© Visualisation: Atelier Markgraph GmbH, Frankfurt

Corporate press release of the City of Stuttgart and the association Freunde der Weissenhofsiedlung e.V.

The Weissenhof Estate is being given a new scenography and communication concept. The invitational competition ‘Weissenhof 1927 | 2027+ Experience Modernism’ has a winner: Atelier Markgraph from Frankfurt impressed the jury with its clear interpretation of modernism and its protagonists, which it used as a key theme and design principle and won the first prize. Second prize went to Space4 from Stuttgart and 3rd place went to chezweitz from Berlin..

Four components will take centre stage when visitors from all over the world experience the Weissenhof Estate in the future: The exhibition in the new visitor and information centre at Weissenhof (‘BIZ’), the tour of the estate, a visit to the Weissenhofmuseum in Le Corbusier House and a digital and mobile application.
The awarding authority of the competition is the City of Stuttgart, represented by the Cultural Office. The competition was organised in collaboration with the Freunde der Weissenhofsiedlung e.V. The high-leveled jury, chaired by Dr Annette Ludwig, Director of the Museums of the Klassikstiftung Weimar, was made up of experts in museums, scenography, cultural management and architecture.

Dr Annette Ludwig: ‘The jury had a challenging time choosing from five strong projects with different focal points. The winning design will excellently combine analogue and digital communication – and thus open up the Werkbund Estate at the Weissenhof to a large audience – in the BIZ, on the tour and in the museum. This offers enormous added value for 2027 and long beyond.’

The design by Atelier Markgraph succeeds in appealing to a wide range of target groups and providing them with accessible and contemporary offers to discover the Weissenhof estate and its history – without losing any depth of content. The digital application links the four central project modules in a meaningful way and visitors experience the estate from a completely new perspective. The jury recommended that the first-place winners be commissioned. The scenography is now being further developed on the basis of the concept together with Atelier Markgraph.

Suse Kletzin, Director of the Freunde der Weissenhofsiedlung ‘We are delighted with the result! It shows how a forward-looking mediation concept can appeal to a wide audience and we are happy that the decision finally brings us to the concrete work phase. A success that was possible thanks to the dedicated work of our members.’

The Weissenhof Estate, initiated in 1927 by the Deutscher Werkbund as an exhibition entitled ‘The Dwelling’, is an icon of modern architecture whose significance is recognised worldwide. It is a listed building and bears the European Heritage Label. Two buildings, designed by the architect Le Corbusier, have been recognised as UNESCO World Heritage Sites. A centre of attraction for visitors from all over the world.
A new visitor and information centre (‘BIZ’) will be built by 2027, where guests will begin their visit to the Weissenhof Estate from 2027. Numerous additional guests are expected in the city, especially for the 100th anniversary of the estate in 2027 and the International Building Exhibition 2027 StadtRegion Stuttgart (IBA’27), which has the Weissenhof as its starting point.

The new municipal building relieves the burden on the Le Corbusier semi-detached house, which has been awarded the UNESCO World Heritage seal, by taking over many functions for which the building planned as a residential building is not designed in the long term and with ever-increasing visitor numbers: ticket sales, cloakroom, café and shop. This means that the historic semi-detached house will be preserved for future generations and, as the only accessible building on the estate, can still remain the central highlight.

From 2027, the visitor and information centre will be managed in cooperation with the StadtPalais – Museum für Stuttgart and the Freunde der Weissenhofsiedlung.
The bidding consortium of Barkow Leibinger Partnerschaft von Architekten mbB and Zech Hochbau AG won the competition for the new building and will realise the building by the end of 2026. The BIZ emerged from the needs of the Weissenhof Museum and a process initiated by IBA‘27 in 2019 for the further development of the Weissenhof Estate and is an official IBA’27 project – as is the neighbouring Brenzkirche, which is also part of the wider transformation of the Weissenhof Estate.