The Influence of the Discovery of Prehistoric Pile Dwellings Around the Alps on Architect Hannes Meyer

Abstract

The discovery of prehistoric pile dwellings in nineteenth-century Switzerland was enthusiastically welcomed by Swiss citizens. Based on the results of an excavation survey, in the 1920s, pile dwellings were reconstructed at Unteruhldingen, a small lakeside town by Lake Constance. This study clarifies the influence of the discovery of prehistoric pile dwellings on the architectural works of the modern Swiss architect Hannes Meyer (1889–1954), the second director of the Bauhaus. In terms of methodology, Sect. 2 outlines the process of reconstruction of pile dwellings around the Alps until the 1920s, and in Sect. 3, we analyze the influence of the pile dwellings on Meyer’s three major works in the 1920s based on both the architectural form and the design concept. As research materials, we used drawings and design concepts obtained from publication materials. From the drawing of the “Peters Schule” competition project (1926–27) and the ground floor plan of the “League of Nations” project, we can recognize that the buildings float upon pillars resembling piles of pile dwellings. In his masterpiece “ADGB Trade Union School” (1928–1930), Meyer finally explained the design concept using the word “modern pile-dwellers.” Thus, we can prove that the discovery of the pile-dwellings around the Alps and the subsequent reconstructions of the dwellings had influenced Meyer’s architectural design in the latter half of the 1920s.