The Karls-Mark Hof brought nuance to social housing by bringing a strong sense of community to the people living in Vienna. As I walked into the housing areas, I did not understand what was so special about them architecturally. They look very average compared to the other sites that we had seen previously, but once I gained knowledge about their history I found this place to be very fascinating. The way political views are implemented into the architecture makes a strong statement about the historical importance of the building. It shows me that the Socialists wanted their work to tell a story and let those in the future know about the significance of the buildings. For example, I thought the four statues along the entrance of the Karl-Marx Hof were very interesting because of how symbolic they were. They represent the struggles and accomplishments of that time era and the housing such as the high interest in sports, the growing number of kindergartens and libraries, and breaking free from communism. The Karl-Marx Hof was much larger than I expected and I also did not expect people to still be living there due to the constant tours that are being given. I loved the sense of unity I felt while walking around the premises and seeing the communal gardens and kindergartens that are provided. It became obvious that during this time of need for the people of Vienna, community was necessary not just for physical benefits but also for emotional support and encouragement.
The Amalienbad public swimming pool is another example of the strong sense of community that the Viennese prioritized during this time. It does not look like it would be a pool from the outside.
However, the statues that are outside the building must represent something about swimming because I think they are people taking their clothes off. It was an interesting experience going inside this building because of the language barrier between us and the woman at the ticket counter. She didn’t speak a word of English and seemed irritated at us for not knowing any German. We were able to walk up to the windows to see inside the pool area. I thought it would be more like a relaxing and socializing kind of pool, but the people in there were doing laps and swimming more for exercise. I think this served a great purpose for those in the past because it was a place for the community to share the new importance of physical health together and encourage others to better themselves. I wonder if in the past it was more of a social pool where people relaxed and converse or if it was just like how it is today where it is focused on physically swimming. Lastly, the Reumannhof is another communal living building that to me was reminiscent of the Karls-Marx Hof. This building looks unique from the outside because of the windows that face out from each other that add an interesting texture to the apartment building.
Just like the Karls-Marx Hof, there is a kindergarten there that is represented by a little statue of children playing. The kindergarten is still in use and we saw the children inside the classroom.
Next to the kindergarten is a peaceful area that looks somewhat like a park or just a nice place to relax and enjoy the outside grounds. It Is down a set of stairs where the air is cooler and contains many benches for the residents to sit and converse. This gives the residents a chance to hang out with each other and again, provides another example of the importance of community for the people of Vienna.
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