Tradition and innovation of Albert Einstein’s villa in Caputh

Barbara Widera

doi:10.37190/arc230303

Abstract

The aim of the article is to analyse Albert Einstein’s villa in Caputh (1929) designed by Konrad Wachsmann in the context of the theory and history of contemporary architecture, including aspects of tradition and modernity in the adopted aesthetic, functional and spatial solutions. The research was carried out in two stages. In the first stage, based on a literature review and in situ analyses, the main features of the building were determined against the background of the functional and aesthetic tendencies prevailing during the period of the building’s construction. This allowed us to determine to what extent the design of Einstein’s villa referred to the building traditions of the region and which features reflected an innovative way of thinking, anticipating modernism in architecture. In the second part of the research, the building was characterized in the light of the latest trends in the theory and history of contemporary architecture, taking into account the principles of sustainable development, resilience of the built environment to climate change, circularity, bioclimatic design and the New European Bauhaus. The main conclusions from the conducted research concern the compromise and balance between the aspects of tradition and modernity in the Einstein’s villa, manifested in the choice of the location and adopted functional and structural solutions. The applied connection system enabling quick assembly of the building represents a very early example of prefabrication. Important innovative features include: the way of shaping the space, the use of wood as the main building material, the creation of viewing axes and the use of daylight to modulate the interiors’ ambience.

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Barbara Widera*

Tradition and innovation of Albert Einstein’s villa in Caputh

Introduction

Albert Einstein, author of the theory of relativity and

winner of the Nobel Prize in Physics (1921), left behind

an architectural legacy in the form of three houses, which

he not only used, but also made a signicant contribution

to the creation of their architectural designs. The rst of

these buildings was the tenement house at Kramgasse 49

in Bern, Switzerland, where Einstein lived and worked

from October 1903 to May 1905. The Nobel Prize win-

ner’s last place of residence (from August 1935 until his

death in April 1955) was the house at 112 Mercer Street in

Princeton, New Jersey (USA). The apartment of the bril-

liant physicist in Berlin, conscated by the Nazis, has not

been preserved, but thanks to the eorts of German con-

servators, in cooperation with the Hebrew University in

Jerusalem, it was possible to renovate Einstein’s favourite

house in Caputh near Potsdam.

This study presents the results of research conducted in

2023 in Albert Einstein’s villa in Caputh (1929) designed by

Konrad Wachsmann. The research object was chosen due to

its extraordinary history and unique and innovative charac-

ter. Initially, the house was to be a gift from the city of Ber-

lin for the physicist’s 50

birthday, which he celebrated on

March 14, 1929. The decision to donate the house was made

by the city authorities, represented by Mayor Gustav Böss.

Initially, several dwellings were selected for this purpose,

but it soon turned out that none of them met the Nobel Prize

winner’s expectations, in particular because taking over the

house would involve removing the current tenants, which

was unacceptable to Einstein. Ultimately, it was agreed that

he would receive not a house, but a building plot, and infor-

mation about it appeared in the press. After learning about

DOI: 10.37190/arc230303

Published in open access. CC BY NC ND license

the planned construction of the house, Wachsmann, a grad-

uate of the Academy of Arts in Berlin and a student of Hans

Poelzig, went on a trip to the apartment of Elsa and Albert

Einstein in Berlin in purpose to oer his services as a design-

er in a direct conversation. The Einsteins accepted the oer

and hired a young architect. Decisions regarding the selec-

tion and nancing of the purchase of the plot took a long

time, which was linked to a political dispute over the gift

from the Berlin authorities. It ultimately resulted in the No-

bel Prize winner refusing to accept the gift (despite the may-

or’s written requests) and purchasing the property on which

Wachsmann designed the house, with signicant investor’s

participation [1]. The house was built entirely at the owners’

expense. The place chosen by his wife, Elsa, was accepted

and loved by Einstein at rst sight. The plot was situated on

a hill near the forest (Fig. 1), which oered

a captivating

* ORCID: 0000-0003-0218-8038. Faculty of Architecture, Wro-

cław University of Science and Technology, Poland, e-mail: barbara.

widera@pwr.edu.pl

Fig. 1. Location of Einstein’s house on the plot.

Satellite view from Google Map, as of 2023.

Il. 1. Usytuowanie domu Einsteina na działce.

Widok satelitarny z mapy Google, stan z 2023 r.

28 Barbara Widera

view of Lake Templin, a 10-minute walk down the slope.

In turn, a little over an hour’s walk through the forest al-

lowed Einstein to reach Telegraph Hill (Telegrafenberg),

where the physics institute of which he was the director

was located (Fig. 2).

While the history of the construction of the house has

already been partially described, and bibliographic studies

on Einstein are numerous, no one has yet characterized

the house in Caputh in the context of its traditional and

innovative features in the light of current knowledge about

the latest trends in the theory and history of contemporary

architecture. In the second decade of the 21

century, with

the New European Bauhaus initiative announced by the

European Commission and aimed at the multidimensional

transformation of the built environment, it is particularly

important to understand the relationship between innova-

tive objects bearing the features of modernism and the con-

struction culture of the 20

century Bauhaus and the lat-

est trends in architecture resulting from implementing the

principles of the New European Bauhaus. For this reason,

the article presents an analysis of Einstein’s villa in Caputh

in the context of the theory and history of contemporary

architecture, including aspects of tradition and modernity

in the adopted aesthetic, functional and spatial solutions.

