Augustus Strasse is definitely one of the most interesting streets in East Berlin. Soon after the unification of Germany, small galleries, shops and pretty cafes began to open there, city professionals with families - both fashionable and not so - began to settle in new houses on the neighboring streets: this area is pleasant in scale and in the variety of infrastructure.
But for many years one building stood out from the picture - the dilapidated house on Augustus Strasse at 11-13: a former Jewish school for girls, construction of which was completed in 1930. Architect Alexander Beer designed it in the mainstream of the New Substance. The school closed in 1942 and was converted into a temporary hospital. Later, during the GDR period, a school was reopened there, which operated until 1996. This building with an area of about 3,000 m2, where 300 schoolgirls studied before World War II, became one of the last buildings of the Jewish community in Berlin.
This dark brick building is still different from the older houses around it, but it has now been renovated and given new owners and a program. At the initiative of gallery owner Michael Fuchs, Grüntuch Ernst Architekten took over the renovation of the school. Adapting to new functions was a very interesting task, albeit a very difficult one: among other things, architects were required to work very quickly. Everything was done in 9 months, including the necessary cooperation with organizations for the protection of monuments.
Among the institutions housed in the modernized building is the Kennedys family museum, The Kennedys, which moved here from Pariser Platz: its collection contains unique photo and video materials about the history of this influential family.
On the ground floor, the school's former auditorium has been converted into an elegant Pauly Saal restaurant with a club-like bar. The atmosphere there is designed to resemble the "golden twenties", and it does so with great dignity. There is also an outdoor terrace with turquoise metal chairs and large white parasols. On the street side, there is a New York-inspired gastronomy - Mogg & Melzer, furnished with furniture by Finnish designer Ilmari Tapiovaara: classic wooden chairs, benches and tables.
The former classrooms and corridors are home to Michael Fuchs Galerie, CWC Gallery and EIGEN + ART. A glazed elevator shaft is inserted into the center of the grand main staircase, which serves as the main communication hub.
The architects dispensed with the trendy purples, pinks and lime colors. The interior is designed in shades of gray and white, and the historic tiles and mosaics in the entrance area give it personality.
The school building has a tragic history - its architect Behr found his death in the Theresienstadt concentration camp, most of the teachers and students also died during the Holocaust, but now it not only reminds of the past, but also serves as a cultural and social center open to all. A special achievement of the architects Grüntuch Ernst is that they have preserved the subtlety of detail and the overall atmosphere of interwar architecture.
