In the specialist literature, the Berlin tenement (Berliner Mietskaserne) is considered as the ep... more In the specialist literature, the Berlin tenement (Berliner Mietskaserne) is considered as the epitome of speculative overuse of the residential block on the eve of the Modern period. This view misses the fact that at the turn of the 19th century, several urban districts in Berlin were built for an emerging middle class that are of outstanding urban quality. The entrepreneur Georg Haberland (Berlinische Boden- Gesellschaft) developed entire neighborhoods that contributed greatly to the history of urban development at the beginning of the 20th century – a contribution seriously underestimated. In addition to the Anglo-Saxon way of suburbanization of the middle class and the French way of urbanization of the bourgeoisie within the existing town – which are commented on extensively – the urban interventions of Haberland are a little-documented third way in the history of city expansions. In this paper, first, I address the question of the urban qualities of the Bavarian District (Bayer...
The construction of the city in the period of the Enlightenment can be summarised for Paris under... more The construction of the city in the period of the Enlightenment can be summarised for Paris under the term ‘embelissement’ (beautification). In the 18th century, Marc-Antoine Laugier and Pierre Patte created a strategy for the construction of the city that brought public space to the centre of attention and proposed measures to move the mediaeval city to a higher level in terms of safety, hygiene and transport. Streets and public buildings in particular influenced the ordered planning. A primary element of this strategy was its visualisation, which experienced its typical artistic creation in the second half of the century through a combination of the city master plan and explanatory vedute. Like the architectural and construction realisation, its significance in terms of visualisation can be representatively described using the example of Bern and Berlin. With respect to social relevance, the development of Prague and the emergence of Czech national consciousness is an especially distinct example for the history of the effect of ‘embelissement’. Keywords: 18th century – Paris – Bern – Berlin – Prague – Enlightenment – embellissement – construction strategy
The 18th International Planning History Society Conference -Yokohama, 2018
In the specialist literature, the Berlin tenement (Berliner Mietskaserne) is considered as the ep... more In the specialist literature, the Berlin tenement (Berliner Mietskaserne) is considered as the epitome of speculative overuse of the residential block on the eve of the Modern period. This view misses the fact that at the turn of the 19 th century, several urban districts in Berlin were built for an emerging middle class that are of outstanding urban quality. The entrepreneur Georg Haberland (Berlinische Boden-Gesellschaft) developed entire neighborhoods that contributed greatly to the history of urban development at the beginning of the 20th century-a contribution seriously underestimated. In addition to the Anglo-Saxon way of suburbanization of the middle class and the French way of urbanization of the bourgeoisie within the existing town-which are commented on extensively-the urban interventions of Haberland are a little-documented third way in the history of city expansions. In this paper, first, I address the question of the urban qualities of the Bavarian District (Bayerisches Viertel), drawing on previously unpublished historical sources. And second, I propose a thesis how to place Haberland's undervalued contribution in the wider context of Berlins planning history and beyond. Planning urban settlements from scratch is a current and crucial topic particularly in the US and in East Asia. Corresponding current projects-often designed by European planners-can be found especially in China.
Jahrbuch Stadterneuerung 2013 - Das Ende der Behutsamkeit?, 2013
Der Begriff der Behutsamkeit prägt seit mindestens dreißig Jahren die Haltung der Denkmalpflege i... more Der Begriff der Behutsamkeit prägt seit mindestens dreißig Jahren die Haltung der Denkmalpflege im Umgang mit der schützenswerten Stadt. Obwohl grundsätzlich unbestritten, wird der Begriff häufig euphemistisch für die Konservierung des status quo verwendet. Am Beispiel der Altstadt von Bern kann gezeigt werden, inwiefern eine nuancierte Interpretation des Behutsamkeitsbegriffs sowohl dem Denkmalschutz als auch der zukunftsfähigen Bestandsentwicklung der historischen Stadt gerecht werden kann. Auf der Grundlage der Definierung einer strukturellen Behutsamkeit wird der Begriff der Superposition vorgeschlagen, der die Erneuerung im erhaltenswerten Stadtensemble beschreibt. Dabei wird die zeitgenössische Intervention im denkmalgeschützten Stadtkörper als Überlagerung verstanden, welche sich aus der strukturellen, urbanen Logik herleitet und damit die denkmalverträgliche Kontinuität in der Entwicklung der Stadt gewährleistet.
Rehab 2014 – Proceedings of the International Conference on Preservation, Maintenance and Rehabilitation of Historic Buildings and Structures, 2014
Based on the example of the old town of Berne, which is listed as a world cultural heritage site,... more Based on the example of the old town of Berne, which is listed as a world cultural heritage site, it can be demonstrated, that the urban 18th century strategy called ‚embellissement’ is still nowadays a sustainability strategy for the preservation and the development of historic sites by extrapolating it as a strategy of ‘superposition’. Above all it shows the relevancy for a local and traditional approach in terms of preservation and it isolates the sociological back- ground of the ‘boundary object’, that is related with the hermeneutical substructure of Gadamers focus on prejudice, history and tradition, as well as Halbwachs’ concept of the collective memory. Assembling this theoretical foil with the practical concept of the ‚embellissement’ leads to a definition of cultural sustainability in terms of preservation and progress.
