A steel house for the museum

The fact that there is a high density of museums in North Rhine-Westphalia is nothing new. However, mostly the big art museums in the country get a lot of attention. Not always rightly so, because it is often the cultural history museums that identify relevant socio-political issues and present them with meaningful exhibits.

Such an important exhibit for the industrial state of North Rhine-Westphalia has just completed a night journey. It is a bungalow from 1966, which was transported by heavy transport from the south of Dortmund to the Hoesch Museum, around 15 kilometers away. The special thing about the single-family house: It is made of steel. 29 tons were used for 141 square meters of modern living including a flat roof. The bungalow not only corresponds to the international construction trend of the 1960s, but also has a further meaning for NRW: alongside coal, steel is the defining material for the identity of the industrial state. And: The building was designed and manufactured by Hoesch. The Dortmund steel giant employed around 48,000 people in those years.

Producing a home wasn't high on the company's agenda, but experimentation is allowed in good economic times. Unfortunately, the modernity of the material and design did not arrive. The name "tin box" made the rounds, only 200 pieces were sold. But the Dortmund bungalow is still in its original condition and is now being restored. After that, the Hoesch House will be a steel witness to modern industrial history on the Rhine and Ruhr.