Residential estate Johannesplatz

The Johannesplatz estate was commissioned by the Housing Association for Small Dwellings, and building was begun in 1920. Architect Hermann Frede planned an oval square around the already existing church, the Johanneskirche. The curved residential blocks contain 177 flats over three storeys. Frede’s design is functional in style. At certain key points such as street entrances and passages between buildings, he broke up the façade with bays. In a later construction phase, he used Modernist techniques such as projecting staircases and round towers with pointed roofs. The functional forms and Expressionist details of the architecture make this respectfully restored estate a striking example of large-scale housing development from the Weimar Republic.