Galerie Johnen – Haus Rotwang

Berlin, Germany

Photo © Stefan Müller

Drawing © GEORG • SCHEEL • WETZEL ARCHITEKTEN

Architects: Georg • Scheel • Wetzel Architekten

Location: Marienstraße 10, 10117 Berlin, Germany
Year: 2014
Client: Johnen Galerie

Renovation and conversion of a heritage-protected remise to form an exhibition space and storage areas

The two-storey remise, which is now heritage-protected, dates back to the first half of the 19th century and boasts one of Berlin's oldest remaining so-called Bohlenbinderdach curved plank roofs.
Nevertheless, the building had stood empty since the 1990s and was becoming increasingly dilapidated.

In the course of a complex renovation in compliance with heritage protection regulations, dry rot and soft rot were removed and the roof timbering in particular was restored, whereby the existing structures were used as much as possible. For the conversion work, which was to create a gallery room, the ceiling between the ground floor and first floor was removed, with a load-bearing steel framework providing reinforcement.

The high-ceilinged exhibition space is illuminated via the upper row of windows, whereas although the lower windows were also reconstructed on the facade side, they remain sealed off inside, so as to provide more wall space. Via an opening that leads into the neighbouring gallery rooms, the exhibition space is casually integrated into the existing visitors' circuit, enriching it with a new expansive spatial dimension.