It is a fine example of the modernist architecture of Wrocław. The house was built as an element of the model, experimental housing estate accompanying the WuWA exhibition, which is an excellent example of the implementation of modern trends in European urban planning and architecture of the 1920s .

History

The house was erected in 1929; the southern terrace was added in 1930 - the year when the arcaded section beneath the western terrace was converted into a solid structure as well. The design for the house was the work of Emil Lange, who also contributed to the final appearance of the interior by designing the kitchen. The concept for the rest of the interior was created by Wilhelm Stephan and Hilda Krebs, while Kurt Schütze came up with the design for the garden.

Description

The house at 9 Edwarda Dembowskiego street forms part of the south-western frontage thereof.

The building represents a highly innovative design for a single-family house with a garage, originally designed for a family of 6 or 7, with a servant; the total living space of the house is 149 square metres.

The external walls of the house are partially supported by massive foundations and partially by a steel frame, with aerated concrete boards filling the spaces between the beams. The lower section of the façades is accentuated by a plinth made of clinker brick, with the rest of the structure having a textured plaster finish. The internal partition walls are light concrete structures; the ceilings are flat, made of long concrete blocks supported by steel girders and featuring a cinder infill. The roof is covered with roofing felt. The house features modern PVC windows.

It was designed as a two-storey, free-standing building with a garage and a basement underneath parts of the structure. The house, covered with a flat roof, was erected on an irregular, roughly T-shaped floor plan. The outline of the house consists of a number of distinct, cuboid sections; the northern part of the house is a two-storey structure with an eastern garage annex, the garage entrance facing E. Dembowskiego street. The southern part, on the other hand, is a single-storey structure with a former arcade supported by a series of pillars, the open spaces between them having been bricked up at a later date.

The original design called for the living room and bedrooms (along with the bathroom facilities) to be placed on the ground floor, with the guest room, children’s room and utility rooms placed on the first floor, directly above the living section.

Limited access to the historic building. Private property - interior tours not available. The housing estate can only be viewed from the outside.

compiled by Bogna Oszczanowska, Regional Branch of the National Heritage Board of Poland in Wrocław, 02-10-2014.

Bibliography

• Urbanik J., Wrocławska wystawa Werkbundu WUWA 1929-2009, Wrocław 2009, pp. 376-384.