The building’s features were characterized by comparison

with models of two trends: Bauhaus in the 1920s and New

European Bauhaus in the 2020s. In the analysis the author

paid particular attention to the principles of sustainable de-

velopment, resilience of the built environment to climate

change, circularity and bioclimatic design.

The state of the research

The analysis of the literature allowed us to conclude

that Hans-Josef Küpper [1], Michael Grüning [2], Peter

Ackermann [3], Dietmar Strauch [3], [4] and Siegfried

Grundmann [5] wrote about Einstein and his house in

Caputh. The sources of knowledge regarding the original

construction of the house were Wachsmann’s studies, pri-

marily the book Holzhausbau – Technik und Gestaltung

from 1930 (reprint: [6]), the archives of the construction

company Christoph & Unmack, which was the contractor

of the project, the collections of the Wachsmann Museum

in Niesky, materials of the Potsdam Einstein Forum foun-

dation [7], who served as the facility’s administrator in the

years 1993–2004, master’s thesis by Barbara Anna Lutz

Albert Einsteins Sommerhaus von Konrad Wachsmann in

Caputh. Bauhistorische Untersuchungen [8] developed in

2001 under the supervision of Dr. Ulrike Wulf-Rheidt and

prof. Leo Schmidt, documentation of the Potsdam archi-

tectural studio Kühn-von Kaehne & Lange, who renovated

the building in 2003–2005, Gutiérrez Calderón’s article

Una casa para Einstein: Konrad Wachsmann y la evolu-

ción de un modelo prefabricado desde las casas “Chris-

toph & Unmack A.G.” al General Panel System [9], as well

as the Einstein archives available at the Einstein Archives

Research Library of Hebrew University in Jerusalem.

Surprisingly comprehensive information about the house

in Caputh is provided in the annex to the FBI report on the

“Berlin period” in Einstein’s life [10]. The authors of the

most important biographical studies devoted to Einstein

are Friedrich Herneck [11], [12], Dieter Homann [13],

Albrecht Fölsing [14] and Armin Hermann [15].

Alicia Imperiale [16], Stephane Berthier [17], Fabrizio

Tucci and Cesare Sposito [18] as well as Jos Tomlow [19]

wrote about Konrad Wachsmann as an architect and de-

signer of Einstein’s house in Caputh and about the innova-

tive methods he developed (later in cooperation with Wal-

ter Gropius) for connecting elements of wooden structures.

However, there is no study that would analyse the features

of Einstein’s house in Caputh in the context of tradition

and modernity aspects considered not only at the time of

the building’s construction, but also from the point of view

of contemporary trends in architecture, such as sustain-

able, ecological and bioclimatic design, built environment

resilience to climate change, circularity of building mate-

rials and elements, and the New European Bauhaus.

Research methods

The research was carried out in two stages. In the rst

stage, based on a literature review and archive studies at

Christoph & Unmack, the Wachsmann Museum in Nies-

ky, the archives of the Institute of Physics in Potsdam,

the Baukunstarchiv Akademie der Künste and in situ

analyses in Caputh, the main features of the building were

determined against the background of the functional and

aesthetic tendencies prevailing during the period of its

construction. This allowed us to determine to what extent

the design of Einstein’s villa referred to the building tradi-

tions of the region and which features reected an innova-

tive way of thinking, anticipating modernism in architec-

ture. In the second part of the research, the building was

characterized in the light of the latest trends in the theory

and history of contemporary architecture, taking into ac-

count the principles of sustainable development, the built

Fig. 2. Location of Einstein’s house and office

with marked distance and walking time.

According to Google Maps, as of 2023.

Il. 2. Lokalizacja domu i biura Einsteina z zaznaczoną odległością

i czasem dojścia. Według mapy Google, stan z 2023 r.

Tradition and innovation of Albert Einstein’s villa in Caputh 29

environment resilience to climate change, circularity, bio-

climatic design and the New European Bauhaus initiative.

The main features of the building are assigned to one of

the analysed phenomena:

– traditional and regional architecture,

– modernist architecture popularized by Bauhaus in the

century,

– ecological (sustainable) architecture,

– bioclimatic architecture and

– contemporary architecture implementing the assump-

tions of the New European Bauhaus according to the mod-

el features of the initiative specied for 2023 [20], [21].

Based on the results of the comparative analysis, con-

clusions were formulated and presented at the end of the

study.

In Einstein’s villa in Caputh, the author of the arti-

cle carried out only non-invasive (non-destructive) tests

aimed at the qualitative assessment of the building in the

context of the features of bioclimatic architecture dened

in the monograph Proces kształtowania relacji z naturą

w architekturze współczesnej [The process of shaping re-

lations with nature in contemporary architecture] [22] and

the characteristics of the New European Bauhaus dened

in [21], [23]. During the tests, standard measurements of

temperature, humidity and lighting were conducted. Ways

to adapt architecture to the climate and local cultural con-

text were identied. The climatic zone for the location of

the facility according to the Köppen and Geiger climate

classication was dened as Cfb (temperate oceanic cli-

mate with warm summer and signicant rainfall). The

location of the building in relation to the cardinal direc-

tions, the angle of incidence of sunlight in dierent sea-

sons of the year, as well as the temperature distribution

and the level of atmospheric precipitation throughout the

year were determined (the average annual temperature is

10.1°C with an average annual rainfall of 669 mm).

