Paul Scheerbart
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wait until pyrotechnics have been further developed.
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Colour-lit pools, fountains and waterfalls
This chapter shall be left to the landscape architects. They will tackle
the job with great enthusiasm and be determined to offer more than
the rococo period offered us.
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The discovery of the brick bacillus
Brick decays. Hence fungus. The discovery of the brick bacillus is
no great discovery, but now the doctor also has a major interest in
finally ousting the cult of brick.
In the cellars of brick houses the air is always full of brick bacilli;
glass architecture needs no cellars beneath it.
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The nervous effect of very bright light unsoftened by colour
We have to thank very bright lights, in part, for the nervous ailments
of our time. Light softened by colour calms the nerves. In many san-
atoria it is recommended by nerve doctors as beneficial.
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Railway stations and glass architecture
For station premises, which have to be screened at least partially
against wind and rain, glass architecture is so appropriate that noth-
ing further needs to be said about it.
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Uniform street lamps and their elimination
If we must mention something detestable, this is, in my view, those
street lamps which in every town look so alike that one cannot help
wondering how mankind can be capable of such monotonous repe-
tition. Happily, this repetition can be quickly eliminated by combina-
tions of coloured glass hanging-lamps, which are adaptable to a vast
number of forms. This elimination will of course come very soon.
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Present-day travel
Today people travel from nervous habit: they want to have something
different and although they know that all hotels and towns, mountain
villages and health resorts have a dreadful sameness, they travel there
just the same. They travel, knowing well that they will find nothing
better wherever they go.
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Future travel
In the future, people will travel in order to look at new glass archi-
tecture, which will differ widely in various parts of the world.
To travel for the sake of glass architecture has at all events a
meaning; one may surely expect new glass effects in other places.
One may also assume that nine-tenths of the daily press will report
only on new glass effects. The daily press wants novelty — so it will
not be unfriendly to glass.
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The Doppler and the Zeeman effects
It has often been said that glass is not a ‘precious’ commodity.
In contrast to this, remember Frauenhofer’s lines of the glass
spectrum. In addition, Christian Doppler discovered that light, when
it approaches or recedes, breaks up Frauenhofer’s lines into infra-red
and ultra-violet. By using photography it has been possible to mea-
sure this, and from these measurements we know precisely whether
stars of weak luminosity are approaching us or receding, and at what
speed. Without glass the Doppler effect would not be discernable; I
should think that this speaks volumes for the importance of glass.
The Zeeman effect occurs through the action of a magnetic field
and a flame; the spectrum then shows Frauenhofer’s lines suddenly
triplicated. From the ‘triplets’ one can determine the existence of
magnetic fields, which are detectable in sun-storms and explain the
constitution of sun-spots. I believe that the Zeeman effect also speaks
volumes for the importance of glass.
Thus one can no longer be permitted to describe glass as of little
value; whoever does that has no right to be considered an educated
person.
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Which spheres of interest are fostered
or endangered by glass architecture
The livelihood of masons and carpenters — from what has been said
above — is clearly threatened; also that of the whole timber industry,
joiners, turners, etc. But the process will not be so rapid that it will
be impossible to assimilate those affected into other trades; they
will have plenty of time to transfer to the metal and glass industries.
Very many new skills are required, and nothing stands in the way
of change.
Admittedly, many locksmiths say that a mason could never
become a locksmith; the locksmith only says this because he fears
competition.
But the spheres which will inevitably be stimulated by glass archi-
tecture are principally heavy industry, the chemical dye industry and
the glass industry.
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Heavy industry
The introduction of iron into house-building will, beyond question,
bring so many new orders to heavy industry that it could continue
to exist even if all cannon-making were stopped. Accordingly, heavy
industry would be well advised not to take the ideas discussed in
this book too lightly; they will bring it great pecuniary advantages.
In any case, heavy industry should note that there will be many new
potential clients because of glass architecture.
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The chemical dye industry
The same thing applies to the colour industry. Glass architecture will
consume vast quantities of colour.
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The glass industry
It is undeniable that the glass industry has the lion’s share in glass
architecture. The present scale of the industry, however, is inadequate
for the greater demand; it must expand in proportion. The financial
success which will result from this is quite incalculable.
