beyond your map

The White City, or Schillerpromenade settlement, is a UNESCO World Heritage site in Berlin's Reinickendorf district, representing the last Classical Modern settlement of the Weimar Republic. Constructed from 1928 to 1931 to address the housing shortage, it comprises 1,268 apartments created by non-profit Primus mbH and architects Otto Rudolf Salvisberg, Bruno Ahrends, and Wilhelm Büning. Ludwig Lesser handled landscape planning, and to minimize costs, small craft businesses were employed. The settlement introduced central heating via a combined heat and power plant on Aroser Allee in 2012. With an open internal structure of peripheral and row buildings, adorned with colorful accents, the White City is celebrated for its architectural flagship, the bridge house on Aroser Allee.

The Carl Legien residential complex, a UNESCO World Heritage site designed by architects Bruno Taut and Franz Hillinger, aimed to create a modern and egalitarian living space. Named after Carl Legien, a prominent SPD and trade union figure, the complex in Berlin's Pankow district features 1,149 apartments built between 1928 and 1930. After being damaged in the war, the buildings were renovated from the mid-'90s to 2004, adhering to Taut's original plans with colorful garden courtyards, white balconies, and distinctive red staircases. The complex stands as a testament to a new architectural vision for a more inclusive society.

Built between 1969 and 1975 in Terni, the Matteotti Village exemplifies Giancarlo De Carlo's unique approach. Through intensive collaboration with workers and sociologist Domenico De Masi, a dialogic process harmonized architectural ideals with user expectations. Exhibitions aimed at enlightening workers about international architectural culture and Anglo-Saxon creations were initiated by De Carlo. The Village, consisting of five blocks, integrates driveways, pedestrian paths, and green spaces, showcasing 45 different housing typologies. Despite criticism from political and religious authorities, the project's total permeability and pedagogical urban space remain a national landmark. Mario Ferrara's photographs, taken nearly fifty years later, capture the complexity and diverse identities of Villaggio Matteotti.

In 1924, Martin Wagner initiated the introduction of a real estate tax in Schöneberg, which helped to fund Berlin's first inner-city housing project. The Schillerpark housing estate was designed by Bruno Taut, who experimented with floor plan typologies and used flat mono-pitched roofs and red brick façades. The apartments were designed to provide tenants with plenty of light and each one had a recessed balcony, its own bathroom and from one to four-and-a-half rooms.

The "College of Milan," now a student residence, was founded in the 1970s to assist African countries. Its unique design, resembling a fork, includes a central structure with common services and two buildings with resident rooms on three sloping levels. The rooms, organized around plant columns and featuring private terraces, can be combined for larger spaces. The facades are marked by white wooden French windows, creating a visually striking effect similar to James Stirling's St. Andrews Dormitory, according to critics.

La Maison de Verre, or "The Glass House," is a modernist architectural masterpiece located in Paris, France. Designed by Pierre Chareau in 1928, the house was built for a wealthy French doctor and his wife. The house's defining feature is its extensive use of glass, which allows natural light to flood the space. This effect is amplified by the house's open floor plan, which creates a sense of spaciousness and fluidity. Today, La Maison de Verre is considered one of the most important works of modernist architecture in the world, and is a must-see destination for anyone interested in design or architecture.

The Van Doesburg studio-house, designed by Theo van Doesburg himself, is a well-known artist's home from the interbellum era. Located in Meudon-Val-Fleury, near Paris, it reflects his vision of uniting art, society, industry, and the sciences. Despite his passing at the age of 47, the studio-house stands as a representation of his ideas on the synthesis of the arts.

Notre Dame du Raincy, known as the "Holy Chapel of Reinforced Concrete," was the first French place of worship made of grey cement. Architect Auguste Perret, a pioneer of concrete usage, embraced a rational and elegant style, contrasting the excesses of Art Nouveau. By employing reinforced concrete's potential, he created a luminous cathedral-like space using slender elements and colorful stained glass. Le Corbusier, his former assistant and a renowned modern architect, saw the church as having a masked beauty.

Villa Roche, designed in 1925, exemplifies Le Corbusier's modern housing approach. It serves as both a residence and an art gallery for Swiss banker Raoul La Roche's avant-garde collection. The villa's unique design integrates living spaces and exhibition areas, offering a curated "spatial experience" through a deliberate promenade that unveils artworks along a specific path. Inspired by the Acropolis, the villa's layout follows a hierarchical arrangement, with essential rooms positioned around a grand central vestibule that floods the interior with natural light.

Le Corbusier's house and studio in Paris, designed for his friend, the painter Ozenfant, stands as an early illustration of 'minimalist' architecture. It serves as a prototype for the Dom-ino house and embodies several principles later outlined in Le Corbusier's renowned 'five points.' The structure exhibited a clear geometric design both internally and externally, though this clarity was somewhat compromised when the original north-light roof was replaced with a flat roof.

Jean Renaudie created this work as part of a significant project in Ivry, outside Paris. Influenced by Auguste Perret and Marcel Lods, Renaudie's architectural style resembles a rhizome, spreading across the territory. The main Ivry complex includes 40 mixed-use structures, such as social dwellings, offices, and stores, connected over different levels. Despite being called brutalist, the project's urban richness remains evident even after almost forty years.