Martin Wagner / The Growing House (German Edition)

In 1931, in response to the Great Depression and subsequent collapse of the building
industry, Martin Wagner (1885 1957), then head of planning for Berlin, formulated
plans for an adaptable micro-house called the growing house. Working with Egon
Eiermann, Walter Gropius, Ludwig Hilberseimer, Erich Mendelssohn, Hans Poelzig and
Hans Scharoun, the growing house was designed to be modified with the changing
socioeconomic circumstances of its inhabitants, providing only what was necessary
and expedient. Wagner s coruscating foreword outlining his proposals for a new
social, technical and economic fabric shifting the dwelling to the center of the world
is published here for the first time. Historical and contemporary black-and-white and
color illustrations, drawings, plans and photographs of the prototype are accompanied
by commentary from Franziska Bollerey, Ludovica Scarpa, Tom Avermaete
and Tatjana Schneider, demonstrating that the growing house is as relevant
today as it was 100 years ago.