Inside the building, the eectiveness of natural ven-

tilation and the carbon dioxide content in the air in all

publicly accessible spaces were checked. In addition, an

analysis of visual comfort was carried out by examining

fragments of the landscape visible from individual rooms,

including the percentage of natural elements in the eld

of view, characteristic points and architectural dominants.

The following equipment was used for the tests:

– EnOcean wireless multifunctional device for measur-

ing indoor and outdoor temperature, relative humidity and

carbon dioxide concentration (EnOcean Equipment Pro-

le: A5-09-04), which was used to analyse the air quality,

– wing anemometer, which was used to test the eec-

tiveness of natural ventilation,

– light meter (Light Meter EV for Photography – An-

droid phone application), which was used to measure the

amount of daylight in particular rooms.

Research description

The research was carried out by the author of the text

in January and February 2023. Thanks to the courtesy of

Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, founder and retired director

of the Potsdam Climate Institute, it was possible to gain

access to the in situ research facility, Einstein’s villa in

Caputh. Based on comparison with archival materials, it

was established that the shape of the building, its structure

and architectural form, as well as most of the built-in ele-

ments (except for sanitary ttings and parts of the water,

sewage and electrical installations) survived in very good

condition and almost unchanged. The movable elements

of the equipment, especially the Einsteins’ furniture, were

not preserved and have been replaced by others, adapted

to the new function, but most of them being inconsistent

with the design assumptions of Wachsmann as an archi-

tect or with Einstein’s intentions as an investor.

The analysed villa was built on an L-shaped plan with

a basement. A modication of the regional style combin-

ing a half-timbered and panel construction was used. The

building has a post-frame structure with wooden trusses

and ceilings faced with wooden panels, as well as façades

and internal walls, covered with a hipped roof covered with

ceramic tiles (Fig. 3). The house was built from two local-

ly sourced wood species – Oregon pine and Galician r.

Appropriate thermal insulation of the walls was achieved

by combining two layers of insulation, external and inter-

nal, made of Lignat board (developed by Christoph & Un-

mack in 1927) with an insulating layer of turf placed be-

tween them and additional lling made of reed mats. The

boards in the façade were laid horizontally, leaving a few

beam ends visible, making the house somewhat resem-

ble a log cabin. Slightly protruding crossbeams and large

Fig. 3. Einstein’s villa in Caputh, view from the north-west, 1929,

architect K. Wachsmann (photo by B. Widera, 2023)

Il. 3. Willa Einsteina w Caputh, widok od strony północno-zachodniej,

1929, arch. K. Wachsmann (fot. B. Widera, 2023)

30 Barbara Widera

visible references to naval architecture, such as a spacious

utility terrace or a round window (Fig. 5). These features

should be associated both with modernist architecture and

with the private interests of Einstein, who was an amateur

sailor and owned a sailing boat. Motifs taken from naval

architecture also included spherical lamps, simple wood-

en boards on the walls, ceilings and terrace, and bright

colours in the interiors.

Noteworthy are the modern combinations of wooden

elements used in the villa in Caputh, developed by Wachs-

mann as part of his work at Christoph & Unmack in Nies-

ky. Unlike the frame system based on connecting long

wooden beams, used by the same architect in the house of

the director of Christoph & Unmack in Niesky in 1929, for

Einstein’s villa Wachsmann designed a system of wood-

en panels, enabling faster assembly than in the case of

logs. The panels formed modules with sizes of 50–55 cm

and 100–110 cm and were connected to each other using

screw-in dowels. A comparison of both systems is pre-

sented in Figure 6, based on Wachsmann’s sketch pub-

lished in 1930 [6].

The building’s frame consisted of beams connected

to each other using innovative connecting elements. The

proposed method enabled quick assembly of the structure

with added nishing parts (timber and hardboard pan-

els) that additionally accelerated assembly and was later

developed in cooperation with Walter Gropius [3], [16],

[24]. Wooden mounting hooks were used in the main

structural elements of the house in Caputh. The funda-

mental dierence between this method and the General

Panel System developed by Wachsmann together with

Gropius in 1941 was that in Einstein’s villa two elements

were connected using hooks, not four as in the General

Panel System. Moreover, there were no installations in the

structural beams. Such elements were added in the Gen-

eral Panel System and enabled even faster construction of

buildings, which, after being assembled on the construc-

tion site, only needed to be connected to the electrical net-

work [16].

In the case of the Einstein house, the foundations were

rst prepared on site, and then – in the industrial hall of

the Christoph & Unmack construction company in Niesky

– a timber frame was constructed. Once the engineers had

approved the design of the structure, the frame was dis-

mantled, packed with other building materials and trans-

ported to Caputh. It took only two weeks to assemble the

house on the plot, and after another two weeks the build-

ing was fully equipped and suitable for living.

On the lower oor of the building there were living

room, Einstein’s bedroom and oce, his wife Elsa’s room,

a large bathroom (Fig. 7), toilet, kitchen, hall and a straight,

single-ight staircase leading to the upper oor (Fig. 8).

