The cultural center makes a detour around the concrete pole monument Photo: Ohman
By Oliver Ohmann
Hermannstraße has a new eye-catcher. Next to the Anita-Berber-Park you can now see a new building with a curiosity. The house was built around a monument.
It all started when the Schöpflin Foundation wanted to build a new cultural center at Hermannstraße 84-90. She had previously acquired the site from the Evangelical Cemetery Association. An architectural competition was announced – with an unusual restriction.
The photo shows the historic approach lights at Tempelhof Photo: Ohman
The new building had to be built around a listed concrete mast. It was built in 1961 and is part of the “approach lights” at the old Tempelhof Airport. When the City Airport was closed in 2008, the signal masts were listed as historical monuments. After all, they had ensured safe landings at the airfield for 47 years.
“We weren’t allowed to touch the thing,” said a construction worker to BZ. The client initially had reservations, but the Berlin architects’ office AFF found a good solution. The new brick house (opening soon) now makes a clever detour around the Tempelhof legacy. “Perhaps that will become a positive trademark,” says the chairman of the foundation, Hans Schöpflin.