Our house belongs to a group of residential buildings that were experimentally developed and built in the early 1970s by Otto Steidle together with Ralph and Doris Thut. Winner of several awards, they have long since gone down in the architectural history of post-war modernism. To this day, they are exemplary for architectures that can be converted and adapted by their inhabitants according to their needs and with economical means.

Like a tree, the concrete supports with their consoles projecting on all sides set the framework that already indicates the possibility of further construction. Depending on the height at which the crossbeams rest, staggered levels result, allowing for one-, one-and-a-half- or two-story rooms. Depending on the plane in which the post-and-beam facade sits, bay windows, loggias or terraces are formed. In the multi-sectioned framework, glass surfaces alternate with colored panels, which provide the necessary privacy. Otherwise, the glass architecture provides for light-flooded living in the midst of greenery.

The exterior staircases build bridges to the higher-lying entrances, create connections and – as in the case of our house – set the stage for the separation of residential units.

In the fifty years of their existence, Otto Steidle’s “living structures” have proven that they can adapt to a wide variety of living constellations without losing their character. The robust skeleton construction, for example, has enabled us to combine an editorial office with family life. After the last conversion, two separate units were created: Upstairs, an apartment with a roof terrace for son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren; downstairs, a spacious apartment with terrace and garden, which I originally planned to occupy alone as a senior until I met my new wife…. Since then, living in the countryside, I have been renting out my apartment, often to guest lecturers for one or two terms.

The first buildings in the group at Genter-Strasse are now listed among the youngest architectural monuments in the city of Munich and represent the spirit of optimism that prevailed in the run-up to the 1972 Olympic Games.

further reading:

Otto Steidle: Bewohnbare Bauten / Structures for Living. Edited by Florian Kossak. Zürich, München, London: Artemis Verlag AG, 1994.

Ernst et al., Otto Steidle – Land, Stadt, Haus. Catalogue for the exhibition of the same name at the Architekturmuseum of the Technical University München from 20.11.2003 to 15.02.2004. Salzburg, München: Pustet Verlag, 2004.