Zickzackhausen / Bruchfeldstraße housing estate

The "future of housing" was a buzzword of the New Frankfurt. But what this should look like remained abstract for many citizens - until this housing estate was built on Bruchfeldstrasse in Niederrad in 1926. The people of Frankfurt dubbed the complex "Zickzackhausen" because the individual units of the new block development jutted out in a row like saw teeth. With this trick, architect Ernst May not only optimized the incidence of light, but also created an eccentric form that became a symbol of his ideas. The central block of flats was grouped around a park-like inner courtyard with a playground, water basin and gardens. Instead of dark rear courtyards, as previously known from tenements, May planned with "light, air and sun" and oriented kitchens, living rooms and roof terraces towards the courtyard. The famous Frankfurt fitted kitchen was a standard feature, the estate had its own radio station and a central laundry with electric washing machines. And yet the "future of living" in Zickzackhausen also took some getting used to for many, because the absolute commitment to functionality also meant: small rooms, low ceilings, little space. In the urban planners' concept, 50 square meters of living space was intended for four to five people.