Settlement in Wedding

During his career Mies van der Rohe gradually transformed his beloved neo-classicistic Schinkel style into a very modern, open building style, represented by the frequent use of glass and steel. This transition is visible in the settlement in the Afrikanische Strasse, between the Sambesistrasse and Seestrasse, in Berlin Wedding. The buildings from 1927 reflect many typical Bauhaus elements, like cubic forms, flat fronts and round corners, without unnecessary ornaments. The complex of 88 apartments belongs to the first social housing constructions of the Weimar Republic which has been realised.

Mies van der Rohe Haus

In 1930 he became the last director of the Bauhaus school in Dessau, until the Nazis came to power in 1932. In the same year the Mies van der Rohe Haus, also known as Villa Lemke, was built. It was the last house he designed before he fled Germany in 1938, like many of his Bauhaus colleagues. He emigrated to the US, where he got the American nationality in 1944.

The Mies van der Rohe Haus is a classical modernistic house at the border of the Obersee in Alt-Hohenschönhausen. It was built for Karl Lemke, in a completely odd modern style compared to the surrounding area. The house reflects the typical Bauhaus style: functional design, and the house and garden run into eachother by the large windows.

In 1945 the Russian army claimed the area and ordered the Lemkes to leave. Since the 60s, the StaSi used the house for several purposes such as the housing of partypeople, a laundry, a canteen and a parking lot in the garden. After the Wende the house and garden were renovated back to its original style. The house and garden are currently used as an exhibition space.

Neue Nationalgalerie

The Neue Nationalgalerie at the Berlin Kulturforum is the only building that was designed by Mies van der Rohe after WW2 in Germany. This museum of modern 20th-century art was his last construction that has been completed, and opened in 1968.

The building is a landmark of modern architecture. It is in fact one big open space surrounded by glass without any inner supporting column. The roof is supported by 8 pillars standing outside on a 10.000 sq.m. terrace. The open hall serves as an exhibition space. The floor underneith houses the permanent collection in several gallery spaces, which are connected to the sculpture garden outside.

The Neue Nationalgalerie is currently being renovated and is planned not to re-open before 2019. Until then, a walk on the impressive terrace will do.

Other designs by Mies van der Rohe

Unfortunately, other designs by Mies van der Rohe, like the high rise next to the Friedrichstrasse station (1922) or the remodeling of the Alexanderplatz (1928) have not been realised.

Famous Mies van der Rohe designs in Germany outside Berlin are the Weisse Siedlung in Stuttgart and the Haus Lange and Haus Esters in Krefeld, NRW. Also worth a visit!

More information

www.miesvanderrohehaus.de
Oberseestrasse 60 13053 Berlin
M5 Oberseestrasse

Neue Nationalgalerie
Potsdamer Strasse 50 10785 Berlin
U2 S1 S2 S25 Potsdamer Platz
Bus 200 Philharmonie M29 Potsdamer Brücke

The post Mies van der Rohe in Berlin – Part II appeared first on berlinspirational.

I really love to visit the Museum für Fotografie. Not only because -if I had the time- I could spend hours in the nice and cosey bookshop which is one of the many filials of the König Bookstore, but mainly because of the beautiful photos from Helmut Newton it exhibits.

Helmut Newton

Photographer Helmut Newton was born in 1920 as Helmut Neustädter at Innsbrucker Straße 24 in Berlin-Schöneberg. The house does not exist anymore, all is left is a plaque.
Newton started a career as a photographer in 1936. Due to political climate in Germany (he was Jewish) he left Berlin in 1938. Via Singapore, Australia (where he met his wife and photographer Alice Springs-June Newton) and London, he arrived in Paris where he worked as a fashion photographer for Vogue Magazine. Because “sex sells”, he developed his particular, controversial style marked by fashion photos with nude models, which made him world famous. Since 1981 he lived and worked with his wife in Monaco and in Los Angelos.
In 2003 he founded the Helmut Newton foundation, which aims to inherit and to promote his works and those of Alice Springs, and a permanent residence in the Museum für Fotografie in Berlin was arranged. Unfortunately he did not make it to the official opening, as in January 2004 he died after a car crash with his Cadillac on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles.
Helmut Newton is buried next to Marlene Dietrich at the Städtischer Friedhof III in Friedenau.

Museum für Fotografie

The museum is held in a former officers mess, built in 1909, and is situated directly behind the Zoölogischer Garten Station.
The ground floor and first floor of this majestic building house the collection of the Helmut Newton foundation. It permanently shows the Helmut Newton private property, and temporary exhibitions are hold, which always have a certain link to Helmut Newton. With this enormous Helmut Newton overdosis you’d think the museum should actually be called the Helmut Newton museum. But fair enough, the Museum für Fotografie is a cooperation of the Helmut Newton Foundation and the Kunstbibliothek’s Collection of Photography, which is situated in the Kaisersaal on the second floor of the building and holds a research and documentarycenter as well. Unfortunately, the Kaisersaal is not open for visitors at the moment.

Helmut Newton Bar

After the museum the real Nelmut Newton fan visits the Helmut Newton Bar at the Gendarmenmarkt (Charlottenstrasse 57). Here you can see the largest Big Nudes photos in private property.

Museum für Fotografie

www.helmut-newton.com
Jebenstrasse 2 10623 Berlin
U2 U9 S3 S5 S7 S75 Zoölogischer Garten
U1 Kurfürstendamm
Open Tue–Fri 10–18; Sat-Sun 11-18; Thu 10–20;
Entrance fee 10 Euro (online 9 Euro)

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