Local Award ceremony for Taut’s home

The Local Award Ceremony for Taut’s Home, a winner of an EU Prize for Cultural Heritage/Europa Nostra Awards in 2013, was held at the Gutshof Britz in Berlin on the afternoon of 8 December. Europa Nostra’s Executive President Denis de Kergorlay and its Vice-President Alexander Fürst zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn participated in the event and praised this outstanding achievement in the heritage conservation field.

Alexander Fürst zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, Franziska Giffey, Denis de Kergorlay, Ben Buschfeld, Katrin Lesser, Regula Lüscher and Udo Gößwald. Photo: Bruno Braun

Alexander Fürst zu Sayn-Wittgenstein-Sayn, Franziska Giffey, Denis de Kergorlay, Ben Buschfeld, Katrin Lesser, Regula Lüscher and Udo Gößwald. Photo: Bruno Braun

Taut’s Home is so-called from the German architect Bruno Taut. Located in Berlin’s Horseshoe Estate (1925-30), classified as World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2008, this single end-terrace house has been carefully restored with the character of a museum but is also fitted out to provide accommodation and a real-life experience of design history for heritage-aware visitors. The distinctive white building with clean, angular lines recalls Bauhaus Modernism and is the only surviving house on the estate where Taut’s original interior colour scheme has been completely renewed and where all the historical tile stoves and other original fittings are still in place. All furnishings are either hand-picked originals or made to measure from vintage 1930s models. The front garden has also been restored according to the original blueprint. The Awards jury was charmed and fascinated by the careful restoration of this small but important house by its private owners, Ben Buschfeld, graphic designer, and Katrin Lesser, garden and landscape architect.

Other speakers at the ceremony included Regula Lüscher, Senate Building Director of the Senate Department for Urban Development and Environment in Berlin, Dr. Franziska Giffey, District Councillor for Education, School, Culture and Sport of Neukölln in Berlin, and Dr. Udo Gösswald, director of the Museum Neukölln. The official ceremony, which was attended by 80 people, was followed by a musical programme.

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