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Paul Scheerbart

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by Glass! Love!! Perpetual Motion!!!-A Paul Scheerbart Reader Josiah McElheny

House has an agenda. It is meant to herald a new era of architecture in which

  glass wil be on par with iron and ferroconcrete as a building material, both

  of which are also natural y indispensible for the glass house’s framework.

  Thus, the glass palace wil demonstrate al of the architectural possibili-

  ties of glass and wil inspire new perspectives for future “glass architecture.”

  The incorporation of glass into architecture wil have incalculable effects

  on the glass industry as a whole. Entirely new branches of the industry wil

  open for development. The use of glass wil also have a considerable effect

  on interior design and the applied arts.

  To support this view, let me first explain that in a colorful y ornamented

  glass room comprised of colored glass in an iron or ferroconcrete skeleton,

  furniture can no longer be placed up against the wal s. This is obvious,

  since the glass wal s are the most beautiful and precious elements in the

  whole room. This development wil necessarily have a transformative effect

  on the applied arts, which wil gradual y have to adapt to glass and iron

  architecture.

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  PAUL S C H E E R B A R T

  Furthermore, the steel furniture industry wil have to be developed, as

  steel furniture belongs in a glass house. Of course a nickel-plated glass

  chair cannot simply be placed beside an old-fashioned carved wooden

  chair. Steel furniture has to become at least as artistic as the old wooden

  furniture. This is no utopian demand, either: much can be done with

  enamel and niel o inlay, and I have no doubt that imaginative artisans

  wil easily be able to create steel furniture so aesthetical y flawless that it

  can compete against wooden furniture, which is not only flammable but

  lacks durabilty. In the foreseeable future steel may ful y replace wood as a

  material for furniture.

  At this point the nonflammable spun glass known as glass hair can also

  be considered for the interior decoration of the house. Glass hair can be

  very inexpensively and finely produced; a million meters weigh no more

  than a kilogram. Glass hair can also be made mal eable with india rubber

  or collodion coating. A patent has already been obtained for such clear

  coating. Glass hair can be put to good use in carpets, blankets, and cur-

  tains. This wil open many new branches of industry. In addition, glass

  hair, which as mentioned is very inexpensive to produce, can be used as an

  ersatz fil ing material for mattresses and pillows. It cannot be denied that

  the use of such nonflammable materials in interior decorating could make

  completely fireproof furnishing a possibility.

  At first, practical concerns stand at the forefront of glass architecture.

  Initial y, it wil be a field for engineers. It is not fantastical future plans that

  are at stake here, but rather ideas that could fundamental y improve con-

  struction. If, for example, it were merely possible to remove al flammable

  materials from living spaces, rendering firefighters practical y superfluous,

  something very tangible would be achieved, which couldn’t be criticized for

  being “fantastical” or “dreamlike.”

  Taut’s domed hal , whose rhomboid form is reminiscent of the Mameluke

  graves of Cairo, has “double” glass wal s. This too is a “practical” mat er.

  Air conducts heat poorly, so having an insulating layer of air, as occurs be-

  tween glass wal s, is a simple way of heating and cooling every room, that

  is to say, of making the space livable.

  The two glass wal s may also be spaced a meter or two apart. The glass

  house can therefore look very different from the outside than from the in-

  side, as any desired form may be fused into the wal s. This gives architects

  valuable artistic perspectives, which must not be forgotten when judging

  the value of glass architecture.

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  G L A S S HOUSES: BRUNO TAUT’S G L A S S PALACE

  Wire-glass is recommended for the exterior wal s. The wire-glass

  industry wil therefore also greatly develop. In his Glass House, Taut has

  used Luxfer Prisms for the exterior wal s.

  The lighting elements are housed in the space between the two wal s.

  This achieves wonderful effects of light both from outside and inside the

  house. . . .

  The heating and cooling mechanisms can also largely be suspended

  or placed overhead. This idea wil necessarily reshape the heating and

  cooling industry, which until now has real y been quite unartistic. Today’s

  crude-looking radiators can’t be used in a glass house.

  The exhibition space in the Cologne Glass House wil display a col-

  lection of al the existing types of glass — wire glass, frosted glass, filigree

  glass, glass blocks, enamel, enamel plates, glass mosaic, glass hair, tiffany

  glass, etc., in order to demonstrate the revival of the glass industry.

  The included il ustrations only show the Glass House from outside.

  The main room of the house — the large glass domed hal — is 10 meters

  wide and more than 7 meters high.

  Opaque colored glass covers the surface of the wal s in the ornament

  hal , which is on the lower level; many new materials are used in this room.

  The middle of the hal contains a waterfal , which is illuminated by a

  moving kaleidoscope. The kaleidoscope employs glass in a magnificent and

  rich variety of colors.

  Glass architecture wil also greatly enhance the significance of orna-

  mentation. Ornamentation is usual y preferable to figuration, as can be

  seen in the great Rhenish cathedrals.