On the rst oor there was the daughter’s bedroom, a toi-

let, a guest room and a maid’s bedroom, with a window

overlooking the terrace. In each room on the rst oor

there was a niche with a washbasin (Fig. 9). Such a niche

was also placed in the maid’s bedroom. Einstein’s studio

overlooked the garden (Fig. 10). Compared to the origi-

nal design (Fig. 11), modications were made mainly to

take into account Einstein’s preferences (Figs. 12, 13). The

French porte-fenêtre windows with wooden, white-paint-

ed shutters gave the building the character of an object

that ts into the context of traditional regional architecture

(Fig. 4). At the same time, the villa gave the impression of

a light summer house, with dominant horizontal lines and

Fig. 4. Einstein’s villa in Caputh, protruding beams and large windows

in the living room, 1929, architect K. Wachsmann

(photo by B. Widera, 2023)

Il. 4. Willa Einsteina w Caputh, wysunięte belki i duże okna w salonie,

1929, arch. K. Wachsmann

(fot. B. Widera, 2023)

Fig. 5. Einstein’s villa in Caputh, view from the garden, 1929,

architect K. Wachsmann (photo by B. Widera, 2023)

Il. 5. Willa Einsteina w Caputh, widok od strony ogrodu, 1929,

arch. K. Wachsmann (fot. B. Widera, 2023)

Tradition and innovation of Albert Einstein’s villa in Caputh 31

orientation of the building was changed. According to the

original plan, the windows in the living room were to face

south. In the completed building, the southern façade was

placed on the west side. Moreover, the built-in wardrobe

and sleeping alcove in Einstein’s oce were omitted, and

the window in this room was located in the western façade.

Fig. 7. Einstein’s villa in Caputh, main bathroom with a round window,

1929, architect K. Wachsmann (photo by B. Widera, 2023)

Il. 7. Willa Einsteina w Caputh, główna łazienka z okrągłym oknem,

1929, arch. K. Wachsmann (fot. B. Widera, 2023)

Fig. 8. Einstein’s villa in Caputh, hall and staircase, 1929,

architect K. Wachsmann (photo by B. Widera, 2023)

Il. 8. Willa Einsteina w Caputh, hall i klatka schodowa, 1929,

arch. K. Wachsmann (fot. B. Widera, 2023)

Fig. 6. Comparison of the on-site

wood frame method developed

by Christoph & Unmack

with the panel method used in

Einstein’s villa in Caputh

(drawing by B. Widera based on

a sketch by K. Wachsmann [6])

Il. 6. Porównanie

systemu szkieletowego

opracowanego przez firmę

Christoph & Unmack

z systemem panelowym

zastosowanym w willi

Einsteina w Caputh

(rys. B. Widera na podstawie

szkicu K. Wachsmanna [6])

Despite the small number of windows on the front ele-

vation, the interior of the house was brightly lit thanks to

porte-fenêtre windows opening a view of the garden and

the lake. Simple and functional interior furnishings were

selected and arranged in such a way that they took up as

little space as possible and did not block the ow of light

32 Barbara Widera

or air (Fig. 14). The living room has a modern replace

with simple geometric forms, covered with light beige

ceramic tiles. Modern elements included very well-pre-

served black and white tiles on the oor in the hall, kitch-

en furniture built into the walls on both sides of the room,

Fig. 10. Einstein’s villa in Caputh, Einstein’s office, 1929,

architect K. Wachsmann (photo by B. Widera, 2023)

Il. 10. Willa Einsteina w Caputh, gabinet Einsteina, 1929,

arch. K. Wachsmann (fot. B. Widera, 2023)

Fig. 11. Einstein’s villa in Caputh. Drawings by K. Wachsmann

from 1929 © Gemeinde Schwielowsee (source: Koordinierungsstelle

für die Erhaltung des Schriftlichen Kulturguts)

Il. 11. Willa Einsteina w Caputh. Rysunki projektowe K. Wachsmanna

z 1929 r. ©Gemeinde Schwielowsee. (źródło: Koordinierungsstelle

für die Erhaltung des Schriftlichen Kulturguts.)

Fig. 12. Einstein’s villa in Caputh, living room on the ground floor, 1929,

architect K. Wachsmann (photo by B. Widera, 2023)

Il. 12. Willa Einsteina w Caputh, salon na parterze, 1929,

arch. K. Wachsmann (fot. B. Widera, 2023)

Fig. 9. Einstein’s villa in Caputh,

Einstein’s daughter’s room with a built-in washroom, 1929,

architect K. Wachsmann (photo by B. Widera, 2023)

Il. 9. Willa Einsteina w Caputh,

pokój córki Einsteina z wbudowaną wnęką z umywalką, 1929,

arch. K. Wachsmann (fot. B. Widera, 2023)

as well as built-in wardrobes in the rooms. It should be

emphasized that most of the furniture was transported to

Caputh from the Einsteins’ Berlin apartment. This hap-

pened for two reasons: rstly, for cost-saving reasons, and

secondly, the furniture proposed by Wachsmann, especial-

ly the chairs designed by Marcel Breuer, were not appre-

ciated by the investor, who assessed them as too cold and

not very comfortable [8].

According to the initial assumptions, the villa in Ca-

puth was to serve as a summer home, but the Einsteins

liked their new residence so much that they moved there

permanently and spent most of their time here until 1932,

when Einstein left the house and went with wife Elsa to

Pasadena to lecture at the California Institute of Technol-

ogy. After the fascists came to power, he announced that

he would not be able to live in a country where there was

no tolerance for human rights. He never returned to Ger-

many. As Elsa Einstein recalled, before leaving the house,

her husband asked her to take a good look at their house.

