The Glass House

Competition Kommandantenvilla KZ Sachsenburg

2021 we took part in the competition for the redesign of the “Kommandantenvilla” in the memorial site KZ Sachsenburg with this contribution.

Short concept / Explanation

At the beginning of the day, the prisoners of the camp were brought to the central yard, the roll call square. From there, the prisoners had an unobstructed view of the commandant’s house, where he lived with his family. And he had a view of the prisoners lining up in the yard from his house. In the post-war years, this line of sight was blocked by the construction of another garage between the commandant’s house and the square. In our contribution we made two proposals.

1. The installation of a billboard with the image of the Commandant’s House restores the visual connection between the house and the square.

2. The initiators of the competition stated that the Commandant’s House should be demolished up to the height of the base and the basement of the house should be filled in. Our proposal was to replace the commandant’s house with a glass house that would reflect the shape and volume of the original. This glass house was to be used for growing plants, fruits, and vegetables and could serve as a meeting, learning, and activity space for youth.

Competition entry together with Susan Donath

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