The two townhouses E 7, 7 and E 7, 5 are among the rare examples of a bourgeois urban residential style with a Brutalist embossment in Germany. Situated very close to one another, separated only by a Gründerzeit townhouse, they generate an ensemble-like effect through their use of exposed concrete and unrendered, yellow brickwork. The surroundings are included in the arrangement of the façades. Excerpt from Alexander Bartscher’s article in: SOS Brutalism: A Global Survey. Catalog DAM + Wüstenrot Foundation, Zurich (Park Books) 2017

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The town house was built by the German architect Carlfried Mutschler in Mannheim. It replaces the former building, which was destroyed in World War II. The building contains office spaces, including Mutschler’s architectural firm, and three apartments, which are located on the three upper floors. The architect lived with his wife on the fifth floor. The horizontal division of the façade is emphasized by the use of different materials: glass and exposed concrete on the first two levels, yellow clinker and raw concrete on the upper floors. The façade is decorated with a relief made of concrete by the artist Otto Herbert Hajek. The house combines the precise use of brutalist materials, like raw concrete and brick on the inside and outside, with artworks of contemporary artists, like the painter Winfred Gaul or Otto Herbert Hajek. On the one hand, the house distinguishes itself from the neighborhood by its modernity, while on the other hand it refers to the adjacent houses by using a comparable organization of the façade and similar materials like brick.

Heritage protected since 2008. 

In good condition, but the court façade has been painted with a protective coat. The offices and apartments are still in use (last updated on May 29, 2024).

Written by Selina Grill, Johannes Gutenberg-Universität, Mainz