .
The creation of the WOGA complex
Originally, a pure residential complex was planned to be built on a four- hectare undeveloped property on Kurfürstendamm 153–156. Its owner was the publisher Hans Lachmann-Mosse . His wife Felicia Mosse owned the housing-property-Verwertungs-Aktiengesellschaft , or WOGA for short . The entire project was financially supported by an American bond of 1.5 million US dollars . In addition, the construction projects were to be implemented via house interest tax mortgages, which resulted from the taxation of tenants. In addition to this information, the Bauwelt magazine from 1931 also states that the rent is expected to amount to 700 marks for building costs per room and 600 marks for annual rent per room (girls' rooms were excluded).
Initially, the architect Jürgen Bachmann took on the task of designing residential buildings for the entire area. In order to make the project even more attractive for wealthy shareholders , it was decided not only to build a residential complex, but also a residential and cultural complex. Erich Mendelsohn took over the planning from then on. Under his leadership, the Ufa premiere cinema Universum (currently: Schaubühne ), the smoking theater Cabaret of Comedians , the Leon café-restaurant , a hotel (later an apartment house), shops and a residential complex with tennis courts and car garages were created. Therefore, in the end, only part of Bachmann's designs (Paulsborner Strasse, corner of Albrecht-Achilles-Strasse) were implemented. From 1930, Erich Mendelsohn planned the development of the area inside the block with so-called cross houses, which were then finally approved by the district in 1932. In April 1932, however, he rejected this plan again in favor of the tennis courts.
Location and surroundings of the WOGA complex
The area is delimited in the south by Paulsborner Strasse , in the west by Cicerostrasse, in the north by Kurfürstendamm and in the east by Albrecht-Achilles-Strasse . Due to the close proximity to the Kurfürstendamm, where one shop after the other, Erich Mendelsohn decided to break up the block by means of a small shopping street through which the buildings were made accessible to passers-by. The entire complex was characterized by its central location and direct transport links via tram and bus.
The buildings in detail
Cinema universe
The Kino Universum (also known as the UFA premiere cinema ) was housed in one of the two head buildings by Erich Mendelsohn. It offered 1763 seats. In his planning application of April 28, 1927, Erich Mendelsohn explained the plan to create a retractable orchestra inside, which was to be realized with an additional space under the stage. Here he also mentions the ventilation construction, which emphasizes the roof of the building. The structure rose up like a narrow, high chimney and thus offered additional advertising space. Two-storey shops were lined up to the left and right of the main entrance, which can be reached from Kurfürstendamm. During the Second World War , the cinema was badly damaged by Allied air raids . Extensive renovation work was carried out in the 1970s, which sparked heated discussions among the public and among experts, as only the outer facade was restored to its original state in accordance with the listed buildings.
Cabaret the comedian
Opposite the cinema, the comedians' cabaret moved in in 1928 . It was supposed to be the first smoke theater in Berlin with a full stage, an iron curtain , a sprinkler system, a cord floor and a ventilation system that could change air five times an hour. The circular interior of the theater contained 816 seats grouped around tables. Small shops were also located on the ground floor.
The first floor housed the Café Leon - a renowned Berlin dance hall, whose guests also included Erich Kästner . After 1933 it became a venue especially for Jewish artists, who were increasingly denied the opportunity to take part in cultural life. Under the direction of Max Ehrlich , the café served as the main venue for the Jewish Cultural Association from 1935 to 1937 .
Shopping street
The shopping street was planned as a very important economic component of the WOGA complex, as its range of goods should attract pedestrians and benefit the originally planned hotel and its guests, but also the residents of the area. However, it could not hold its own against the many shops on the adjacent Kurfürstendamm and so the individual shops were orphaned shortly after their completion.
Apartment house
The apartment house was originally planned as a hotel. The stock market crash of 1929, also known as “ Black Friday ”, led investors to opt for another residential building instead of a hotel. A remnant of the original idea is the connecting bridge to the cinema universe. It should enable hotel guests to get to the cinema protected in bad weather. The seven-storey building is 45 meters long and divided into one and two-room apartments. Each staircase has its own elevator. The apartments on the first floor have spacious terraces facing the shopping street. The apartment house is adjoined by two 60 meter long side wings. There are five living levels here, each with four apartments. There are small front gardens in the inner courtyard. The buildings were provided with a single-lane bypass. It enabled access via ramps to the car garages, which are located in the outer side wings.