When she asked why, he explained that they would never

see this house again [10]. We can conclude from this that

Tradition and innovation of Albert Einstein’s villa in Caputh 33

the brilliant physicist not only could solve abstract scien-

tic problems, but also was able to accurately assess the

socio-political situation.

In 1934, Einstein’s German citizenship was revoked,

and in 1935 the house was taken over by the Nazis. In

1955, the facility was included on the list of monuments

by the authorities of the German Democratic Republic,

and in 1979, on the occasion of the 100

anniversary of

Einstein’s birth, it was opened to visitors. In the years

2001–2005, the building was thoroughly renovated. Cur-

rently, it hosts scientic symposia and high-level political

meetings, and the house is owned by the Hebrew Univer-

sity of Jerusalem.

The building’s designer, Konrad Wachsmann, emigrat-

ed to the United States of America in 1941, where, thanks

to Einstein’s help, he established cooperation with Wal-

ter Gropius. This resulted in the development of two ex-

tremely modern construction and assembly systems: Gen-

eral Panel System (1941) and Packaged House System

(1942). The rst of the aforementioned solutions enabled

the quick and easy assembly and disassembly of wooden

structural elements, and the second one allowed the entire

prefabricated building to be assembled on the construc-

tion site in no more than nine hours [3], [16], [17], [24]. It

should be noted that the General Panel System method of

connecting construction elements was patented by Wachs-

mann and Gropius in 1945. This system has not yet been

used in the villa in Caputh, but single hook connections

were used to connect the main structural elements (wood-

en columns and horizontal beams). Unfortunately, to the

best knowledge of the author of the text, the drawings of

these connecting parts were not preserved.

The conducted research showed that in 1974, during the

rst renovation of Einstein’s villa in Caputh, the damaged

panels in the living room were replaced, but it was done

imprecisely and the protective coating for the wood turned

out to be too dark. In 2003, the villa in Caputh became

the property of the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, who

inherited Einstein’s estate. The second renovation then

began, during which the arrangement of the panels was

improved and the original interior colours were restored.

However, the main reason for the renovation was the roof

leaking regularly during heavy rainfall. The Cornelsen

Cultural Foundation and the German federal government

provided funding for the building conservation works.

The architectural studio Kühn-von Kaehne & Lange from

Potsdam was commissioned to carry out the conservation

project. Thanks to the information obtained from this labo-

ratory, combined with own in situ research, it was possible

to determine that as part of the comprehensive renovation,

the roof was repaired, including the replacement of all in-

sulation and damaged roof tiles. New insulation was also

added in the basement and on the ground oor. The entire

electrical, water and sewage installations were modern-

ized. Contemporary kitchen and bathroom ttings were

installed, unfortunately, signicantly dierent from the

original character of the interiors designed by Wachsmann.

Damaged sheathing boards on the façades were replaced

and all paint coatings were refreshed. The kitchen retains

its original built-in cabinetry, but the stove and countertops

have been replaced. During the renovation, no changes

were made to the structural solutions used in the building.

In 2005, declared Einstein’s Year on the occasion of

the 100

anniversary of the publication of the theory of

Fig. 13. Ground floor plan.

As of 2023

(drawing by B. Widera)

Il. 13. Rzut parteru. Stan z 2023

(rys. B. Widera)

34 Barbara Widera

relativity and the 50

anniversary of the physicist’s death,

the house in Caputh was reopened to the public, but on

a limited basis. Most often, closed scientic seminars and

high-level political meetings are held there.

An archival search at the Wachsmann Museum in Nies-

ky, at Christoph & Unmack, in the archives of the Institute

of Physics in Potsdam and at the Baukunstarchiv Akade-

mie der Künste showed that no drawings or photographs

showing the details of the connection have survived. In

1998, the last mentioned institution acquired a collection

of 98,000 Wachsmann’s documents from the period of his

stay in the USA, but even in these documents the author’s

illustrations regarding the experimental construction ele-

ments used in the villa in Caputh could not be found. All

photographic documentation taken during the renovation

in 2003–2005 is the property of the new owner of the facil-

ity, the Hebrew University in Jerusalem. If innovative con-

nections of wooden elements were documented during the

unveiling of the wooden structure, such photographs also

remain in the exclusive disposal of the Hebrew University

of Jerusalem and access to them has not been obtained.

Conclusions

The analysis of Einstein’s villa in Caputh made it pos-

sible to identify a set of features of the building which, in

the context of current knowledge, allow us to demonstrate

its innovative character both in relation to the period of

the building’s construction (features of modernist archi-

tecture developed by Bauhaus in the 20

century) and in

relation to contemporary sustainable and bioclimatic ar-

chitecture, and to the assumptions of the New European

Bauhaus initiative formulated at the beginning of the third

decade of the 21

century.

