In last week’s article on Berlin’s Art Nouveau era, the focus was on theatres and infrastructure. This week, the focus is on apartments but there are also some unusual commercial and industrial spaces as well. Free of the impulse to make major buildings monumental, some of these show a freer hand with styles and color, even while holding on to symmetry.
There’s a lot of history behind colorful facade of the Amstel Hostel in the Moabit district, built originally by a mission society as an residence for single male workers. The building had 202 furnished rooms, a dining room on the ground floor, baths and showers on the fifth floor and, unusually, a rooftop swimming pool. It opened June 28, 1914, the same day the Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated, triggering World War I.
After World War II, it served as an orphanage, and then a retirement home. In the 1980s it was extensively renovated and its appearance restored. The sculptures above are by Georges Morin; the paintings are based on traditional Bavarian themes. Through the doorway, the hostel buildings surround two courtyards, meant to provide a green space for the original residents.
Just a couple of blocks away from the Amstel, I found the Arminius Market Hall, built in 1891 as part of a plan to replace “unhygienic” street markets with fourteen new market halls. It still has some market vendors, but is mostly occupied by pubs and eating spaces. ‘Zunfthalle’ was a name taken on in 2010 and abandoned soon after. The table in the second picture claims to be “The Longest Table in Berlin.”
Nearby on Huttenstrasse is a real landmark, the Turbine Factory, built in 1909 for AEG, the German equivalent of General Electric. It’s considered the first attempt at adapting restrained modern design to industrial architecture. It was designed by Peter Behrens, who was AEG’s artistic consultant, designing the appearance of the company’s consumer products, its logo and other company graphics.
Behren’s design for the 100-meter long building uses 22 steel frames holding up the barrel roof, with acres of glass providing light to the unobstructed interior. In the 1930s it was extended to twice the original length, and is still an active turbine factory, now belonging to Siemens. It set a model widely copied elsewhere.
Thomasiusstrasse (what a lot of ‘s’!) is home to two very different Art Nouveau buildings. I missed one while photographing the other, so it’s fortunate I was able to find photos to use. The first is at No. 4, and shows an interesting mix of Art Nouveau and nods to traditional German Gothic rooflines. The architect and builder was Fritz Gottlob in 1902-3.
Gottlob started his career building brick Gothic churches, mostly in rural areas. He was so expert at that that he literally wrote the book on it: “Theory of Forms of North German Brick Gothic.” But when faced with the task of fitting new churches into urban areas, he found that the free-standing Gothic style didn’t work as well, and he turned to Art Nouveau styles, while keeping elements of his original style.
Next door at No. 5 Thomasiusstrasse, is a more flamboyant example of ‘mainstream’ Art Nouveau, the 1902 work of Hans Landé. Its most visible ornament is at the top: a huge image of Faun, the half-man, half-goat figure common in Art Nouveau decor.
At the lower levels, the decoration is a bit more restrained, but elegant nonetheless. Both of these buildings are still occupied as apartments; searching for information on them left me almost mired in real estate ads offering rentals and sales. If only…
Taking a break from apartment world, we come to one of Berlin’s famous buildings, the Hackeschen Höfe. It’s a lively place, teeming inside and outside with cafes, restaurants, shops and more. Built starting in 1906, it is actually a series of interconnected courtyards, with separate areas set aside for crafts, trade and culture, and even some apartments. All are reached through the impressive entrance on Rosenthalerstrasse. It was designed by August Endell, a self-taught architect whose background was in art and philosophy.
The first courtyard, the one most frequented by the public, is also the one with the most exciting design, with each section having its own patterns of polychrome brick. After reunification in 1990, there was extensive restoration and renovation.
Not far from the Hackeshen Höfe is a real pioneer: A distinctly Art Nouveau building that dates to 1888. I’ve not been able to find any more information about it, but it must be one of the earliest buildings in Berlin in the style.
Two doors down, another building that must have a history, but one I can’t find.
And a final candidate, for which I have no history; I wish I had followed my usual practice of taking a picture of the address number for later research. With several mystery candidates, and a list of other buildings, I may have talked myself into yet another visit to Berlin. Unless (or possibly even if) someone out there can supply the missing information…
