Myra Warhaftig and other women architects called for the participation of women in IBA 1987. Their main concern was that floor plans should take into account the needs of working women. They regarded traditional floor plans as a deterrent to their emancipation.
This tactile model shows two apartments of comparable size. The one on the left shows the layout of typical social housing. The rooms are separated by function and oriented toward a hallway. The model on the right reproduces a spatial arrangement designed by Myra Warhaftig. Here the spacious kitchen, dining, living areas flow seamlessly into one another. Visual connections to all of the spaces make it easier to communicate visually and acoustically and thus to attend to children. They are distinguished by color and by touch on the model.
Modell+Design, Technische Universität Berlin
Text for the models from left to right
- Social Housing, Ackerstrasse 67-70, 1968, Willy Kreuer
- Apartment from the project at Dessauer Strasse 38, 39, 40, IBA 1987, Myra Warhaftig
Text of the tactile caption
- Visual connections
Introduction to the Exhibition Section
Architecture for People
In the late 1970s, West Berlin presented a depressing picture to many: old intact residential neighborhoods had been demolished or their buildings neglected. The residents often had to abandon their apartments, social connections, and structures. This stringent urban policy met with massive resistance from the population, which culminated around 1980.
The response led to the urban planning concepts “Critical Reconstruction” (IBA for new buildings) and “Cautious Urban Renewal” (IBA for prewar buildings). They provided for, among other things, resident participation in specific decisions related to urban policy and planning processes. Supported by the recently founded “Ecology and Energy” research field under the direction of Margrit Kennedy, they also focused on “sustainable building.”
The strategies of “Cautious Urban Renewal” are still today valid standards for urban redevelopment and the protection of social milieus.