Criticism of the German single-family home: forms of life

Observe. Appreciate. Document. The mission of the Instagram account @amt_fuer_ Formensprach is not an easy one. For around 16,000 followers, the self-described “nationwide documentation center for remarkable design language in everyday life” draws attention to the happiness in the corner of German residential building romance.

We see a single-family house, rough plaster in eggshell, front door with frosted glass elements, exposed concrete in front of it. A rain gutter falls vertically between two windows with wide brown frames, bends at a 93-degree angle halfway along the facade and runs slightly sloping around the building.

The account says: "The jury praised the precise integration of the drainage into the facade composition. The downpipe deliberately distances itself from the direct path and frames the window opening with remarkable design consistency."

The office's posts all show residential buildings, often from the 1980s. The jury explains their selection on each photo in a white box. Sometimes a high fence is praised as a “consistent formulation of private retreat spaces”, sometimes checkered facade panels are praised as a “remarkable contribution to visual disorientation” or reference is made to an “exciting play of light” in the interior, “which sees daylight not as a matter of course, but as a deliberately dosed design tool”.

Whoever speaks here remains hidden. The account does not reveal who this jury is, whose sharp gaze repeatedly meanders between appreciation and satire. Is it about the buildings, the language or something completely different?

In terms of design and language, the result is a real delight and invites you to look for hidden formal art in everyday life. In the endless Instagram timeline of loud trends and perfectly staged lives, the office seems sober but also refreshing. Just like a 93 degree rain gutter on the facade.