The degree to which the characterized object meets

the principles of sustainable development and bioclimatic

design was determined on the basis of a comparison of

the model features of the above phenomena dened in the

monograph Proces kształtowania relacji z naturą w ar chi

tekturze współczesnej [22] with the features of the ana-

lysed dwelling. The features of architecture that meets the

requirements of sustainable development (understood as

architecture that aims to meet the needs and aspirations of

current generations without compromising the ability to

meet these needs in the future), also known as ecological

architecture, include:

– the form and functioning of the building are subor-

dinated to the overarching idea of providing users with

maximum comfort while minimizing any negative impact

on the natural environment,

– passive methods of heating, cooling and ventilation

are used whenever possible,

– high energy eciency of buildings is ensured, using

energy from renewable sources,

– structures ecient in terms of their strength, materi-

als and energy performance,

– use of materials and processes that are safe for the

natural environment,

– limiting transportation,

– sustainable management of planet resources,

– integrating objects into the landscape and ensuring

close contact between the user and nature.

The features of bioclimatic architecture include:

– the form and functioning of the building result from

the outcomes of interdisciplinary research on local climat-

ic and biological conditions, striving to optimally adapt

the building to these conditions,

– balance and harmonious relations between the built

environment (taking into account the important role of

cultural heritage) and the natural environment, close con-

tact of the user with nature,

– design, process and material solutions that are safe

for the natural environment, being eective in terms of

strength, materials and energy performance,

Fig. 14. First floor plan.

As of 2023

(drawing by B. Widera)

Il. 14. Rzut piętra. Stan z 2023

(rys. B. Widera)

Tradition and innovation of Albert Einstein’s villa in Caputh 35

– holistic design based on in-depth understanding of

the complex principles of ecosystem functioning,

– advanced technological solutions aimed at achieving

a high level of user comfort,

– the application of hybrid systems, enabling the op-

timal use of passive and active methods as well as their

monitoring and modication during their operation.

As a result of the comparative analysis, it was deter-

mined that Einstein’s villa in Caputh contains all the fea-

tures dened in the model of ecological architecture (sus-

tainable architecture), with one of these features, namely

“care for high energy eciency of the building, use of

energy from renewable sources”, being partially repre-

sented by using passive solar gains in the ground oor

living room.

With regard to the model characteristics of bioclimatic

architecture, the presence of four out of six features was

conrmed, with one of them, i.e. “the form and function-

ing of the building based on the results of interdisciplinary

research on local climatic and biological conditions, striv-

ing to optimally adapt the building to these conditions”

being partially represented by adapting the form of the

building to local climatic conditions. At the design stage,

no detailed studies of biological conditions were carried

out for the analysed facility, nor was any holistic design

based on an in-depth understanding of the complex prin-

ciples of ecosystem functioning carried out. During the

construction of the building, it was not possible to use hy-

brid systems that enable the optimal use of passive and

active methods and their monitoring and modication

during use.

The results of the comparative analysis presenting the

occurrence of selected features of ecological and biocli-

matic architecture in Einstein’s villa in Caputh are pre-

sented in Table 1.

Due to the recurring references to Bauhaus in con-

temporary architecture and the growing interest in the

New European Bauhaus initiative, the research analysed

the features of the villa in Caputh in the context of the

presence of aesthetic and formal features of Bauhaus as

Tendency in architecture Tendency feature

Occurrence of a given feature

in Einstein’s villa in Caputh

Ecological architecture /

Sustainable architecture

the form and functioning of the building are subordinated to

the overarching idea of providing users with maximum comfort

while minimizing any negative impact on the natural environment

yes

passive methods of heating, cooling and ventilation are used

whenever possible

yes

high energy efficiency of buildings is ensured using energy

from renewable sources

partially – passive solar gains

in the living room

structures efficient in terms of their strength, materials

and energy performance

yes

use of materials and processes that are safe

for the natural environment, limiting transportation

yes

sustainable management of planet resources yes

integrating objects into the landscape and ensuring close contact

between the user and nature

yes

Bioclimatic architecture

the form and functioning of the building result from the outcomes of

interdisciplinary research on local climatic and biological conditions,

striving to optimally adapt the building to these conditions

partially – adapting the form

of the building to local climatic

conditions

balance and harmonious relations between the built environment

(taking into account the important role of cultural heritage)

and the natural environment, close contact of the user with nature

yes

design, process and material solutions that are safe

for the natural environment, being effective in terms of strength,

materials and energy performance

yes

holistic design based on in-depth understanding of the complex

principles of ecosystem functioning

advanced technological solutions aimed at achieving a high level

of user comfort

yes

the application of hybrid systems, enabling the optimal use of passive

and active methods as well as their monitoring and modification

during their operation

Table 1. Features of ecological (sustainable) and bioclimatic architecture in Albert Einstein’s villa in Caputh (elaborated by B. Widera)

Tabela 1. Cechy architektury ekologicznej (zrównoważonej) i bioklimatycznej w willi Alberta Einsteina w Caputh (oprac. B. Widera)

36 Barbara Widera

Traditional features

(regional building)

Modernist features

(Bauhaus)

