HOTEL AMORE Guide Part III: Big Black Book on Berlins Best Architecture
Hello my dear Internet Friends,
this week was quite busy with lots of events in Berlin - there was a fun store opening from the Sézane pop-up in Berlin-Mitte, a Dom Pérignon cocktail at the private Boros flat - which I sadly missed because of sickness, a beautiful dinner from Westwing x Meissen at the China Club, organised by Reference Studios and on Thursday I went to an amazing dinner, hosted by Hermès at Reethaus (which was also in my Berlin guide), celebrating their new fragrance Barénia.
I want to recommend you a new series on Apple TV called Disclaimer, by director Alfonso Cuarón starring Cate Blanchett and Sacha Baron Cohen. The director also directed the fantastic film Roma - I really enjoy how he masterfully builds the story of this seven-part series that features different flashbacks to explain the whole explosion that is about to happen. Watch for some little details, such as the grey cat that is always around Cate Blanchett’s character.
This is finally Part III of the Big Black Book on Berlin, which is focused on architecture. I feel that if you are a local in a city, you are usually aware of the places to see, but never really go to see them, as in - consciously see them - because they are just there anyways, right? Sometimes interest comes later, when you learn about other things that add up to an understanding of a certain topic such as architecture. A good friend of mine has had a flat in the Hansaviertel for a long time which I used to visit all the time in 2016. But my interest in architecture was much less pronounced than it is now and I cared much less, now I would ravage the floors!
I had so much fun to ride around Berlin with my vespa when it was still summer and properly see all the architecture, as well as just opening my eyes and my mind more to what is around me.
As a note, as all my newsletter articles extend the eMail-length, you have to open it in the app to see all of it.
Before we start, I would like to share the Instagram account of Toto von Senger, the dad of a friend of mine. He used to be an architect and shows the city through his knowledgeable architect and Berlin-loving eyes. The Instagram is called Toto geht durch die Stadt - love it!
Another recommendation I have is doing sightseeing boat tours - my friend Lydia and I we spent considerable amounts of hours on sightseeing boats, eating bottermelk Cornetto ice-cream, looking at our surroundings to debate whether or not we would want to live in them, just having a great time.
Mies van der Rohe House, Weissensee
This house is the last one which was designed by the architect before he flew to the USA in 1932-1933. It was a commissioned work for the couple Martha and Karl Lemke which included the house as well as the furniture, chairs, wardrobes and beds all in different woods. The whole commission cost around 16.000 German Mark which would today be something around 61.000 Euro (incredible!). The house is beautiful and can be visited in Weissensee Tuesday-Sunday. The entrance is free.
Funkhaus, Treptow
This is of my favorite places in Berlin: The architecture is incredible. The architect was Franz Ehrlich, and the whole interior is the new objectivity. You can see upcoming shows here. The acoustic is so special and one-of-a-kind. You shouldn't miss out on the inner workings of Block B. In collaboration with sound engineer Gerhard Probst, Ehrlich followed the most modern methods in its construction. The recording halls and radio play complexes are trapezoidal to enhance the acoustics. To prevent sound transmission, the architect also applied a house-in-house construction: all recording rooms have separate walls and even their own foundations. Last time I visited Funkhaus, I saw a concert of the composer Nils Frahm - already for the second time, I really recommend it.
You can also do guided tours at the Funkhaus, doing that is on my wishlist - it has really exceptional architecture and is a partly listed building.
Hansaviertel, Mitte
After the war, all the buildings in what is now the Hansaviertel area were destroyed. The SED regime in Soviet-occupied East Germany staged a PR coup by promising a 'city of the future' with modern, affordable housing. Along Stalinallee in Friedrichshain, residential blocks for workers were quickly constructed, featuring neoclassical facades and high-quality interiors at low rents, aiming to impress West Berliners with the success of socialism. West Berlin needed to respond quickly and find a solution that reflected democracy. In 1953, the city held a design competition, and the proposal by architects Willy Kreuer and Gerhard Jobst won. They envisioned buildings in the spirit of the New Building style, spaced out in the urban landscape with plenty of green space in between. An ideal location was found: the old Hansaviertel, which had been completely destroyed, allowing the architects to implement their ideas.
Exhibition of Superlatives
Otto Bartning, a renowned architect and president of the Association of German Architects, invites 53 colleagues from 13 countries to build modern structures in Hansaviertel. The response is overwhelming—architects from around the world, including Walter Gropius, Oscar Niemeyer, Egon Eiermann and Alvar Aalto, participate. When Interbau 57 opens in 1957, the audience experiences not just models or drawings, but completed residential buildings, including high-rise structures for social housing.
It is frustrating to acknowledge today that they were all male architects, but that was the reality at the time. With their designs, the Hansaviertel was rebuilt in 1953 and became a renowned example of modern architecture and city planning, that becomes like a small village within the city with their own library, a cinema, a shopping centre and their own train station.
It’s really enjoyable to drive around in the Hansaviertel and exploring all the beautiful houses around! Below I have listed you my favorite buildings of the total of 36 buildings:
Walter Gropius Building, Händelallee 1-9
This building was designed by the German architect and founder of the Bauhaus, Walter Gropius - who became a U.S. citizen in 1944 - and Wils Ebert, another German architect. Gropius passed away in 1969 in Berlin. The building has been under monument protection since the 1980s. The liveliness of the facade is enhanced by the balcony railings, which resemble sails billowing in the wind - convexly curved against the facade - crafted from white enamel-coated steel sheets, along with red railing elements. It consists of nine floors and a total of 66 flats.
Jacob Berend Bakema and Johannes Hendrik van den Broek, Bartningallee 7
The building was constructed using a complex split-level technique by two Dutch architects. It contains a total of 73 flats spread across 16 floors. The facade features exposed aggregate concrete panels, with a distinctive design highlighted by the primary colors: red, blue, and yellow.
