New spaces for the arts, #2 - 2021

The east wing of the Festspielhaus is being brought back to life

By Michael Ernst Hellerau is the future. After all, that's how the garden city was once conceived: A harmonious living space for the healthy development of people in harmony with nature. Heinrich Tessenow's Festspielhaus, built in 1911, was and still is an important centre here. Education and culture flowed together here, creative development was encouraged and for a time was virtually celebrated. This haven of life reform became a European centre of the arts, a meeting place for renowned representatives of the avant-garde of the time. Until - yes, until the ensemble was desecrated and downright misused for decades. First as a police school for the German Nazis, then as barracks for the Soviet army. What followed is well known. A slumber that was ended in good time by wide-awake enthusiasts so as not to let the potential of this site go to waste. However, it was not until well into the 1990s that the UNESCO-listed festival theatre was renovated in line with its listed status. In the meantime, audiences have become accustomed to the imposing sight as they stream across the large forecourt towards the European Centre for the Arts HELLERAU, which was founded in 2004. A classic gable and open doors in the centre, on the left the pretty visitor centre and on the right - a ruin. An eyesore, but its dilapidated walls conceal a treasure that is now finally to be unearthed. Carena Schlewitt, the director of HELLERAU, is therefore already looking forward to 11 October: "Then we will celebrate a kind of foundation stone ceremony and the renovation of the east wing will finally begin."

Music of the future

The east wing. Until now, the former officers' mess has been used as a storage room, occasionally for performances and as a design space for street art. In future, a studio stage and a rehearsal studio are to be built here, and there are also plans for an extended catering area (which will benefit the audience as well as employees and performers) and residential flats for guests working at the Festspielhaus. The state capital of Dresden and the Free State of Saxony have reached a long-term agreement to restore the original appearance of the entire ensemble in a transformed form. Jens Krauße, whose company Heinle, Wischer und Partner Freie Architekten has already designed the campus of the 84th primary school in Hellerau in exemplary fashion, is responsible for realising the project. "Back then, we had already thoroughly familiarised ourselves with the history of Hellerau. Naturally, we were particularly interested in this tender." The Dresden architect was immediately hooked on the project. "Originally, these were two separate buildings. The fact that they are now to be used for cultural purposes again is very welcome." The architectural firm won the tender and was determined to restore the spatial breakthrough of the east wing, but without going back in time, says Jens Krauße, explaining the planning design. There used to be two separate buildings on this site, with access to the courtyard of the festival grounds in between. "The current building with its two floors was only built in the 1930s," says Krauße, "if we now create a new entrance in it with a large public foyer, we are building on the earlier ideas." A roof-high space is planned in the middle of the elongated building, which will serve both as an additional entrance to the European Centre and as a connecting route from Gartenstadt to the Festspielhaus area. The view right under the gable is significant: "We really wanted to make the listed Kroher trusses visible, so we even hired a lighting designer to set the scene for this special roof construction," says Jens Krauße, describing the future views in and out. This will preserve the geometrically and graphically impressive design features of the house, which were once developed by Ludwig Kroher in times of timber shortages. These types of board trusses are almost non-existent today, but are absolutely worth preserving and should therefore remain visible in the future.

"We build until the house is usable"

This impressive structure was refurbished as part of the roof renovation, with only parts that were no longer structurally sound being repaired. The fact that the east wing is to be divided into two almost identical halves on the left and right is based on an idea by Heinle, Wischer und Partner, explains Jens Krauße. "We thought the existing rooms were too small, which is why we developed the proposal to virtually cut out the foyer." A transparent bridge is to connect the two parts of the building and continue the centre aisle on the upper floor. Krauße met with a great deal of approval for this design and praised the intensive collaboration with the various contacts. "It was all super co-operative, I'm sure we'll get the best solution for the available financial resources. A lot of coordination is needed, especially when working with the heritage authorities, as we are potentially dealing with a future world cultural heritage site." This is another reason why the decision was made to install a one-to-one scale model on site long before construction began, in order to present the future impression of the façade to the responsible committees. "When a Dresden office has the opportunity to work at Hellerau, it's a stroke of luck," says Jens Krauße happily. "We're building until the building is ready for use, which is exhausting, but a lot of fun, because everyone is euphoric about this project - and with the director, there's a wind blowing that opens up the entire centre to Europe. You can tell they have a vision! We owe them a work of art." The architect is constantly amazed at the modernity of Hellerau and the historically significant paths that were taken back then. "Those were well thought-out designs back then, you can only marvel at them. What was built in just one year back then is something we couldn't achieve today with all our 3D designs and prefabrications. It was very pragmatic, and you can only learn from that."

