Architecture Walk - Dornach, SO, Switzerland
Posted by: fi67
N 47° 29.129 E 007° 37.230
32T E 396077 N 5260038
Four self guided walks start south of the Goetheanum in Dornach
Waymark Code: WMFVJ8
Location: Solothurn, Switzerland
Date Posted: 12/04/2012
Views: 6
The Goetheanum is the world center for the anthroposophical movement. The first Goetheanum was built in 1908 and burned down in 1923; the current replacement was finished in 1928. Both buildings were designed by Rudolf Steiner and are world-famous for the extraordinary architecture.
From Wikipedia: (
visit link) "Steiner's architecture is characterized by a liberation from traditional architectural constraints, especially through the departure from the right-angle as a basis for the building plan. For the first Goetheanum he achieved this in wood by employing boat builders to construct its rounded forms; for the second Goetheanum by using concrete to achieve sculptural shapes on an architectural scale. The use of concrete to achieve organically expressive forms was an innovation for the times; in both buildings, Steiner sought to create forms that were spiritually expressive.
Steiner suggested that he had derived the sculptural forms of the first Goetheanum from the spiritual world, rather than by imitating forms of the physical world or through abstract theorizing.
Additional buildings
Steiner designed approximately 12-13 other built structures, principally residences in and around Dornach. Steiner is one of very few major architects who was never the pupil of another major architect.
Architects who have visited and praised the Goetheanum's architecture include Henry van de Velde, Frank Lloyd Wright, Hans Scharoun and Frank Gehry."
Over the last 100 years other members of the movement have built approximately 170 other houses in this worldwide unique style, sometimes called "Goethanistic". All of them in walking distance of the Goetheanum.
On the occasion of Rudolf Steiner's 150th birthday in 2011 the architecture walks were established. There are four different walks, they all start south of the Goetheanum and each covers about a dozen of the architectural highlights of the closer area.