Residential complex Cicerostraße
For the time, the system was built very complex. For example, the intercom system on the doors was very innovative and there was a central heating and hot water supply. The floor plans of the five-storey houses were designed for efficient use of space. The structurally identical staircases No. 57–62 each have a 5 1 ⁄ 2- room apartment with kitchen, bathroom and separate toilet on the right of the staircase - on around 128 m². The smallest room was intended as a girl's room. Smaller apartments lead off to the left of the staircases, with two representative street-side rooms, one smaller room facing the inner courtyard / tennis courts, a kitchen and a bathroom. The stairs at both ends (nos. 56 and 63) have a different division. Probably the most striking feature here are the brick , wave-shaped balconies that structure the facade horizontally. On the back of the houses, Mendelsohn used semicircular oriel towers as a design element , in which the stairwell runs.
Housing complex Paulsborner Strasse / Albrecht-Achilles-Strasse
These houses go back to the designs of Jürgen Bachmann . They are five storeys high and are characterized by tapering bay windows . As with the other apartments, modern bathrooms, central heating and hot water supply were provided here. With two exceptions (Paulsborner Strasse 11 and Albrecht-Achilles-Strasse 4), all residential buildings were destroyed in the Second World War.
Tennis courts
As a sports facility, the tennis courts complete the ensemble, which is also known as the “city within the city”. The tennis courts have been unused since 2007 and are in a deplorable condition. They have a brilliant history. Erich Kästner (lived across the street on Roscherstraße) and Vladimir Nabokov (Nestorstraße 22) played here as did Dieter Hallervorden and Willy Brandt . The places do not belong to any club and could be rented by the hour - before the tenant was forced to give up due to excessive demands from the investor.
These tennis courts are to be built with 40 residential units in six-story apartment buildings. A corresponding building application has been available since April 2016. For this, however, the existing monument protection for this part of the entire complex must be lifted. The present design for the building comes from the Berlin planning office Grüntuch Ernst Architekten and takes up Mendelsohn's idea of the Kreuzhäuser, approved in 1932. Mendelsohn himself, however, renounced these Kreuzhäuser in April 1932 in favor of the tennis courts.
Shopping street with a view of the apartment house
Side wing of the apartment house with the car garages
Residential complex Cicerostraße with the brick balconies
Preserved house at Paulsborner Straße 11
The WOGA complex in literature
The ensemble, especially the Universum cinema and the apartments on Cicerostraße , are recognized literarily in the chapter 'The Universe' of the novel Landgericht by Ursula Krechel . The setting of the crime novel ZentralStadion by Josef Schley are the tennis courts of the WOGA complex. Their planned development is also part of the plot. Peter Schneider dedicates a few pages to the WOGA complex with its tennis courts in his book It can't be because of beauty .
literature
- Regina Stephan: Erich Mendelsohn - Dynamics and Function - Realized visions of a cosmopolitan architect. Hatje-Cantz, Ostfildern-Ruit 1999, pp. 134-138.
- Helge Pitz: The Mendelsohn building on Lehniner Platz. Berlin 1981, pp. 41-48, 53-54, 73-75.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Entry in the Berlin State Monument List
- ↑ a b Arnt Cobbers: Erich Mendelsohn - The analytical visionary. Cologne 2007, p. 49 f
- ↑ a b Erich Mendelsohn: Letter from Erich Mendelsohn. April 12, 1932. Retrieved May 20, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Prof. Dr. phil. Regina Stephan: Statement on the planned development of the inner courtyard of the WOGA complex in Berlin. (No longer available online.) April 15, 2016, p. 2 , formerly in the original ; accessed on May 22, 2017 . ( Page no longer available , search in web archives ) Info: The link was automatically marked as defective. Please check the link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ Pharus Plan Berlin, 1928.
- ↑ Marie-Theres Arnbom : Have you ever been in love with me? - Film stars, operetta favorites and cabaret greats between Vienna and Berlin. Vienna 2006, p. 84.
- ↑ Knud Wolffram: dance floorboards and pleasure palaces. Berlin 1992, p. 214.
- ^ Peter Schneider: Nabokov surcharge. Berlin culture. In: Der Tagesspiegel . September 24, 2010, accessed January 21, 2016 .
- ↑ Tennis courts on Kurfürstendamm. BA in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf
- ↑ Ursula Krechel: Regional Court . Novel. Verlag Jung und Jung, Salzburg and Vienna, 2012; ISBN 978-3-99027-024-0 .
- ↑ Joseph Schley: Central Stadium . BoD - Books on Demand, Norderstedt 2017, ISBN 978-3-7448-8792-2 .
- ↑ Peter Schneider: It can't be because of the beauty… Kiepenheuer & Witsch, Cologne 2015, ISBN 978-3-462-04744-8 .
Coordinates: 52 ° 29 ′ 50.9 ″ N , 13 ° 18 ′ 10 ″ E