Restoring the old architectural axis

Of course, the advanced project could not be realised without thorough coordination with both the future users and various authorities. The Office for Building Construction and Property Management of the state capital of Dresden acts as a kind of liaison, whose tasks Romy Eichler outlines as follows: "We look at all of the city's public buildings, take a strategic approach to the task at hand and look at the properties in their entirety wherever possible. This can sometimes be an entire area, as here in Hellerau. When the user informs us of their requirements, we determine the structural and financial feasibility. As the last unused and not yet refurbished building on the Festspielhaus site, the east wing is naturally an outstanding and complex project." Not every public building is a listed building, but when this is the case, the institutions must coordinate intensively with the monument preservation authorities at municipal and state level. The basis for awarding the construction contract for the east wing was a so-called VgV procedure. There were several applications for this public procurement procedure. The contract was awarded to the Dresden office of architects Heinle, Wischer und Partner. As the client's representative, she wanted to understand the idea behind the proposals. The basis for the planners is a space programme for which specific solutions are to be developed, which then have to be underpinned by costs. "So there's always the question of whether it's realistic. With this outstanding building, the premise was clear that the old architectural axis should be restored. But then we also wanted to tease out the creativity of the planner and see how he would deal with the future studio theatre, for example." "More than ever, we want to be a centre for artists and audiences."

Start of construction as a milestone

The project has now received the final backing of Dresden City Council. A first step has therefore been taken, a big step, at the end of which there will be a fully usable studio stage, a rehearsal studio, a foyer, residency flats and a restaurant. "Everything that doesn't need to be structurally retrofitted will then be ready," assures Romy Eichler, "including the residency rooms, but not yet the furnishings, seating and stage technology." There is currently no budget available for these subsequent steps or for the redesign of the forecourt - landscape architects are already indulging in Tessenow's thoughts and thinking about the former fountains in front of the building. However, the value of the site is evident in the approved five million euros from the federal and state programme for the protection of urban monuments, plus a further two million euros from the so-called PMO assets (from parties and mass organisations of the GDR), according to Romy Eichler, for whom the start of construction on 4 October is already a "milestone date". The Dresden Office for Culture and Monument Protection does not see it any differently, and Head of Office Dr David Klein welcomes the renovation of the east wing: "On the one hand, it restores the entire ensemble of buildings in its heterogeneous history and makes it possible to experience it again, and on the other, it significantly improves the working conditions of the European Centre for the Arts HELLERAU. More than 15 years after the reopening of the Festspielhaus, this is another milestone for this outstanding cultural monument. For Dresden's culture and the performing arts in particular, the planned residency centre will increase the opportunities to experience international positions in Dresden, to engage with artists from all over the world and to work together." David Klein sees this as a significant contribution to the objectives of Dresden's cultural development plan: "To operate internationally, to promote excellence and experimentation and to live contemporaneity in the arts." Markus Franke, Head of the Arts Department at the Saxon State Ministry for Science, Culture and Tourism, also sees great prospects for the building: "The measures are a commitment by the state capital to this influential cultural centre and to the preservation of this unique ensemble of buildings, which is a progressive idea that has become stone." As a member of the board of the cultural foundation, Markus Franke is convinced that "the construction work in the neighbourhood of our cultural foundation is a good sign for the vitality of Hellerau, which is also the venue of the Dresden Frankfurt Dance Company, which we as the Free State of Saxony support." The remodelling of the east wing will create more space for what Hellerau is all about and what enriched Saxony over 100 years ago: "Thinking outside the box, reflecting on social issues and social developments both locally and globally using artistic means and networking with the world outside Saxony. This requires an infrastructure that is now being expanded at Hellerau, giving the European Centre for the Arts, which is as effective as it is successful, a further important impetus and scope for development. This is just as beneficial for the cultural city of Dresden as it strengthens an important landmark in the profile of the cultural state of Saxony." Artistic Director Carena Schlewitt is delighted to be much closer to the idea of HELLERAU as a lively production house and to be able to give the theatre's Festspielhaus and Studiobühne new structures: "We want to be more than ever a house for the artists and for the audience." HELLERAU has great potential for the future.