Joachim Giesel is already an experienced photographer holding a master craftsman’s certificate when he decides to obtain an additional diploma in photography at the Fachhochschule Dortmund. His final project from 1980 is titled Vorstädte (Suburbs) and comprises 63 black-and-white photographs. It is accompanied by a ring binder made of black cardboard containing his own texts and images, in which he explains the concept underlying the project and his approach. An article by architect and urban planner Gerhart Laage in the weekly newspaper Die Zeit inspired Giesel’s series. It depicts the bleak reality of countless West German suburban housing developments and documents an urban planning trajectory that shows striking parallels to that of the GDR. In fact, in the postwar years both German states faced the challenge of overcoming a severe housing shortage. Guided by the principle of “urbanity through density,” large-scale housing estates began to emerge in West Germany from the 1960s onward as part of social housing programs. With their simple, cost-effective modular construction, they provided housing for thousands of families within a limited space. These blocks promised modern living—with central heating, elevators, and built-in washing machines—and initially met with broad public approval. However, the once-praised concept of the dense city soon came under criticism: inadequate living conditions, monotonous concrete architecture, and a lack of social interaction led to growing dissatisfaction. Even before Laage’s article appeared, psychoanalyst Alexander Mitscherlich warned in his book Die Unwirtlichkeit unserer Städte (1965) (The inhospitality of our cities) of the negative consequences of a “merely agglomerated city.” Giesel’s work visualizes this “inhospitable” quality described by Mitscherlich. His photographs from the Hanover districts of Wülfel and Bemerode, the neighboring town of Laatzen, the outskirts of Wolfsburg and Braunschweig, as well as Bremen-Vahr, illustrate the failure of the dense city model. Instead of quality of life and social cohesion, his diploma project presents an image of anonymity and monotony, reflecting the bleak reality faced by many residents of large housing estates. With this photographic commentary on urban development in the Federal Republic, Giesel responds to a contemporary social debate and positions himself as a socially critical photographer.
At the same time, a comparable body of work emerges in the GDR with Stadtbilder (1979–1985) by photographer Ulrich Wüst. While Giesel focuses exclusively on urban peripheries, Wüst portrays East German reality between dilapidated historic buildings and standardized prefabricated housing. Unknowingly, Giesel’s Vorstädte and Wüst’s Stadtbilder engage in a German-German dialogue on the urban planning shortcomings of their time.
JULE LANG
| Hochhaussiedlung am Canarisweg I (High-rise housing estate at Canarisweg I, from the series Vorstädte), Hanover, 1979/80 (Silver gelatin baryta paper, vintage print)
| Wohnwagen I (Caravan I, from the series Vorstädte), Germany, 1979/80 (Silver gelatin baryta paper, vintage print)
| VW-Käfer (VW Beetle, from the series Vorstädte), Germany, 1979/80 (Silver gelatin baryta paper, vintage print)
| Gassi-Gänger (Dog walker, from the series Vorstädte), Germany, 1979/80 (Silver gelatin baryta paper, vintage print)