Ship symbolism was frequently used in 1920s architecture. It was regarded on the one hand as standing for the progressive technologizition of the working world and everyday life, and on the other – in architectural circles – as a symbol of a modern, mobile society’s fresh departure towards a new future. The idea is reflected in the maritime appearance of many buildings constructed in the "Neues Bauen" style. It could take the form of what were known as ‘gas pipelines’, which were used in balcony balustrades, garden fences, or staircases, calling up associations with ships’ railings. Round windows were also increasingly used. There were often also large rows of windows enclosed in narrow metal frames, with a horizontal orientation sometimes recalling cabin windows. However, it is not only in ship-like construction details, but also on a larger scale that many of the buildings designed by the representatives of architectural modernism have the appearance of massive ships’ hulls, sometimes crowned with impressive chimneystacks.
In comparison with the vivid examples of buildings dating from the 1920s that use the ship as a metaphor, the maritime quality of the Kornhaus, built in Dessau in 1930 by the architect Carl Fieger, only becomes clear to the viewer at second glance. The stretched length of the architectural body of the restaurant on the Elbe, and the originally light colour of its façade, initially suggest the shape of a ship only distantly. However, the two functioning chimneys on the roof strengthen the association with ships. The windows arranged on the street and river sides also resemble those of passengers’ cabins, and the south and east façades each have a small round window of the type usually seen in ships. However, the most obvious feature is the similarity of the semicircular glass veranda to the bridge of a ship.
Due to the slope falling away below it, the veranda – which was placed by Fieger not in a central position above the hull as in shipbuilding, but at the western end of the building – appears from the street side to be floating above the ground. It can be assumed that Carl Fieger was deliberately aiming for this effect, particularly as the veranda is given a stepped-back base for the purpose, which it extends well beyond. The direct vicinity of flowing water in the form of the adjoining branch of the Elbe, may have inspired the architect to develop this type of architectural solution. The Kornhaus was perceived from the swimming baths opposite or from the Elbe itself as ‘floating or swimming’. The impression that it is a ship apparently gliding past – one that moves relative to the passing pedestrians, swimmers, boaters in folding canoes, or boat passengers in exactly the same way – is inescapable from this angle and is evidence of the unusually successful integration of the building into immediate surroundings in which water is the predominant feature.
The direct vicinity of the river also makes the imitation of a maritime aesthetic appear much more plausible than in many other examples of buildings that use ship motifs that are not located near waterways. The natural locality also enabled Carl Fieger to engage directly with the leisure and recreation area aspects of the site. The architect paid particular attention to the needs of rowing-boat users, canoeists and boaters with folding canoes, as boat outings played an important role in leisure activities during the Weimar Republic. The pleasures of leisure activity had been made possible by sociopolitical reforms introduced in the Weimar Republic, such as the 40-hour working week and regular holidays. This created a division between regulated working hours and freely chosen private time, and industry responded to this with a wide range of products for leisure activities. Countless advertisements can be found from this period for sporting and leisure products and accessories, similar to camping supplies for people today. The inventiveness and practicality of much of the equipment – designed to enable people to cope with any adversity that might arise during an extended excursion into the natural world – is surprising. As Wolfgang Pehnt has described it, the ‘New Person’ was mobile, and the new form of architecture therefore also had respond to him or her in a flexible way. In the case of the Kornhaus, this meant deliberate inclusion of the ever more popular amateur water sports, as the branch of the Elbe adjoining the building was a popular route. The first preliminary sketch for the new Kornhaus building appears to be specially designed for this. The Elbe restaurant is viewed from above, with a noticeably horizontal orientation. The semicircular berth platform projecting into the Elbe would allow passing boaters to anchor in a radial formation and access the Elbe restaurant directly via a staircase.
In this broad, open design, the impression that it is a preliminary sketch is strengthened by the way in which there are apparently no restrictions on the shape of the building – to the advantage of the overall effect. By enclosing the veranda in glass in his preliminary sketch and projecting part of the building into the Elbe, Fieger showed that he was a child of his times, absorbing the developments and trends in leisure activities mentioned above.
In the final design, the impressive landing-place ultimately takes up much less space and no longer directly forms part of the overall complex. Access to the restaurant was by foot via a staircase once the boats had been moored to a jetty. These reductions became necessary as a result of financial cuts following the world economic crisis.
Literature:
Wolfgang Pehnt, Deutsche Architektur seit 1900, München 2005; Klaus Jan Philip, Das Reclam-Buch der Architektur, Stuttgart 2006; Erdgeschoss-Grundriss zum Kornhaus von Carl Fieger, in: Stadtarchiv Dessau-Roßlau, Mappe mit Architekturzeichnungen zum Kornhaus: B1 – 1414 bis 1496; Ulrich Kluge, Die Weimarer Republik, Paderborn 2006; Faltbootkatalog der Firma Berger von 1928; Otto Heinicke, Wasser-Führer für Faltboot- und Kanufahrer mit Heurichs-Streckkarte, Leipzig 1925; Helmut Erfurth, Das Kornhaus – ein Bauwerk der sachlichen Moderne, in: Dessauer Kalender 1990; Gert Kähler, Architektur als Symbolverfall – Das Dampfermotiv in der Baukunst, Braunschweig 1981
Author:
Sophie Lucht was born in 1974 and is a trained graphic designer. She started her studies in art history and cultural sciences at Humboldt University of Berlin in 2006. At the moment, she writes her master thesis about Carl Fieger's Kornhaus mirrored in freetime activities of the Weimar Republic.