MUNICH.- The topic of housing development is as relevant today as it was one hundred years ago. This exhibition – part of the “Wir feiern Bayern” centenary celebrations in 2018 marking the founding of the Free State of Bavaria – focuses on residential architecture in Bavaria and presents its history, from the very first government initiatives on housing policy after the First World War to the challenges and funding models of today. The right to housing was written into the 1919 Weimar Constitution, laying the foundations for a social housing policy whose various manifestations and priorities over the years have continued, to this day, to exert an influence on subsidised housing construction and thus on housing structures and patterns in cities and municipalities. More than forty examples of architectural solutions to housing issues are displayed in chronological order and shown in the context of the associated policy measures and economic circumstances. These solutions reflect the living conditions, social structures, and upheavals relevant to Bavaria’s history.

A major focus of the exhibition is a look at construction programmes and housing-estate schemes – in particular, the development of social and subsidised housing in the Free State of Bavaria – and the creation of affordable housing for a broad segment of the population. The various building types presented range from private homes to small housing estates and multi-storey ‘Zeilenbau’ developments to large-scale housing schemes.

Special attention is paid to those broader factors that have had a significant impact on housing construction during the different periods under consideration: changes in the law and policy shifts, destruction during the Second World War and housing shortages, waves of immigration and profound societal developments – these are all explored in the exhibition, as are changes in mobility, in flat design and furnishings, and in production methods used in housing construction. These issues provide the cultural-historical context in the exhibition with reference to selected time frames. The aim is to draw attention to the eventful history of housing construction in its various facets and perspectives.

In addition to photographs and plans, the exhibition features numerous models and a wealth of historical film footage. There is also a participatory element – a station where visitors are invited to take part in a survey about housing. After the initial presentation at the Pinakothek der Moderne, the exhibition will be shown at a host of other venues in Bavaria. “Flats, Flats, Flats!” is curated by Hilde Strobl and the exhibition design is by StiftungFREIZEIT.

An exhibition by the Bavarian Ministry of the Interior, for Building and Transport, in partnership with the Architekturmuseum der TU München in conjunction with the “Wir feiern Bayern” centenary celebrations in 2018.