Neues Frankfurt: Siedlung Römerstadt

This Großssiedlung  was planned by Ernst May on a terrace and slope on the edge of the Nidda river valley between the villages of Heddernheim and Praunheim. The area -located mostly within Heddernheim- originally had no direct access to train or tram, even though May preferred such locations. The development was financed by an SEO by Mietsheim AG (Rental Home Unlimited) underpinned by Hauszinssteuer (property tax). Costs were reduced by 4 to 8% by employing prospective tenants as labourers (not dissimilar to a Baugenossenschaft - Housing Cooperative). This way an entrance fee was avoided and renters had the statutory right to live in their dwelling for 10 to 15 years, provided they paid their monthly rents. The general rule was that new housing was only allotted to those on an official waiting list drawn up by the Frankfurt Housing Department. At the start of the New Frankfurt Initiative affordable rented accommodation was in short supply. In 1922 only 35% of people on the waiting list could be provided with housing, the rest had to wait for up to 4 years. By 1929 the waiting time had dropped to between 6 and 9 month.

Only about a third of the site was municipal ownership, the rest had to be acquired through an expropriation process. Ernst May drew plans for a new estate on the sloping site on the edge of the river valley in 1925. His plans have some affinity with the Bauhaus plan for Siedlung Törten in Dessau. The site was terraced and the ground level was raised in parts, especially on the lowest terrace which has a 3 metre high wall on the side of the river Nidda. The building were placed parallel to the slope. The housing estate of almost 1,220 housing units was built between 1927 and 1928. It features both apartments (602) and terraced family housing (581). The street names refer to the roman settlement that once stood here overlooking the Nidda river.

The housing was designed by architect Carl-Hermann Rudloff; Ernst May only did the planning of this housing estate. The housing is arranged in long double-storey rows with higher accents along the main thoroughfares and along the wall above the allotment gardens on the side of the river. On that side the higher accents are blocks of flats that are like all apartment buildings 4 storeys high. This spatial definition is very German and can be seen in most housing estates designed on artistic principles after 1900. The streets show a gentle curve as they follow the natural slope of the site. Short walkways connect the streets. These pass through openings in the terraced housing (as Sitte-esque gate features).

The deceptively simple layout of this housing estate is clear from the plan. The central Rosa-Luxemburgstrasse that divides the estate in two neighbourhoods was built here in 1980-81. To make room for this new thoroughfare a school was demolished and part of the cemetery was dug up. The housing is built along streets with private garden behind the double-storey family housing (in orange). There are no front gardens originally there were no front gardens. Middle-rise blocks (in red) are used to provide spatial definition. To make use of the sloping site the streets follow the slope and many retaining walls of varying height (in yellow) have been used.

The style of architecture is best describes as New Objectivity (Neues Bauen), which is more expressive than the International Style that followed. the buildings are all rendered, with most facades in an ochre colour. Some blocks have a vivid burnt sienna colour, others (especially the apartment slabs) are an off-white. The houses have flat roofs and a narrow roof trim. The design is very horizontal which is emphasised by overhanging slabs at the entrances. There is a difference between north-facing and south-facing facades. North-facing facades have been designed with a porch or square arch in concrete. Each dwelling was originally fitted with A "Frankfurt Kitchen", a revolutionary standard kit-kitchen that measured 7 m2. The kitchen and other standardised fittings were aimed at keeping costs down; they were designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky. As a Gesamtkunstwerk great attention was paid to the public space and the delineation of private space. Outdoor space was designed by Leberecht Migge and Max Bromme. The socially rented housing has not been privatised. The housing in Römerstadt has remained popular, not least now that is has a direct metro-link to the centre of Frankfurt and residents have the right to transfer residency to family members (mostly children or grandchildren) for equally affordable social rents. As one of the housing estates of Neues Frankfurt, Siedlung Römerstadt has listed status.