International Building Exhibition (Interbau)

International Building Exhibition (Interbau)
Name	Interbau
Native name	Internationale Bauausstellung
Caption	Housing in the Hansaviertel by Wim van der Rohe? (note: image illustrative)
Location	Hansaviertel, Tiergarten, West Berlin
Country	West Germany
Founded	1957
Built	1957–1958
Architect	Le Corbusier, Alvar Aalto, Oscar Niemeyer, Walter Gropius, Hans Scharoun, Arne Jacobsen, Aalto, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Hermann Henselmann

International Building Exhibition (Interbau) Interbau was a 1957 international housing and urban planning exhibition in the Hansaviertel quarter of West Berlin, undertaken during the Cold War to showcase modernist residential design, experimental planning and cultural reconstruction after World War II. Organized by the Berlin Senate and curated with figures from Bund Deutscher Architekten, the project convened leading architects from across Europe, North America, and Latin America to build new apartment blocks and public spaces for an exhibition linked to the International Building Exhibition concept. Interbau aimed to demonstrate progressive approaches to reconstruction policy, housing shortages, and the role of modern architecture in postwar urban identity.

Background and Planning

Interbau emerged amid debates involving the Allied occupation of Germany, Willy Brandt, the Social Democratic Party of Germany, and municipal authorities over rebuilding Berlin after Battle of Berlin. The initiative followed precedents such as the Congrès International d'Architecture Moderne and the International Exhibition of Modern Architecture discussions influenced by figures like Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius, and representatives from UNESCO and the Council of Europe. Planning engaged institutions including the Bundesarchitektenkammer, Berlin Senate Building Department, and private developers, negotiating with stakeholders such as the Deutsche Bundesbahn and the Allgemeiner Deutscher Gewerkschaftsbund. Funding and political backing connected to the Marshall Plan reconstruction environment and the cultural diplomacy aims of Konrad Adenauer's government.

Architecture and Participating Architects

The project assembled an international roster: Alvar Aalto, Oscar Niemeyer, Willem Marinus Dudok, Walter Gropius, Hermann Henselmann, Hans Scharoun, Arne Jacobsen, Fritz Bornemann, José Luis Sert, Auguste Perret, Bernard Rudofsky, Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, Ernő Goldfinger, Giuseppe Terragni, Paul Rudolph, Richard Neutra, Alison Smithson, Peter Smithson, Max Bill, Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Bruno Taut, Erich Mendelsohn, Georges Candilis, Shadrach Kabanya? (note), and many contemporaries from United Kingdom, France, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Norway, Netherlands, Spain, Portugal, Brazil, and United States. Designs represented varied currents: International Style, Brutalism, Organic architecture, Scandinavian Modernism, and Structuralism debates that echoed forums like CIAM conferences and publications in Architectural Review and Bauwelt. Project architects collaborated with municipal planners influenced by theorists such as Lewis Mumford, Sigfried Giedion, and James Stirling.

Exhibition Design and Pavilions

Interbau's layout in the Hansaviertel combined low-rise villas, slab blocks, and high-rise towers arranged around parks and transit nodes near the Tiergarten and Messe Berlin. Exhibition components included demonstration apartments, model rooms, and public pavilions similar to displays at the Expo 58 and earlier Universal Exposition formats. Curatorial teams coordinated with exhibition designers like contributors to World's Fair practices and institutions such as Deutsches Architektur Museum, Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, and local galleries. Temporary pavilions, information centers, and guided tours referenced didactic methods from Museum of Modern Art exhibitions and the Venice Biennale architecture sections, while landscape designs invoked the work of Gustaf Munch-Petersen and Erik Gunnar Asplund influences.

Housing and Urban Development Outcomes

The housing produced sought to address acute shortages caused by World War II destruction and Population displacement in postwar Germany. Apartment types ranged from family flats to single-person units with communal services reflecting ideas from Jane Jacobs critiques and Hannah Arendt’s urbanist reflections. Interbau informed later municipal programs in Frankfurt, Hamburg, Munich, Stuttgart, and influenced social housing models in Vienna, Zurich, Amsterdam, and Stockholm. Technical innovations included prefabrication methods followed by firms like Heinrich Lanz AG and building systems promoted in trade forums such as Deutsche Bauindustrie. Transport integration anticipated connections to Berlin U-Bahn and S-Bahn upgrading programs.

Reception and Criticism

Contemporary reactions ranged from praise in outlets like Die Zeit, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, The Times (London), and The New York Times to critique from voices in Der Spiegel, Architectural Forum, and academic reviewers associated with University of Cambridge, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Technische Universität Berlin. Critics argued about issues raised by theorists such as Jane Jacobs and Aldo Rossi concerning human scale, community cohesion, and historical context juxtaposed with proponents citing CIAM-inspired functionalism. Debates invoked precedents like Haussmann's renovation of Paris and controversies similar to those surrounding Postwar reconstruction in Warsaw.

Legacy and Influence

Interbau left an architectural imprint on postwar reconstruction discourse, influencing university curricula at ETH Zurich, TU Delft, Politecnico di Milano, and Columbia University. Its participating architects later contributed to projects such as Brasília, Unité d'Habitation, Trellick Tower, and civic commissions across Europe and the Americas, linking Interbau to broader networks including UN Habitat initiatives and planning debates at Leipzig Trade Fair symposia. The site's assemblage is studied in exhibitions at institutions like Deutsches Historisches Museum and publications by scholars affiliated with Max Planck Institute for the History of Science and Getty Research Institute.

Preservation and Current Status

Many Interbau buildings survive as part of the Hansaviertel conservation area within Tiergarten, subject to preservation policies enforced by the Berlin Monument Authority and local borough administrations. Restoration projects have involved conservators from Deutsche Denkmalpflege and funding from European programs such as Europa Nostra initiatives, with adaptive reuse proposals debated at forums including ICOMOS and Europa Nostra Awards. The area functions today as residential neighborhoods integrated into Berlin Mitte with interpretive signage, guided tours organized by Berliner Unterwelten-type groups, and ongoing scholarship in institutions including Humboldt University of Berlin and Freie Universität Berlin.

Category:Architecture exhibitions Category:Postwar architecture in Germany Category:Modernist architecture in Germany