Located on the industrial outskirts of Berlin, the ‘Mäusebunker’ is a controversial icon of Brutalism. The building resembles a concrete warship with blue cannons. Since the 1980s, laboratory tests on animals were conducted in the ‘mouse bunker’ on the initiative of the Free University of Berlin. After the ethically questionable activities ended, the building was threatened with demolition, but the authorities agreed to renovate it under pressure from activists.
Mouse bunker
In the 1960s, the authorities at the Free University of Berlin planned to build a laboratory for animal experiments. On the outskirts of Berlin, specifically in Lichterfelde, there was already a small laboratory complex with equally heavy concrete architecture. For this reason, the task of designing a new building was given to the Hänska couple. Gerd and Magdalena Hänska were already well-known at the time for their many modernist and above all concrete projects in the city.
During the course of the design work, Magdalena resigned from her collaboration with Gerd for unknown reasons. Gerd continued to work with Kurt Schmersow, and construction began in 1971 and took as long as ten years. Immediately, the project provoked opposition from activists and the cost of the investment grew to a huge sum. Nevertheless, the Mäusebunker was built and, from the moment it was completed, it began to haunt with its heavy architecture. Interestingly, the building was dubbed the Mäusebunker (mouse bunker) associated, of course, with the laboratory’s activities, but its official name was the Research Institute for Experimental Medicine.
Landship
The concrete slopes were broken by small protruding pyramid-shaped windows. This shape was characteristic of Gerd Hänski, and the professor who shaped the architect’s unusual taste was Peter Poelzig, son of the famous Hans Poelzig. The concrete structure is staggered and imitates real warship elements. Noticeable are the bridge, the deck and the banded windows. Also worth noting are the ventilation pipes that resemble the blue guns of a cruiser.
Inside, scientists were breeding mice, chickens, pigs and other laboratory animals to test vaccines. However, the animals were not the only ones exposed to potentially dangerous substances, as the building was partly made of asbestos. Moreover, several scientists died due to prolonged contact with the harmful material. After almost 30 years of use, the laboratory was closed for good.
Concrete monster
The building had been under threat of demolition since 2010, but over time the authorities focused on finding an alternative use for the controversial ‘ship’. Numerous exhibitions showcasing the uniqueness of the Mäusebunker’s architecture helped save the building, and in 2023 the city listed it as a historic monument. Interestingly, the property’s next owner, the Charité hospital, was not favourably disposed towards the building’s unusual architecture. A hospital professor called the Mäusebunker a monster.
There are now plenty of ideas for the future of the building. An art gallery, a climbing wall or a server room could be located in the sterile rooms of the former laboratory. However, there are no concrete plans to realise these ideas. Saving the building from demolition appealed to architects and fans of Brutalism, but the Mäusebunker also has many opponents. It is hardly surprising that such heavy and intimidating architecture evokes negative emotions in some. Moreover, the spectre of animal experiments still looms over the concrete war machine.
Source: Abandoned Berlin
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