4/5 Jaroslav M. 4 years ago on Google
Furniture
and
furnishings
at
Hellersdorfer
Straße
179
provide
authentic
flair:
from
the
upholstered
green
couch
and
the
Rafena
television
in
the
living
room
to
original
GDR
cookware
and
food
items
in
the
kitchen.
Details
such
as
wallpaper,
floor
coverings,
décor,
books
and
records
allow
visitors
to
immerse
themselves
in
the
everyday
world
of
the
GDR.
And
the
most
frequently
reproduced
GDR
work
of
art
could
not
be
forgotten:
a
print
of
Walter
Womacka’s
painting
"Am
Strand"
hangs
on
the
wall.
The
Museumswohnung
is
part
of
a
housing
estate
built
in
1986
by
the
Cottbus
housing
combine.
It
not
only
conveys
impressions
of
the
furniture
and
consumer
goods
from
this
period,
but
is
also
a
living
testimony
to
the
construction
of
the
large
GDR
housing
estate.
At
the
beginning
of
the
1970s,
the
GDR
was
suffering
from
a
housing
shortage.
The
government’s
response
was
a
large-scale
project
to
build
as
many
apartments
as
possible
in
a
short
time
and
at
a
reasonable
cost.
By
1990,
every
citizen
was
meant
to
have
their
own
apartment.
The
prefabricated
construction
method
had
proven
itself
since
the
end
of
the
1950s.
Assembling
precast
concrete
elements
turned
out
to
be
cheaper
and
faster
than
steel
skeleton
construction
and
traditional
masonry
construction.
Initially,
however,
prefabricated
housing
also
caused
problems.
For
example,
the
residential
building
type
P
2
incorporated
too
many
special
components,
driving
up
costs.
The
GDR
government
was
under
pressure
to
streamline
the
prefabricated
building
more
in
order
to
hit
its
ambitious
target.
The
architects
and
town
planners
Wilfried
Stallknecht
and
Achim
Felz
were
commissioned
with
the
development
of
the
WBS
70
(short
for
Wohnungsbauserie
or
‘residential
building
series’,
while
the
number
stands
for
the
year
1970).
Together
they
devised
a
construction
method
based
on
standardised
technical
and
architectural
principles.
They
designed
apartments
as
functional
units
which,
when
combined,
constituted
the
parts
of
the
building.
In
order
to
be
able
to
build
even
faster,
only
prefabricated
parts
with
a
length
of
six
metres
were
used.
Since
the
exterior
walls
were
to
bear
the
weight
of
the
building,
the
design
of
the
floor
plans
in
the
WBS
70
was
optional.
The
architects
could
also
vary
the
façade
by
adding
elements.
Convertible
unlike
any
other
prefabricated
building
type,
the
WBS
70
evolved
into
a
popular
and
widespread
building
in
the
GDR,
characterising
the
look
and
feel
of
the
country.
In
2004,
the
building
housing
the
Museumswohnung
WBS
70
was
renovated.
The
municipal
housing
company
Stadt
und
Land
decided
to
preserve
part
of
the
GDR’s
architectural
heritage.
By
carefully
bringing
together
authentic
furnishing
elements,
it
was
possible
to
capture
the
flair
of
this
period.
Wolfgang
Sawatzki
from
Hellersdorf
organises
guided
tours
of
the
apartment,
where
he
tells
anecdotal
stories
about
life
in
the
WBS
70.
