What began almost 100 years ago as a visionary experiment is now regarded as a milestone in the history of architecture: the construction of the Weissenhof Estate. For 20 years, the Weissenhof Museum in the Le Corbusier House has been showcasing the history of this extraordinary site and demonstrating why the ideas of modernist architecture remain relevant to this day.

The museum’s unique quality lies in its location: visitors experience architecture not merely through plans, photographs or models, but can discover the spaces, proportions and the original concept of the house first-hand as they walk through the building. In the left-hand half of the semi-detached house, the museum presents the history of the Weissenhof Estate. In the right-hand half, visitors explore Le Corbusier’s design for a ‘transformable living space’ as it was reconstructed in 1927. The museum is run by the association ‘Freunde der Weissenhofsiedlung e.V.’.

At the same time, the museum has been active far beyond the scope of its permanent exhibition: special exhibitions, lectures, discussions, concerts, guided tours and collaborations have repeatedly opened up new perspectives on the Weissenhof Estate. In doing so, the focus has extended far beyond historical architecture:
Exhibitions such as „Wie bauen? Wie wohnen? Wie leben?“ placed the Weissenhof Estate in the context of other European Werkbund estates and demonstrated how new forms of living were being explored on an international scale.
Art, photography and contemporary architecture have also regularly found a place at the Weissenhof. In 2021, for example, the temporary installation ‘brāhha’ explored the traces of war and the history of the site. In 2024, the Weissenhof was part of the ‘Villa Massimo zu Gast in Stuttgart’ festival, which brought together architecture, visual arts, literature and music. In 2026, an exhibition was dedicated to the photographer Otto Lossen, whose photographs played a key role in shaping the international perception of the Weissenhof Estate.

An integral part of the Weissenhof Museum’s identity is its role as a key element of the city’s cultural life. During the ‘Lange Nacht der Museen’, the museum regularly stays open late into the night, whilst at the ‘Sommerfest am Killesberg’ it joins forces with neighbouring institutions to offer a cultural programme for the public. On ‘Open Heritage Day’ too, the museum invites visitors to rediscover the Weissenhof Estate with guided tours and free admission.

In 2016, the significance of the Weissenhof was underlined by a special international honour: Le Corbusier’s semi-detached house, together with the neighbouring detached house, was recognised as part of the transnational UNESCO World Heritage Site ‘The Architectural Work of Le Corbusier – an Outstanding Contribution to the Modern Movement’.
Further recognition followed in 2020: the European Commission awarded the Werkbund estates in Germany, Poland, the Czech Republic and Austria the European Heritage Label.

Photos:
(1) Le Corbusier semi-detached house, Stuttgart © Brigida González/Weissenhofmuseum im Haus Le Corbusier
(2) Colour analysis from the construction period, carried out during the restoration and refurbishment of the semi-detached house from 2003 to 2005 © Weissenhofmuseum im Haus Le Corbusier
(3) Reconstruction of the bed unit in the ‘Transformable Living Space’ © Weissenhofmuseum im Haus Le Corbusier