are very few different types of dwelling in Westhausen (figures 34 and 35) and the
differentiation of the urban spaces is carried out with a much more limited range of
devices (there are no more architectural accents in the form of special corners, gate-
houses, underpasses, and so on).
Even so, many of the most distinctive features of the achievements of Das
Neue Frankfurtcontinue to be present in Westhausen: the neat, imaginative layout
of the public spaces (the communal strips of grass and the sequence formed by foot-
path, grass strips, and private gardens); the feeling for architectural detail (the pro-
tection against curious passersby that is provided by raising the ground-floor story,
the provision of tiny front gardens, the entrances with canopies over them); the high
standard of amenities and—considering the spatial limitations—the outstanding or-
ganization of the floor plans of the dwellings.^77 The systematic seriality punctuated
by the variety in the character of public areas creates a neutrality and homogeneity
that forms the basis for the equality, freedom, and mobility of the residents. Life here
is anonymous, but space is provided for the individual needs of every resident. The
morphology of the Siedlungis based on the extreme rationalism of the Zeilenbau
principle, but this is coupled with the great care that is given to the design of the open
32
Westhausen, pedestrian path
giving access to dwellings
and gardens.
2
Constructing the Modern Movement