Building
Interior view of the HfG Ulm building, 1955
Photo: Ernst Hahn
Block of student accommodation and passageway to
the studios, 1955
Photo: Ernst Hahn
«When I planned the HfG building in Ulm, I intended to combine an uncomplicated arrangement of rooms with a complex variety of options for their use. The location had to have a special character; at the same time I wanted a recognizable coherency of features. The unified impression may also result from the fact that everything was kept as simple as possible.»
(Max Bill in «form. zeitschrift für gestaltung» 144, 1993, pp. 51–52)
The HfG Ulm building was one of the first reinforced concrete frame constructions in Germany. For all components, all exterior walls and visible interior walls, the exposed concrete was coated with a fine concrete framework. The window frames were made of laminated wood, as were the doors.
The student accommodation extends out to the east. Two rows of studios and a four-story accommodation block alternate between low- and high-rise, all connected by a long passageway. The houses where some of the lecturers lived are nearby, to the west of the school building.