Changing Images of Affordable Architecture in Twenty-First-Century Germany

Even though the ethical and political idea of affordable housing for the masses lost favour in Germany, the architectural and cultural impact of the huge housing estates can still be felt. In 2007, the six of them still in existence were nominated for UNESCO World Heritage Status (Jaeggi and Haspel 2008), and, in July 2008, all of them were added to the list (https://www.initiative-welterbe.de" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">www.initiative-welterbe.de). While the innovative architecture is still relevant, the purpose of providing affordable housing took a strange turn. The names of the famous architects who designed them and their World Heritage Status have become useful for marketing strategies aiming to let the units for high rents. The image of affordable housing in Berlin’s twenty-first century has changed: the housing estate Carl Legien by Bruno Taut demonstrates the sharp contrast between Berlin’s interwar housing and that of the twenty-first century.