  Glass architecture strives for a cathedral-like effect, which in my opin-

  ion can also lead to positive moral effects.

  The subject of glass architecture has only been lightly touched upon

  here. I hope I wil have more frequent opportunity to write on glass archi-

  tecture for the T.M. There is so much to discuss that an exhaustive investi-

  gation cannot be offered in only a few pages. Even addressing just the

  technical aspects, which play a very important role, since many new mate-

  rials for the glass industry haven’t yet been investigated, takes up a lot of

  space. It is precisely this which must be further discussed here.

  Translated by Anne Posten

  97

  “Glashaus Werkbund-Ausstellung Cöln 1914” (Glass House Cologne Werkbund

  Exhibition 1914) by Bruno Taut, was published to accompany Taut’s Glass

  House at the 1914 Cologne Werkbund Exhibition. The Glass House was still

  under construction when the exhibition opened to the public in May 1914.

  The building was finished most likely around July 1914, in the time for the

  annual Werkbund meeting. Taut begins the brochure with an epigraph quoting

  Scheerbart’s Glass Architecture and uses a Scheerbartian aphorism on the cover:

  DER GOTISCHE DOM IST DAS PRÄLUDIUM DER GLASARCHITEKTUR (The

  Gothic cathedral is the prelude to glass architecture). In this example preserved

  at the Baukunstarchiv in Berlin, Bruno Taut’s penciled note on the front cover

  reads: Best wishes! You really must come to Cologne. T[aut]

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  We live for the most part in closed rooms. These

  form the environment from
which our culture

  grows. Our culture is to a certain extent the prod-

  uct of our architecture. If we want our culture to rise

  to a higher level, we are obliged, for bet er or for

  worse, to change our architecture. And this only

  becomes possible if we take away the closed char-

  acter from the rooms in which we live. We can only

  do that by introducing glass architecture, which

  lets in the light of the sun, the moon, and the stars,

  nor merely through a few windows, but through

  every possible wal , which wil be made entirely of

  glass — of coloured glass. The new environment,

  which we thus create, must bring us a new culture.

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  Bruno Taut

  Glass House

  Cologne Werkbund Exhibition 1914

  The Glass House has no purpose other than to be beautiful. It is intended

  purely as a structure for exhibition and should be a beautiful source of

  ideas for “lasting” architecture but is not itself intended as such. According

  to the poet Paul Scheerbart, to whom it is dedicated, the Glass House

  should inspire the dissolution of current architecture’s far-too-restricted

  understanding of space and should introduce the effects and possibilities of

  glass into the world of architecture. May it, in its own way, help to foster

  a transformation of building toward the light and grace that it currently

  sorely lacks.

  The Glass House il ustrates the architectural possibilities that lie hid-

  den in glass, which until now has been used either sparingly or not at al .

  The house attempts to display a comprehensive variety of ways that glass

  can be used as a material for wal s, ceilings, and floors, along with several

  decorative effects and some unique manufactured glass items.

  The success of this kind of building depends not only on designing

  the entire weight-bearing structure to be as light as possible, but also on

  making the supporting elements in each section as minimal as possible.

  The former is achieved with a roof-framework that departs from the typical

  geometry. This lightness is a result of the fine craftsmanship of the Gen-

  eral Concrete and Iron Company LLC of Berlin, which alone of al the

  companies consulted for the project undertook the calculations and the

  practical realization of the structure. Despite terrible storms in March, the

  company was able to erect the entire reinforced concrete skeleton in five

  weeks. It should be noted particularly that the ribs of the dome are reduced

  to 12⁄20 cm and that the sheathing of the concrete framework was therefore

  seldom difficult or complicated.

  Visitors to the building proceed along the fol owing path: first, a concrete

  staircase leads to the terrace. Wal s made of Luxfer Prism glass (German

  Luxfer Prism-Syndicate) enclose the house, and in fact one of the afore-

  mentioned company’s patents, for Keplerian Reinforced Concrete-Glass

  (very thin reinforced concrete ribs between the pieces of glass), was put to

  good use here. The dedication plaque embedded in the wal exemplifies a

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  BRU NO TAUT

  particular method of electrolytic glass bonding. Two Luxfer-glass glazed

  iron staircases lead upward from the terrace to the hal of glass. The inner

  surface of the dome consists of very costly Luxfer Prisms, some of which are

  made of solid colored glass, but otherwise al of which are backed by col-

  ored glass panels mounted in galvanized copper. New arrangements and

  even new shapes have been developed for the glass prisms. The German

  Luxfer Prism-Syndicate is the only company in Germany that manufac-

  tures this type of beautiful prism glass for architectural use. In order to

  protect this precious inner shel from dust and rain, the dome is external y

  glazed with large plate glass panes. The outside gives the visual impression

  of a crystal made up of rhombi, while the plate glass also serves a crucial

  temperature-control ing function by dispersing the sun’s warmth through

  the layer of air between the panes. Luckily, the sirocco winds ventilate

  the house wel enough to overcome the greenhouse atmosphere one might

  justifiably fear in a glass house. The floor of the glass hal is also comprised

  of a rhomboid pattern of Luxfer Prisms combined with yel ow and white

  glass circular panes.