Features in the context of contemporary

knowledge (New European Bauhaus)

hipped roof covered with ceramic tiles

referring to the construction traditions

of the region

the roof is significantly less steep than

that of nearby buildings at the same time

good adaptation of the building to the climate

timber building structure,

the building appearance is reminiscent

of a log cabin through the horizontal

arrangement of boards in the façade

massive transverse beams slightly

extended beyond the outline of the roof

innovative way of connecting elements

of timber structure,

innovative system of wooden modular panels,

demountable building frame constructed in

the industrial hall of the Christoph & Unmack

construction company,

very short overall implementation time

of the project (May–September 1929)

a very early example of prefabrication,

ease of assembly and disassembly,

very short time of on-site construction works

(2 weeks assembly of the structural frame,

façades and roof + 2 weeks for interior

finishing and furnishing),

minimum level of disturbance at the place

of implementation

most of the elements made of locally

growing species: Oregon pine

and Galician fir

simple boards, timber without decorations

local sources of building material,

carbon dioxide absorption

traditional wooden furniture used at

Einstein’s request (instead of the furniture

initially proposed by Marcel Breuer)

modern furniture built into the walls

in the kitchen and a geometric, ornamentless

fireplace in the living room

circularity – reusing furniture from Einstein’s

Berlin apartment

small window openings at the front

of the building, wooden shutters,

a small north-facing window

in the maid’s room

bright, spacious rooms,

building lit mainly from the east and west,

large windows and balcony doors facing

the garden, providing a view of the lake

and the setting sun

proper adaptation to local climatic conditions

thanks to the proper orientation of

the building and its openings in relation to

the cardinal directions, the terrace and open

staircase ensure good air circulation

and effective natural ventilation

small private rooms

large main bathroom and small washrooms

in the bedrooms, functional kitchen

functional use of space

reference to the local character of Caputh

as a summer resort on the lake

elements of naval architecture:

a vast terrace combined with round windows,

a dominant horizontal layout

and simple white external blinds

simple geometric forms, current aesthetics,

connection with nature

Table 2. Traditional, modernist and contemporary features of Albert Einstein’s villa in Caputh (elaborated by B. Widera)

Tabela 2. Cechy tradycyjne, modernistyczne i współczesne willi Alberta Einsteina w Caputh (oprac. B. Widera)

a trend in 20

century architecture and art and the prin-

ciples of the New European Bauhaus as one of the most

current phenomena in architecture of the 3

decade of the

century. The connection between these two tenden-

cies and Einstein’s villa seems natural since Wachsmann –

as a close collaborator of Gropius, Hans Scharoun, Marcel

Breuer and other creators ideologically associated with

Bauhaus – in his later works repeatedly referred to the

ideological features of this movement. In turn, the NEB

initiative initiated in 2021 refers to the Bauhaus philoso-

phy, adapting the aesthetics of the 20

century movement

to the needs of the modern user and supplementing the

formal features with two main dimensions: sustainability

and inclusiveness of the built environment. In this context,

comparing the features of model buildings implementing

the Bauhaus aesthetics with edices aimed at implement-

ing the NEB values is an important and current problem in

the research on the theory of contemporary architecture.

In order to determine the compliance of the character-

istics of the villa in Caputh designed in 1929 by Wachs-

mann with the main features of the New European Bau-

haus, a comparative analysis was carried out using the tool

“New European Bauhaus Compass: A guiding framework

for decision and project makers wishing to apply the NEB

principles and criteria to their activities” [23].

The most important features of the New European

Bauhaus include three core values: sustainability, beauty

and inclusiveness, intertwined with three working princi-

ples: participatory design process, interdisciplinarity and

multi-level engagement. The analysis allowed us to con-

rm that all of these features were in fact present in the

house in Caputh, with beauty and interdisciplinarity being

represented the strongest, and community and multi-level

engagement the weakest.

The identied features of the examined building that

still allow it to be considered modern include:

– correct adaptation of the building to local climatic

conditions through:

• adequate orientation of the building and its openings

to the cardinal directions,

• appropriately selected roof inclination angle,

• proper insulation using nature-based materials,

• spacious terrace used to provide shading for the living

room windows in summer,

• eectively operating ventilation, cooling and heating

systems, including improved air circulation thanks to an

open staircase,

– innovative system for connecting wooden elements

enabling easy assembly and disassembly and shortening

the implementation time on the construction site, being

Tradition and innovation of Albert Einstein’s villa in Caputh 37

part of a solution that is a very early example of prefabri-

cation and resulting in a minimum level of disturbance at

the construction site,

– sustainable materials management (analysed in the

context of their life cycle):

• use of local sources of building material,

• increased carbon dioxide absorption thanks to the use

of Oregon pine and Galician r wood,

– introducing elements of the circular economy by re-

using furniture from Einstein’s Berlin apartment,

– functional use of space,

– simple geometric forms combined with current aes-

thetics, accepted by the end user,

– strong emphasis on the connection with nature and

landscape.

A summary of traditional and modern features of the

examined building is presented in Table 2.

Summary

The results of the conducted research allowed us to

con clude that in the analysed Einstein villa in Caputh,

traditional features resulting from references to regional

building traditions and taking into account the investor’s

preferences were intertwined with innovative features ex-

pressed by the use of elements of naval architecture, avoid-

ance of excess ornaments, and the use of simple and func-

tional equipment combined with open space and extensive

terraces, good natural ventilation of the rooms, introduc-

ing plenty of daylight into the interiors and opening the

view, while clearly striving to facilitate contact with nature.

In situ research has shown that despite the observed com-

promise and balance between aspects of tradition and

modernity, modern elements dominate in the architecture

of the building. The novelty of the edice is manifested,

among others, in the choice of location of the dwelling, the

adopted functional and construction solutions, especially

in the connection system enabling quick assembly of the

building, which is a very early example of prefabrication,

in the way of shaping the space in the house and its vicin-

ity, and in the use of timber as the main building material,

creating viewing axes, as well as using daylight to modu-

late the ambience in the interiors.

