Built as part of the Interbau Exhibition rehabilitation program, in which Le Corbusier, Walter Gropius, and Ludwig Mies van der Rohe also participated.

"The model apartment building in the Hansaviertel was built on the occasion of the Interbau exhibition in Berlin. This design sought to combine as far as possible the advantages of the private house with its own garden and those of the typical apartment house. Hence, conventional narrow balconies were expanded to become outdoor patios around which the rooms of each apartment were grouped. This 'intimate arrangement' gives the occupants the advantage of a small garden combined with complete privacy."

— Karl Fleig. Alvar Aalto. p192

The Creator's Words

On bringing to apartment-block living some of the qualities of the private house:

"The conventional small corridor-like balconies were here transformed into patios around which the rooms of the apartments were grouped. This grouping around the open-air room created an intimate, private atmosphere."

— Alvar Aalto, from Malcolm Quantrill. Alvar Aalto: a Critical Study. p144.

Details

The eight-story apartment block was designed and built 1955 to 1957.