Großsiedlung Siemensstadt (Ringsiedlung)
This estate owes its name not to the manner in which it was built but to the Architects’ Association "Der Ring" whose members included Hans Scharoun, Walter Gropius, Hugo Häring and Otto Bartning, all members of the avant garde of the new school of architecture. Together with the experienced housing engineer Max Mengeringhausen and landscape architect Leberecht Migge, in 1931 they built a modern district with 1370 homes, a central heating plant, a central laundry, a school and shops. Since there was a great need for small, affordable homes in Berlin in the 1930s, most of the homes had one to two and a half rooms (excluding kitchen and bathroom).
The rational configuration of kitchens, bathrooms and the installations within the house were noteworthy. There was also the estate’s ideal location to consider. South of the estate there was the attraction of life in the industrial and residential Siemenstadt district, and to the north the Jungfernheide public park invited to long walks and recreation in natural surroundings.
Nowadays Siemensstadt can be compared to a small town in terms of size and number of inhabitants. Most of the houses and apartments are currently owned by the Deutsche Wohnen Group and GSW.
