Architecture as Open System. Frei Otto's Ecohouses

The "eco-houses" designed by Frei Otto for the International Building Exhibition in Berlin (IBA 1987) are one of the most striking examples of a participatory and ecologically oriented form of architecture. The experimental project consists of an ensemble of three multistorey, open platforms that were developed and planted by the residents themselves based on their own individual preferences and in line with ecological principles. Originally conceived in 1959 for New York's Central Park, Otto was not able to realize the idea of a "three-dimensional garden city" until the 1980s, when the opportunity presented itself in West Berlin. Based on mostly unpublished drawings, photos, and documents from Otto's archive, the book presents the story of this experimental architecture for the first time. Two exhibitions are planned for spring 2020: at the e-flux gallery in New York and the Yale School of Architecture with Lacaton Vassal and others.

Georg Vrachliotis is professor of architecture theory at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT).
Nicolaus Hirsch is an architect and editor of e-flux architecture.