In the specialist literature, the Berlin tenement (Berliner Mietskaserne) is considered as the ep... more In the specialist literature, the Berlin tenement (Berliner Mietskaserne) is considered as the epitome of speculative overuse of the residential block on the eve of the Modern period. This view misses the fact that at the turn of the 19th century, several urban districts in Berlin were built for an emerging middle class that are of outstanding urban quality. The entrepreneur Georg Haberland (Berlinische Boden- Gesellschaft) developed entire neighborhoods that contributed greatly to the history of urban development at the beginning of the 20th century – a contribution seriously underestimated. In addition to the Anglo-Saxon way of suburbanization of the middle class and the French way of urbanization of the bourgeoisie within the existing town – which are commented on extensively – the urban interventions of Haberland are a little-documented third way in the history of city expansions. In this paper, first, I address the question of the urban qualities of the Bavarian District (Bayer...
The construction of the city in the period of the Enlightenment can be summarised for Paris under... more The construction of the city in the period of the Enlightenment can be summarised for Paris under the term ‘embelissement’ (beautification). In the 18th century, Marc-Antoine Laugier and Pierre Patte created a strategy for the construction of the city that brought public space to the centre of attention and proposed measures to move the mediaeval city to a higher level in terms of safety, hygiene and transport. Streets and public buildings in particular influenced the ordered planning. A primary element of this strategy was its visualisation, which experienced its typical artistic creation in the second half of the century through a combination of the city master plan and explanatory vedute. Like the architectural and construction realisation, its significance in terms of visualisation can be representatively described using the example of Bern and Berlin. With respect to social relevance, the development of Prague and the emergence of Czech national consciousness is an especially distinct example for the history of the effect of ‘embelissement’. Keywords: 18th century – Paris – Bern – Berlin – Prague – Enlightenment – embellissement – construction strategy
The 18th International Planning History Society Conference -Yokohama, 2018
In the specialist literature, the Berlin tenement (Berliner Mietskaserne) is considered as the ep... more In the specialist literature, the Berlin tenement (Berliner Mietskaserne) is considered as the epitome of speculative overuse of the residential block on the eve of the Modern period. This view misses the fact that at the turn of the 19 th century, several urban districts in Berlin were built for an emerging middle class that are of outstanding urban quality. The entrepreneur Georg Haberland (Berlinische Boden-Gesellschaft) developed entire neighborhoods that contributed greatly to the history of urban development at the beginning of the 20th century-a contribution seriously underestimated. In addition to the Anglo-Saxon way of suburbanization of the middle class and the French way of urbanization of the bourgeoisie within the existing town-which are commented on extensively-the urban interventions of Haberland are a little-documented third way in the history of city expansions. In this paper, first, I address the question of the urban qualities of the Bavarian District (Bayerisches Viertel), drawing on previously unpublished historical sources. And second, I propose a thesis how to place Haberland's undervalued contribution in the wider context of Berlins planning history and beyond. Planning urban settlements from scratch is a current and crucial topic particularly in the US and in East Asia. Corresponding current projects-often designed by European planners-can be found especially in China.
Jahrbuch Stadterneuerung 2013 - Das Ende der Behutsamkeit?, 2013
Der Begriff der Behutsamkeit prägt seit mindestens dreißig Jahren die Haltung der Denkmalpflege i... more Der Begriff der Behutsamkeit prägt seit mindestens dreißig Jahren die Haltung der Denkmalpflege im Umgang mit der schützenswerten Stadt. Obwohl grundsätzlich unbestritten, wird der Begriff häufig euphemistisch für die Konservierung des status quo verwendet. Am Beispiel der Altstadt von Bern kann gezeigt werden, inwiefern eine nuancierte Interpretation des Behutsamkeitsbegriffs sowohl dem Denkmalschutz als auch der zukunftsfähigen Bestandsentwicklung der historischen Stadt gerecht werden kann. Auf der Grundlage der Definierung einer strukturellen Behutsamkeit wird der Begriff der Superposition vorgeschlagen, der die Erneuerung im erhaltenswerten Stadtensemble beschreibt. Dabei wird die zeitgenössische Intervention im denkmalgeschützten Stadtkörper als Überlagerung verstanden, welche sich aus der strukturellen, urbanen Logik herleitet und damit die denkmalverträgliche Kontinuität in der Entwicklung der Stadt gewährleistet.
Rehab 2014 – Proceedings of the International Conference on Preservation, Maintenance and Rehabilitation of Historic Buildings and Structures, 2014
Based on the example of the old town of Berne, which is listed as a world cultural heritage site,... more Based on the example of the old town of Berne, which is listed as a world cultural heritage site, it can be demonstrated, that the urban 18th century strategy called ‚embellissement’ is still nowadays a sustainability strategy for the preservation and the development of historic sites by extrapolating it as a strategy of ‘superposition’. Above all it shows the relevancy for a local and traditional approach in terms of preservation and it isolates the sociological back- ground of the ‘boundary object’, that is related with the hermeneutical substructure of Gadamers focus on prejudice, history and tradition, as well as Halbwachs’ concept of the collective memory. Assembling this theoretical foil with the practical concept of the ‚embellissement’ leads to a definition of cultural sustainability in terms of preservation and progress.
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Papers by Michael Locher
Keywords: 18th century – Paris – Bern – Berlin – Prague – Enlightenment – embellissement – construction strategy
Keywords: 18th century – Paris – Bern – Berlin – Prague – Enlightenment – embellissement – construction strategy