Sennestadt

The satellite town of Sennestadt was created in the 1950s, in the heathlands and grasslands of the former municipality of Senne II, in accordance with the designs of the urban planner, Hans Bernhard Reichow, and it was primarily intended for post-war displaced persons and refugees.

On 15 February 1956 the Regional Authority of Westphalia-Lippe, the District of Bielefeld and the Municipality of Senne II founded the company, Sennestadt GmbH, in order to realise the award-winning plans of the architect and urban planner, Hans Bernhard Reichow.

[7] The locations of the town hall (Sennestadthaus), schools, churches, sports fields and shopping hubs should create correlations and make it easier for residents to get their bearings.

[11] In order to give the city an attractive shape, when building Sennestadt, Reichow and the municipal politicians made sure to incorporate Kunst am Bau (‘Art in Construction’).

In accordance with Reichow's plans, the Sennestadthaus – together with the central square (now known as Reichowplatz) in front of it and the surrounding service buildings – was supposed to represent the "city's crowning glory".

[13] When Hans Bernhard Reichow died in 1974, a journalist also praised him for his cultural and historic role in Sennestadt: This city, which brought him worldwide success and was celebrated by thousands of people from around the globe as a prime example of German urban planning, had grown especially dear to his heart...

The Grünes Kreuz held by Bullerbachtal and West-Ost-Grünzug should not just retain the landscape within the city but also ensure the exchange of air and create attractive footpaths leading to the churches, schools and sports facilities.

In order to settle industry at the edge of Sennestadt, Reichow developed a "distance table" which, depending on the type and size of the business, should protect the residential areas from noise, dust and exhaust gases.

[17] Historical photos of both the overall planning and a series of buildings created by Reichow and others, such as the Jesus Christ Church, the Thomas Morus Church, the Haus der Gesundheit (‘House of Health’), the Ostallee shopping area (= lower Elbeallee), GAGFAH multiple-occupancy houses, the hall of the East City School (= Adolf Reichwein School), Kreissparkasse bank (= Sparkasse bank), a high-rise block in the East Alley (= Elbe Alley) and several factory buildings, are recorded in the international architecture database, archINFORM.

In the cultural landscape area 7.01 "Senne and its adjacent Teutoburg Forest" Sennestadt, along with a few other examples, is highlighted as "one of the few new urban establishments in Westphalia-Lippe with a complete infrastructure after the Second World War."

"[19] A similar urban area developed by Reichow – Parkwohnanlage West in Nürnberg-Sündersbühl, built between 1962 and 1966 – was placed under protection by the Bavarian Office for the Conservation of Historical Monuments.

The District Administrative Office, adult education centre, youth art and music school, a technical college and Sennestadt GmbH moved into the building, instead of the mayor and the town council.

The front building is especially striking, with its concert hall which is supported by pillars which stand in the water and the Kosmisches Raumelement (‘Cosmic Space Element’) sculpture by the sculptor, Bernhard Heiliger, on the exterior facade.

The artists, David Adamo, Awst & Walther, Michael Beutler, Andreas Bunte, Christian Falsnaes, Manfred Pernice, Arne Schmitt and Kateřina Šedá, were invited to participate in this project by Sennestadtverein e.V.

In the works, sculptures and interventions in public areas that were created especially for this project, the artists examine both the history and the current circumstances of the location and its urban planning process which has been going on for decades already, as well as changes in society.

[23] In the context of several workshops, numerous goals and measures were defined jointly – together with many residents – for five areas of action: Townscape, Community & Neighbourhood, Living, Infrastructure and Commerce/Workspaces/Education.

In 1956, following the International Conference on Housing and Urban Planning (22–28 September 1956), stamps depicting five newly built post-war towns and suburbs were issued in Austria (images available on www.sennestadtverein.de).