Exhibition highlights prefabricated buildings in East and West

Whether in Halle/Saale or Hamburg: prefabricated buildings can be found in many places in Germany - an exhibition in Dresden is now dedicated to these prefabricated residential buildings. It shows when and why the idea of industrial housing construction emerged and how it developed, according to the city museum. "Platte Ost/West - Living and Building in Large Panel Construction" opens on Saturday.

Residents have their say

Contemporary models, photos, designs and an artistic spatial installation are used to present the phases of prefabricated housing from 1945 to the present day and pose the question of the future of modular serial construction. The perspective of the residents is also included, for example in interviews conducted in Dresden-Prohlis and Cologne-Chorweiler. Participating architects also talk about their memories of the construction.

Examples from Aschersleben, Berlin, Cottbus, Dortmund, Dresden, Erfurt, Gera, Halle/Saale, Hamburg, Hoyerswerda, Leipzig, Rostock, Saarbrücken, Munich, Neubrandenburg, Nordhausen, Plauen, Stendal, Stuttgart and Wolfsburg are also on display.

Video game and district tours

The exhibition also offers visitors the opportunity to get active themselves. The museum has a children's booklet and many hands-on stations for families. Young and old can try their hand at the specially developed video game "Dresden Block Tetris". An audio track and tactile stations have been developed for the blind and visually impaired. From March to June, the city museum is also offering district tours in Dresden and Hoyerswerda.

"Platte Ost/West" can be seen in Dresden until November 29. The exhibition will then move on to the Potsdam Museum in 2027 and the Baukunstarchiv NRW in Dortmund in 2028.