excursion to the hat factory of Erich Mendelsohn in Luckenwalde

on Saturday, March, 17th, 2012, 10 am

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The tour costs 14 euros, reduced it's 7 euros.
The engineer of the restauration will guide us through the areal.

meeting point is in front of the train station of Luckenwalde at 10 am.
The regional train RE4355 leaves Berlin Gesundbrunnen at 9:10, Hauptbahnhof at 9:16 and Südkreuz at 9:25.
The Bahn-ticket is 5.20, reduced 3.80 euro.

From the train station we'll have a 20 minutes walk to the hat factory. After we will visit different modern buildings from Weimar times, including Mendelsohn's first built housing.

The tour will end in a place with drinks and food and discussions nearby.

In the twenties Luckenwalde was called the "City of the Modernity" due to its socio-democratic industrial and workers architecture.

The hat factory

by Erich Mendelsohn

Erich Mendelsohn's hat factory of F.Steinberg, Hermann & Co. was built in 1921 to 1923 right after his great breakthrough with the Einstein-tower in Potsdam. The factory was another great public success. After difficulties in the execution of his famous sketches in the Einsteinturm he here was able to develop his new conception of dynamic space. Richard Neutra was his assistant. In 1933 Mendelsohn, Neutra, the owners all had emigrated, the property got into the hands of the German Air Force, that destroyed most of the famous architecture's appearence.
Just in the very last years a reconstruction started, the "hat" got his iconic roof back. We'll folllow and discuss the progress of the construction.
Mendelsohn considered Luckenwalde as his best architecture.

You'll find information on here and here and here.

other buildings in Luckenwalde

Mendelsohn's first housing was for the worker's club of Luckenwalde, built from 1919 to 1920 right after he returned from the war and opened an own architecture company in Berlin. The houses are in good shape and their bright colours are back.

Waldfriedhof by Richard Neutra, his first buildings built, from 1921-1922,and 1936

Volksheimsiedlung by W. Ludewig 1928-1930, finished in 1931

Friedrich-Ebert-Schule and the Stadttheater by P.Brackes, R.Brennecke, H.Graf, 1927-30

and the Jugendheim des ADGB by P.Brackes from 1927-1929 and the

Stadtbad by H.Hertlein from 1927-1928

More on the other tours.