  An opening in the floor looks into the basement of the Glass House, where

  the waterfal and the kaleidoscope are located. Two Luxfer-glass staircases

  lead downward between Luxfer-glass wal s. The wal s of the upper circu-

  lar section of the basement are made of silver smalt. Silver or gold smalt is

  the name for glass that has a sheen of silver or gold yet is translucent. This

  product is made by the Puhl & Wagner company of Treptow in Berlin,

  which is the only company to hold a patent for and manufacture such glass.

  A number of artistic lead-glazed windows are embedded in the mother-

  of-pearl-like wal s, foremost among which is a large window designed by

  the painter Franz Mutzenbecher and realized by J. Schmidt-Berlin. Al of

  the other windows also demonstrate special effects of glass. The ceiling of

  the room is tapered and consists of luminescent red flashed glass and gold

  smalt mounted in lead. The J. Schmidt and Gottfried Heinersdorf compa-

  nies of Berlin, who hold a deservedly high reputation for stained glass, are

  responsible for the execution of the wal s and ceiling.

  A waterfal bubbles forth from a round pool in the center of the ornament

  room, forming ever-changing shapes as it pours downward over five terrace-

  like levels. This cascade is made of ornamental and plate glass mounted

  on a strong backing of unpolished glass and is lit from behind with Osram

  lamps. The construction of the cascade posed serious difficulties, as the

  large glass sheets and the strength of the light sources behind them made it

  difficult to make the structure sufficiently watertight. The rim of the fountain

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  G L A S S HOUSE

  has a border of black glass tiles. The United Zwiesel and Pirna Colored

  Glassworks Corp. of Munich was responsible for the construction of the

  waterfal , as wel as for al glass materials used in its construction, including

  the unusual-looking “slag glass” (a waste-product of the glassmaking process

  from the hearth of the furnace), with the exception of the precious glass

  beads scattered throughout. The same company also made and instal ed the

  aforementioned glass tiles for the cascade’s rim and for the wal s. This tiling

  is particularly noteworthy, as it exhibits an exceptional y rich range of colors

  arranged in painterly compositions. The Zwiesel and Pirna Colored Glass-

  works make tile in a wide variety of colors that cannot be found elsewhere,

  for example gold-red, iridescent black, and the like. These two factories are

  the only ones in Germany that make this kind of solid colored glass tile.

  The same company made the glass ceiling of the cascade room, making the

  company responsible for the entire inner casing of this room, right down to

  the floor. The floor does not depart from the house’s uniformity of materials.

  It contains a be
autiful glass mosaic of blue and black glass pebbles made by

  N. Rosenfeld & Co. of Berlin.

  The cascade’s downward trail leads the eye to a purple fabric-lined

  niche with a screen, upon which rhythmical y shifting kaleidoscopic images

  are projected. The beauty of the images reminds the viewer of childhood.

  Until now, what the eye sees in a kaleidoscope had never been successful y

  projected onto a screen, since in the projected image the mirrored parts

  of the image are usual y obscured by the opacity of the tube that holds

  them. This is the first time that such clear kaleidoscopic images have been

  projected. The contents of the kaleidoscope itself were composed by vari-

  ous artists and are displayed in rotation. Even if the image created by the

  system of mirrors is a result of chance, the artistic choice and arrangement

  of colors and forms inside the tube can create very individualized results.

  Once a visitor has enjoyed the effects of the various rooms, from the

  light-fil ed colored glass hal to the mother-of-pearl and gold smalt room

  and final y the cascade and the impressive kaleidoscope, two doors at

  ground level lead back into the open air. In the evening, the il uminated

  building attracts the gaze. In a glass house there is no need for the external

  “il umination” of arranged lightbulbs or the like. One needs only to light

  the rooms of a glass house, and it wil be beautiful y illuminated outside as

  wel . Large white spheres hang from the ceiling of the dome — seven, the

  holy number — each one as bright as a thousand candles. Made of precious

  English frosted glass, these fixtures drench the entire building in a strong

  light that reflects on the prisms and makes them sparkle magnificently. In

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  BRU NO TAUT

  the middle of the circle formed by these seven spheres hangs a large cluster

  of colored lightbulbs, which, in contrast to the white light of the spheres,

  complement the colors in the building. As in the glass hal , the cascade

  and the kaleidoscopes are illuminated by Osram lamps made by the Auer

  Company.

  Al of the participating companies and the Werkbund deserve thanks

  for their contributions to the realization of the Glass House. I hope that

  it wil win many new supporters of the intimate charm of glass and glass

  architecture. To complement the effect of the house, several designs for other

 

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