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The influence of coloured glass on the plant world
Glass architecture will also exercise an influence on botanical gar-
dens; entirely colourless, plain glass will be gradually abandoned.
Coloured glass will only be used externally, where it does not absorb
too much light. The plants will then be exposed experimentally to
coloured light, and the experts may well have some surprises. The
experiments should not be carried out in haste.
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Art in bridge building
There have been times when the engineer has had the upper hand
over the architect; not unnatural y, for the engineer was more needed.
Today the engineer no longer wants to stuff all the fees into
his pocket; he gladly allows half to the architect. This will soon be
apparent in bridge building, where there are high artistic ambitions.
One could wish that these related to glass architecture.
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The transformation of the Earth’s surface
So many ideas constantly sound to us like a fairy-tale, when they
are not real y fantastic or utopian at all. Eighty years ago, the steam
railway came, and undeniably transformed the face of the earth.
From what has been said so far the earth’s surface will once again
be transformed, this time by glass architecture. If it comes, a meta-
morphosis will occur, but other factors
must naturally be taken into
consideration, which cannot be discussed here.
The present brick ‘culture’ of the city, which we all deplore, is
due to the railway. Glass architecture will only come if the city as
we know it goes. It is completely clear to all those who care about
the future of our civilization that this dissolution must take place.
To labour the point is useless.
We all know what is meant by colour; it forms only a small part
of the spectrum. But we want to have that part. Infra-red and ultra-
violet are not perceptible to our eyes — but ultra-violet is perceptible
to the sensory organs of ants. If we cannot at the moment accept
that our sensory organs will develop appropriately overnight, we are
justified in accepting that we should first reach for what is within
our grasp — i.e., that part of the spectrum which we are able to take
in with our own eyes — in fact, the miracles of colour, which we are
in a position to appreciate ourselves. In this, only glass architecture,
which will inevitably transform our whole lives and the environment
in which we live, is going to help us. So we must hope that glass
architecture will indeed transform the face of our world.
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The transformation of the official architect
When the private client wants to build, he looks for the best archi-
tect. When the state wants to build, government architects are at its
disposal — not the best architects, who are generally freelancers. This
is a deplorable situation, and it is the state that one chiefly deplores.
These official architects, who are always hamstrung by the bureau-
cracy (hence their inhibitions and conservatism), must once again
become free; otherwise they will hinder future architectural progress.
One sees from the buildings produced by official architects that they
are scared of colour; scared of ridicule. This remarkable colour-
shyness stems from old Peter Cornelius who would have nothing to
do with colour.
In the botanical gardens at Dahlem there is as yet no orchid
house. This is bound to be a glass palace. Its construction must be
already assigned to government architects. I am curious to see the
result. Heating by (ceramic) stoves has been proposed, for they are
supposed to be better-suited to orchids than central heating; I do
not know whether the construction of the stoves is being entrusted
to a government master-potter.
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The psychological effects of the
glass architectural environment
The peculiar influence of coloured glass light was already known
to the priests of ancient Babylon and Syria; they were the first to
exploit the coloured glass hanging lamp in the temples, and the
coloured glass ampul a was later introduced into churches throughout
Byzantium and in Europe. From these were developed the stained
glass windows of the Gothic period; it is not to be wondered at that
these make an especially festive impression, but such an impression
from coloured glass is inevitably inherent in glass architecture; its
effect on the human psyche can accordingly only be good, for it
corresponds to that created by the windows of the Gothic cathedrals
and Byzantium glass ampullæ. Glass architecture makes homes into
cathedrals, with the same effects.
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A composed and settled nation,
when glass architecture comes
When home life has reached the stage where even the wildest fancies
appear to be realized, the longing for something different ceases;
people will travel only to learn about a particular type of glass art
and possibly to bring it home — to be able to reproduce it in a similar
design.
Perhaps somewhere one may discover the art of making glass
fibres like brocade, so that the fibres, viewed from different angles,
wil show different colour effects. Perhaps somewhere they can make
a lace-like fabric from glass fibres and fix it to a darker glass wal of
one colour; an intimate effect might result, and this would make for
a homey appearance, which one would leave reluctantly; a curtain
effect would be created. Perhaps then one would only travel to find
out about new glass crafts; much that was new might emerge from
old designs. But the entirely new is also to be expected from the great
inventors of our own and future times.
