Berlin’s Oldest Concrete Houses
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How did Berlin revolutionise concrete housing?
In the late 19th century, Berlin was undergoing rapid industrialisation and urbanisation. Berlin had just become the capital of the newly-formed German Empire in 1871, and was becoming one of the world’s major manufacturing cities thanks to its new-found importance. That means that people were flocking to the city and the Berliners were struggling to make sure supply of new housing could meet demand.
The limitations of traditional materials like brick, stone, and timber were starting to show. Expensive, and slow, it was concrete’s time to shine.
It might not look like much, but this concrete construction was revolutionary for its time
Albrecht Constantin Türrschmidt: the mastermind behind Berlin's First Concrete Homes
Albrecht Constantin Türrschmidt, a Berlin native and architect, innovated by mixing Portland cement with brick bits and slag from nearby gasworks, creating the city's first concrete houses between 1872 and 1875. Where bricks had to be laid one by one, concrete could instead be poured. The inclusion of Portland cement mean that the concrete could dry more reliably, and soon Türrschmidt had presided over the construction of 70 new all-concrete houses.
Of the remaining buildings, only the one at Türrschmidtstrasse has decorations
How Did Concrete Change Building Designs in Berlin?
Not much! Concrete allows for more more design flexibility compared to brick and stone, and is the basis for some of the world’s more fluid, exciting structures today. Türrschmidt wasn’t trying to break the mould in terms of design, as demonstrated by constructing homes that resembled the traditional Gründerzeit (literally “founding time”) style, yet were made from concrete. A great example of this can be found on Türrschmidtstrasse (where else!) today, at number 17.
That said though, the majority of the 70 buildings were rather plain: the purpose of using concrete was to be quicker and cheaper than existing methods. Spending time adding pretty decorations to most of the buildings wasn’t high up on the priority list: you can see a couple of the plain ones at Spittastrasse 40 and Nöldnerstrasse 19.
This is great - instead of a plaque we’ve got a window into the construction itself!
Were Berlin's First Concrete Houses a Success or Failure?
While these concrete homes provided necessary housing, they faced issues like dampness, poor insulation, and external bathrooms. The conditions created by the new wonder technique weren’t necessarily better than what had come before, and so I’d have to say they weren’t exactly a success at the beginning, but building homes from concrete was certainly a major development for the world, so I think we have to hand it to Türrschmidt for this one.
Another of Türrschmidt’s concrete houses can be found on Spittastrasse
What Remains of Berlin's First Concrete Housing Experiment?
You guessed it, not much, thanks to World War II. While some had already been demolished prior to the Second World War, bombs devastated many of these pioneering buildings, with only five reportedly surviving today, though I could only find three of them. The most interesting one to visit is the one on Türrschmidtstrasse itself. You can find a big sign with lots of information on the right side of the building. Check the map below if you’d like to go out and see them for yourself.
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