The most important conclusions from the conducted re-

search concern the degree to which the building ts into

current tendencies in the history and theory of contempo-

rary architecture, in the context of contemporary knowl-

edge, including the New European Bauhaus initiative. The

most important features of the villa that meet the assump-

tions of sustainable, beautiful and inclusive architecture in-

clude proper adaptation to local climatic conditions, good

air circulation, eective natural ventilation, ease of assem-

bly and disassembly, minimal level of disturbance in the

place of implementation, use of local sources of building

material, the use of timber as a bio-based material absorb-

ing carbon dioxide, elements of the circular economy (reus-

ing furniture from Einstein’s Berlin apartment), functional

use of space, simple geometric forms that t well into cur-

rent aesthetics and emphasizing the connection with nature.

Translated by

Barbara Widera

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38 Barbara Widera

Abstract

Tradition and innovation of Albert Einstein’s villa in Caputh

The aim of the article is to analyse Albert Einstein’s villa in Caputh (1929) designed by Konrad Wachsmann in the context of the theory and histo-

ry of contemporary architecture, including aspects of tradition and modernity in the adopted aesthetic, functional and spatial solutions. The research

was carried out in two stages. In the rst stage, based on a literature review and in situ analyses, the main features of the building were determined

against the background of the functional and aesthetic tendencies prevailing during the period of the building’s construction. This allowed us to de-

termine to what extent the design of Einstein’s villa referred to the building traditions of the region and which features reected an innovative way of

thinking, anticipating modernism in architecture. In the second part of the research, the building was characterized in the light of the latest trends in

the theory and history of contemporary architecture, taking into account the principles of sustainable development, resilience of the built environment

to climate change, circularity, bioclimatic design and the New European Bauhaus. The main conclusions from the conducted research concern the

compromise and balance between the aspects of tradition and modernity in the Einstein’s villa, manifested in the choice of the location and adopted

functional and structural solutions. The applied connection system enabling quick assembly of the building represents a very early example of prefab-

rication. Important innovative features include: the way of shaping the space, the use of wood as the main building material, the creation of viewing

axes and the use of daylight to modulate the interiors’ ambience.

Key words: modern architecture, prefabrication, circular economy, bioclimatic architecture, sustainable architecture, New European Bauhaus

Streszczenie

Tradycja i nowatorstwo willi Alberta Einsteina w Caputh

Celem autorki artykułu jest analiza zaprojektowanej przez Konrada Wachsmanna willi Alberta Einsteina w Caputh (1929) w kontekście teorii i hi-

storii architektury współczesnej, w tym aspektów tradycji i nowoczesności w przyjętych rozwiązaniach estetycznych, funkcjonalnych i przestrzen-

nych. Badania przeprowadzono dwutorowo. W pierwszym etapie, na bazie kwerendy literaturowej i analiz in situ określono główne cechy budynku

na tle tendencji funkcjonalnych i estetycznych dominujących w okresie powstania obiektu. Pozwoliło to ustalić, w jakim stopniu w projekcie willi

odnoszono się do tradycji budowlanych regionu oraz które cechy odzwierciedlały nowatorski sposób myślenia, będący zapowiedzią modernizmu

w architekturze. W drugiej części badań dokonano charakterystyki budynku w świetle najnowszych tendencji w teorii i historii architektury współ-

czesnej, z uwzględnieniem zasad zrównoważonego rozwoju, odporności środowiska zbudowanego na zmiany klimatu, cyrkularności, projektowania

bioklimatycznego oraz Nowego Europejskiego Bauhausu. Najważniejsze wnioski z przeprowadzonych badań dotyczą kompromisu i równowagi

między aspektami tradycji i nowoczesności w architekturze budowli, przejawiających się w wyborze lokalizacji obiektu, przyjętych rozwiązaniach

funkcjonalnych i konstrukcyjnych. Zastosowany system połączeń umożliwiający szybki montaż budynku stanowi bardzo wczesny przykład prefa-

brykacji. Do istotnych cech nowatorskich należą: sposób kształtowania przestrzeni, zastosowanie drewna jako głównego materiału budowlanego,

tworzenie osi widokowych oraz wykorzystanie światła dziennego do kreowania nastroju we wnętrzach.

Słowa kluczowe: architektura nowoczesna, prefabrykacja, gospodarka cyrkularna, architektura bioklimatyczna, architektura zrównoważona, Nowy

Europejski Bauhaus

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Europe and new European Bauhaus NEXUS report: conclusions

of the High-Level Workshop on “Research and Innovation for the

New European Bauhaus”, jointly organised by DG Research and

Innovation and the Joint Research Centre, Publications Oce of

the European Union, 2022, https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2777/49925

[accessed: 23.04.2023].

[22] Widera B., Proces kształtowania relacji z naturą w architekturze

współczesnej, Ocyna Wydawnicza PWr, Wrocław 2018.

[23] Joint Research Center, New European Bauhaus Compass, A guid-

ing framework for decision and project makers wishing to apply

the NEB principles and criteria to their activities, General Publi-

cations of the European Union, 21 Nov 2022, The New European

Bauhaus Compass | New European Bauhaus, europa.eu [accessed:

2.03.2023].

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[in:] G. Herbert, The Dream of the Factory-Made House, 2021, doi:

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