Villa Plange, Modernist villa in Soest, Germany.
Villa Plange is a modernist residential building in Soest with a cubic form, reddish brick walls, and large white-painted wooden windows beneath a nearly flat roof with minimal slope. The open spatial layout and extensive glazing create bright interiors while establishing a visual link to the surrounding landscape.
The building was constructed in 1927 for Johanna and Captain Wilhelm Plange following modernist design principles of that era. After sustaining severe damage in World War II, it was reconstructed according to the original plans and survives in this restored form.
Bruno Paul's Cologne studio designed not only the house but most of its fittings: furniture, carpets and lamps, made by the Richmodishaus in Cologne, a branch of the Deutsche Werkstätten Hellerau. Part of this interior later came to the Verein für Geschichte und Heimatpflege Soest from an estate and is back in the building, where it is also protected as a monument. The house is not open to visitors.
The building currently houses the economic development office of Soest County and is not open to the public for interior visits. However, the exterior can be viewed at any time and provides insight into the modernist design approach.
The villa was named Soest's "Denkmal des Monats" in March 2010, chosen by the Arbeitskreis Historische Stadt- und Ortskerne Nordrhein-Westfalen. The honour drew attention to a building that had served as the district archive from 1986 to 2011. Since then it has housed the county's economic development office.
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