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More coloured light!
We must not strive to increase the intensity of light — today it is
already too strong and no longer endurable. But a gentler light is
worth striving for. Not more light! — ‘more coloured light!’ must be
the watchword.
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The main entrance
In my opinion, the entrance to a great palace should always be an
open hall of many glass walls, gathered together one upon another
like the petals of an exquisite flower. The best architects should
devote themselves particularly to entrance-hal construction, and then
invite the interior designers to surpass the complicated architectonic
effects. This should create a splendid challenge; and it would simply
be necessary for the client to bear the cost and not come to the end
of his financial resources too quickly.
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The monumental
The pyramids are monumental. Cologne cathedral, too, is monumen-
tal — the Eiffel tower is also often so described nowadays, but the
idea of what is monumental will be changed by glass architecture.
Glass towers will be built deep in the sea, creating a special kind of
luxury architecture, cool and very peaceful. Many people might think
of giant windmills, with sails over a hundred metres long; but town
hall and powder-magazine towers might not be suitable for windmill
purposes; brick architecture would not stand up to a severe storm.
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Streets and highways as light-column avenues
The verges of streets and highways will no longer be planted with
trees, which are not high enough for the purpose, but columns of
light, provided with festoons of lights and shedding constantly chang-
ing coloured light, would be highly appropriate for verges.
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Chemistry and technics in the twentieth century
We are not at the end of a cultural period — but at the beginning. We
still have extraordinary marvels to expect from technics and chem-
isty, which should not be forgotten. This ought to give us constant
encouragement. Unsplinterable glass should be mentioned here, in
which a celluloid sheet is placed between two sheets of glass and
joins them together.
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Glass culture
After all the above, we can indeed speak of a glass culture. The
new glass environment will completely transform mankind, and it
remains only to wish that the new glass culture will not find too
many opponents. It is to be hoped, in fact, that glass culture will
have ever fewer opponents; to cling to th
e old is in many matters
a good thing; in this way at any rate the old is preserved. We, too,
want to cling to the old — the pyramids of ancient Egypt should most
certainly not be abolished.
But we also want to strive after the new, with all the resources
at our disposal; more power to them!
Translated by James Palmes
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THE CRYSTAL VISION OF PAUL S C H E E R B A R T
“Glashäuser: Bruno Taut’s Glaspalast auf der Werkbund-Ausstellung in Cöln”
(Glass houses: Bruno Taut’s Glass Palace at the Cologne Werkbund Exhibition)
by Paul Scheerbart was originally published in the March 1914 issue of the jour-
nal of technology, culture, and life, Technische Monatshefte: Technik für Alle
(Engineering monthly: Technology for all), Franckh’sche Verlagshandlung,
Stuttgart. Taut’s model for the Glass House is reproduced on the opening page
of Scheerbart’s article. This preview of the Glass House was based only on the
model and architectural drawings from Taut’s office, as the actual building
would not be completed until the official opening of the Glass House four
months later. Scheerbart had hoped that his book Glass Architecture would be
published by Technische Monatshefte, but perhaps due to its construction as a
kind of modernist “novel” it was instead published by the artistic imprint of the
magazine Der Sturm (The storm).
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Paul Scheerbart
Glass Houses: Bruno Taut’s
Glass Palace at the
Cologne Werkbund Exhibition
Iron and ferroconcrete are the two building materials that are truly suit-
able for architecture today. Along with these, another material has recently
gained favor in the building industry: glass — the extensive use of glass has
already become typical in modern industrial building. At this year’s Werk-
bund Exhibition in Cologne, new possibilities for glass’s use in architecture
wil be revealed. Bruno Taut, builder of the iron monument at the Leipzig
Architecture Exhibition, wil build a “monument of glass” for the Werk-
bund Exhibition. The il ustrations included here show what it wil look like.
This glass palace is designed above al to prove that glass can be used
for much more than just windows; wal s, too, can be built of glass. Glass’s
translucence (not transparence) makes it unparal eled for wal s, since no
other building material can achieve such magnificent effects. Taut’s Glass