"Housing, Housing, Housing!"

Today, housing is a more important issue than ever. The rapid growth of towns and cities calls for quick and economical solutions to the problems involved. Divided into seven sections, the exhibition presents a wide range of subsidized housing projects from the past century. Beginning at the end of the First World War and concluding with notable modern developments, the display spans a broad arc, showing not only changes in the size and construction of dwellings but also technical innovations.

The clear subdivision of the presentation is immediately evident when one enters the exhibition. The individual periods are depicted on seven L-shaped wooden walls and illustrated by means of various built examples. In front of these are models, some of which are newly built, others borrowed from the archives of the architecture museum.

Almost all the mini-eras are portrayed by means of drawings and on monitors showing TV reports on the subject and covering the respective period.

While the inner faces of the walls deal with a specific age, on the outer faces there is a timeline giving an overall view of different themes; for example, the demographic changes that have taken place in Bavaria over the entire century.

For Hilde Strobl, the curator, it was particularly important not to present typical prestige projects and celebrity architecture, but rather housing developments of good average quality built for the population as a whole and clearly illustrating the building developments that have occurred. Designed by the FREIZEIT foundation, each of the L-shaped objects depicts to full size a room in a dwelling, on which the furnishings of the respective period are imprinted and which are also fitted out in part with interactive elements. Drawers can be opened containing models or plans; or one can watch a video on "TV" with headphones, so as not to disturb other visitors. Through a 1950s' mirror, people can be observed behind the wall, and one can also pass through a doorway to the other side.

On an additional 8th wall element, visitors can participate in an evaluation of their own housing situation. Data compiled from this define how people live, how many are accommodated in a dwelling and in what typologies.

The exhibition is supported by the Bavarian State Ministry of the Interior, Building and Transport in the context of the anniversary year 2018 celebrating Bavaria.

For further information on the exhibition and the ancillary programme, go to this website.