Aldo Rossi - Quartier Schützenstrasse

Aldo Rossi
Quartier Schützenstrasse
Berlin, Germany

Photo: arcspace

"Quartier Schützenstrasse" consists of a classical Friedrichstadt block defined by the Schützenstrasse, Markgrafenstrasse, Zimmerstrasse, and Charlottenstrasse.

Photo: arcspace

Aldo Rossi’s used the historical urban structure of the division of land into small plots as his concept for Quartier Schützenstrasse. The individualized houses signal individual plots but the total number of facades exceeds the number of houses standing independently of each other. While two of the buildings are reserved exclusively for residential apartments the rest provide for a mixture of residential and commercial use.

Photo: arcspace

The Quartier Schützenstrasse is a collage of icons and archetypes with several obvious references to other Rossi buildings as well as historical references.

Photo: arcspace

Schützenstrasse 8 is a copy of the courtyard facade of the Palazzo Farnese in Rome, built in 1516 by Antonio Sangallo, that was modified by Michelangelo.

Photo: arcspace
The court yard facade copies three of the centre line of windows of the Palazzo Farnese.

The plan, inspired by the building blocks of 19th century Berlin, is organized around two large and two small interior courtyards that fill the block with light.

Photo: arcspace

Photo: arcspace
The path through the smallest, ornamental courtyard behind the Palazzo Farnese.

The intense colorfulness, inspired by the colors of antique architecture, tie the block together and draws attention to the allotment structure, which distinguishes the individual houses.
Rossi used particular colors for particular facade materials; the more "artificial" the material, the more "vivid" the color.

Photo: arcspace

Blaring green and bright red signal aluminium. Muted colors; egg yolk yellow, carmine red and cornflower blue are all stucco. The earthy tones shading into red- brown or yellow indicate bricks. The pale facades are two kinds of natural stone; light and dark gray, sand and pink. The silver-grey sheet metal stays as is.

"The urge towards a multiplicity of forms is unmistakable, the efforts beyond variations in color and material impressive.
The varying window shapes, the appointment of the attics, the plastic development of the facades through extroverted and reticent sections, through sills and parapet; the sometimes expressly horizontal, other times explicitly vertical division of the mostly axial-symmetric facades; and finally their own, lightly staggered order all contribute to this effect. The great pains Rossi took with the design of his city-within-a-city were only initially devoted to the plausibility of its lots structure. Rather, the "city" was mainly dedicated to what he called a monument, so that it may have sovereignty over its use, just as it is sovereign over its environment."
Mathias Remmele
Bauwelt Berlin Annual 1997
Publisher: Birkhauser

Aldo Rossi died on September 4, 1997; a day before the unveiling of the "Palazzo Farnese" facade. Planned as an event to honour Rossi, it became a farewell address.

Client: Dr. Peter and Isolde Kottmair, Munich, Berlin
Address: Block Schützenstrasse (north), Markgrafenstrasse (west), Zimmerstrasse (south), Charlottenstrasse (east). Berlin-Mitte

Master plan and design: Aldo Rossi
with Massimo Scheurer, Marc Kocher, Götz Bellmann, Walter Böhm

Construction period: 1994-98

May 6, 2002

Aldo Rossi arcspace features





				Features
		Aldo Rossi Quartier Schützenstrasse Berlin, Germany Photo: arcspace "Quartier Schützenstrasse" consists of a classical Friedrichstadt block defined by the Schützenstrasse, Markgrafenstrasse, Zimmerstrasse, and Charlottenstrasse. Photo: arcspace Aldo Rossi’s used the historical urban structure of the division of land into small plots as his concept for Quartier Schützenstrasse. The individualized houses signal individual plots but the total number of facades exceeds the number of houses standing independently of each other. While two of the buildings are reserved exclusively for residential apartments the rest provide for a mixture of residential and commercial use. Photo: arcspace Photo: arcspace The Quartier Schützenstrasse is a collage of icons and archetypes with several obvious references to other Rossi buildings as well as historical references. Photo: arcspace Schützenstrasse 8 is a copy of the courtyard facade of the Palazzo Farnese in Rome, built in 1516 by Antonio Sangallo, that was modified by Michelangelo. Photo: arcspace The court yard facade copies three of the centre line of windows of the Palazzo Farnese. The plan, inspired by the building blocks of 19th century Berlin, is organized around two large and two small interior courtyards that fill the block with light. Photo: arcspace Photo: arcspace Photo: arcspace The path through the smallest, ornamental courtyard behind the Palazzo Farnese. The intense colorfulness, inspired by the colors of antique architecture, tie the block together and draws attention to the allotment structure, which distinguishes the individual houses. Rossi used particular colors for particular facade materials; the more "artificial" the material, the more "vivid" the color. Photo: arcspace Photo: arcspace Photo: arcspace Photo: arcspace Blaring green and bright red signal aluminium. Muted colors; egg yolk yellow, carmine red and cornflower blue are all stucco. The earthy tones shading into red- brown or yellow indicate bricks. The pale facades are two kinds of natural stone; light and dark gray, sand and pink. The silver-grey sheet metal stays as is. "The urge towards a multiplicity of forms is unmistakable, the efforts beyond variations in color and material impressive. The varying window shapes, the appointment of the attics, the plastic development of the facades through extroverted and reticent sections, through sills and parapet; the sometimes expressly horizontal, other times explicitly vertical division of the mostly axial-symmetric facades; and finally their own, lightly staggered order all contribute to this effect. The great pains Rossi took with the design of his city-within-a-city were only initially devoted to the plausibility of its lots structure. Rather, the "city" was mainly dedicated to what he called a monument, so that it may have sovereignty over its use, just as it is sovereign over its environment." Mathias Remmele Bauwelt Berlin Annual 1997 Publisher: Birkhauser Aldo Rossi died on September 4, 1997; a day before the unveiling of the "Palazzo Farnese" facade. Planned as an event to honour Rossi, it became a farewell address. Client: Dr. Peter and Isolde Kottmair, Munich, Berlin Address: Block Schützenstrasse (north), Markgrafenstrasse (west), Zimmerstrasse (south), Charlottenstrasse (east). Berlin-Mitte Master plan and design: Aldo Rossi with Massimo Scheurer, Marc Kocher, Götz Bellmann, Walter Böhm Construction period: 1994-98 May 6, 2002 Aldo Rossi arcspace features