Archinect - News

Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky invented the modern kitchen

2019-05-08T12:37:00-04:00

Following World War I, Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky (1897–2000) was tasked with the design of standard kitchens for a new housing project by city planner and architect Ernst May. The Great War left rubble and a desperate housing shortage in its wake, but it also opened the way for new ideas and new designs.

Prior to World War II, the only homes to have complete kitchen spaces also typically had servants to make use of them, while apartments and tenement housing rarely had space for a room purely dedicated to cooking. The kitchen, in other words, was a luxury before a plan to make it more standard and efficient was conceived by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, the first Austrian women to qualify as an architect.

Plan of the Frankfurt Kitchen indicating its labor saving features. Drawn in 1927.

Schütte-Lihotzky's invention, known as the Frankfurt Kitchen, was compact enough to fit into apartment buildings and boasted ingenious features including, according to Sarah Archer, "an electric stove, a window over the sink, and lots of ingenious built-in storage including custom aluminum bins with a spout at one end." Its compact layout was determined by the typical cooking/cleaning sequences of the time, significantly reducing the time one spent in the space. Its efficient use of space not only made...

New European hyperloop proposed running from Amsterdam to Frankfurt

2018-09-14T13:07:00-04:00

The UNStudio Futures Team (UNSFutures) recently announced plans for a 'Station of the Future' at the first edition of HyperSummit. Organized by Hardt Hyperloop, the summit took place in Utrecht, Netherlands focusing on urgency, research, and collaboration to realize a European hyperloop.

'Station of the Future' from Amsterdam to Frankfurt by UNSFutures © Plompmozes

The proposed hyperloop will run from Amsterdam to Frankfurt in 53 minutes. Using technology powered by solar panels, the hyperloop will produce no sound or environmental emissions and can provide the necessary energy to power itself.

'Station of the Future' modular diagram © UNStudio

The station has been envisioned as a series of tessellating components which can adapt to a range of possible contexts: city-centre, edge of city or adjoining an existing infrastructure hub, such as an airport.

UNStudio to redevelop former Deutsche Bank site in Frankfurt

2017-03-02T14:22:00-05:00

It's a double-win for UNStudio in a plan to revive the former Deutsche Bank site in Frankfurt, Germany. Almost a year after being selected to design the masterplan, the practice announced today that they also had the winning architectural proposal...The mixed-use project is a key component in reviving the former bank site, which has been closed to the public for nearly 50 years.

Take a peek at UNStudio's winning scheme on Bustler.

Daniel Libeskind turns 70; designs Musical Labyrinth for Frankfurt Opera

2016-05-12T13:29:00-04:00

Preparations are still running for various events around Daniel Libeskind's 70th birthday, among them the concert project "One Day in Life." Libeskind has designed the project for Frankfurt's Old Opera. A total of 75 concerts are to be given on May 21 and 22 at 18 different locations spread over the city of Frankfurt. Libeskind's idea was to bring music to places where hitherto no music had been played, for example hospitals, public baths or hidden bunkers.

Via @daniellibeskind on Instagram: "In Frankfurt installing the Musical Labyrinth for One Day in Life that opens May 20th. #onedayinlife"

Other recent Libeskind stories in the Archinect news:

Designing for the Night

2015-03-13T15:10:00-04:00

When I speak with a student about nightlife they have something different in mind than a 65-year old town planning manager. In the municipalities, finding contacts is difficult - often nobody feels responsible or capable of speaking. That should change.

There are sleepy cities and cities that never sleep. There are cities famed for their raucous nightlife, and others whose adolescent residents dream of leaving. According to the German urban scientist Jakob F. Schmid, interviewed for DW.DE, "Nightlife often defines the character of entire streets or districts." Schmid runs the "City After Eight - Management of the Urban Night Economy" project with Thomas Krüger, which is funded by the German government.

Looking at a variety of German cities including Berlin, Hamburg, and Frankfurt, the researchers mapped nightlife "with online recommendation platforms as the basis for the data." The hazy blue results indicate that various forms a city's nightlife may take. In the famed-party city Berlin, for example, hotspots are diffused throughout the expansive metropolis. In a traditional German city, on the other hand, the nightlife tends to be concentrated "on the city center, usually on the streets directly surrounding the center proper."

In the...

NMDA, 3XN, and MAD among first six teams competing for Porsche residential tower

2014-11-14T19:52:00-05:00

Luxury brand Porsche Design recently launched a closed invite-only competition to find the architect for their Porsche Design Tower in Frankfurt, Germany. The winning proposal will have the most fitting urban architectural concept along with ideas for the surrounding outdoor spaces. The project will be Porsche's debut in real estate in Europe.

Out of a goal of 20 participating architecture teams, the first six firms to compete are:

Delugan Meissl Associated Architects, Vienna (Austria)
3XN, Copenhagen (Denmark)
Neutelings Riedijk Architecten, Rotterdam (The Netherlands)
Stefano Boeri Architetti, Milan (Italy)
MAD architects, Beijing (China)
Neil M. Denari Architects, Los Angeles (USA)

Find out more about the project on Bustler.

ECB Headquarters: Skyrocketing Costs for Skyscraper Project

2013-11-08T14:09:00-05:00

Estimated costs for the European Central Bank's new headquarters in Frankfurt have more than doubled. As has been happening with so many major projects in Germany, its construction has been plagued by poor planning, oversight and execution -- and endless delays.

Previously: Starchitect Trio: The Men Behind Germany's Building Debacles