Berlin is known as one of the most important concentrations of European modernism. Between the wars, numerous high-end projects were realised here, which shaped the image of the modern city and influenced the architectural trends of the 20th century. The Shell-Haus is an example of Berlin modernism. It is an office building with a wavy façade, designed by Emil Fahrenkamp. The striking edifice is widely regarded as a jewel among all the works that were built in the German capital in the 1920s and 1930s.
Origin and location of the Shell-Haus
The Shell-Haus was built between 1930 and 1932 at 60-62 Reichpietschufer Street in the Tiergarten district. The building was constructed as the headquarters of the Rhenania-Ossag Mineralölwerke AG of Hamburg, which operated under the name Deutsche Shell AG after the Second World War. The design was selected in a competition held in 1929, in which five architects participated. Since 2012, the building has been part of the Berlin headquarters of the Federal Ministry of Defence, alongside the Bendlerblock complex.
Architecture and technical solutions
The Shell-Haus was built using steel frame construction on a 2700sqm plan. The building represents the New Republic style and is regarded as one of the most important office developments of the Weimar Republic period. The character of the building is defined by the rhythmically shaped vertical waves of varying heights on the façade. Between them are long strands of windows that reinforce the horizontal layout of the building and run through the rounded corners. The walls are filled with aerated concrete and clad with Roman travertine panels from Tivoli. The building also uses an innovative solution to reduce vibrations caused by traffic. Air gaps were placed under the pavements around the building to dampen the vibrations transmitted to the steel structure.
The wartime destruction of the Shell-Haus and its subsequent fate
In 1934, the German navy, previously stationed in the nearby Bendlerblock, was housed in the building. During the Second World War, a military hospital operated in the basement. In the last days of the fighting for Berlin, the Shell-Haus suffered quite severe damage (especially the upper floors). After the end of the war, the building housed the central administration of the energy company Bewag, which acquired the building in 1952 after repairing the damage. Between 1965 and 1967, two new office buildings designed by Paul Baumgarten, also in steel construction, were erected on the neighbouring site on Sigismundstraße. The Shell-Haus was entered in the register of monuments in 1958, but the buildings added in the 1960s were not granted this status, and an application for their protection made in 1995 was rejected.
Disputes over restoration and awards
In the 1980s and 1990s, disputes arose over how the Shell-Haus should be renovated. The Bewag company considered the restoration work too expensive. In the first half of the 1980s, only the façade on the courtyard side was renovated, but this was done in a way that did not comply with conservation requirements. It was not until 1997 that a full refurbishment of the building began, initially estimated to cost 50 million marks. The work was completed in February 2000, with the final expenditure amounting to around 80 million. As part of the restoration, all the travertine slabs were replaced, for which it was necessary to restart a disused quarry near Rome. For the exemplary execution of the work, Bewag was awarded the Berlin conservation prize, the Ferdinand von Quast medal, in 2000. Architects Burckhardt and Christoph Fischer, authors of the façade restoration project, were awarded the special prize of the German Natural Stone Competition a year later. The decision to almost completely replace the original façade was met with controversy, but was considered the only sensible way to faithfully recreate the building’s original appearance.
New functions and a contemporary Shell-Haus
In 2000, Bewag sold the entire complex to Viterra Gewerbeimmobilien GmbH, which became part of Deutsche Annington five years later. The new owner decided to demolish the post-war extensions and erect the 500-room Maritim Hotel in their place at a cost of around 300 million marks. The hotel opened in August 2005. The Shell-Haus now serves the Ministry of Defence and invariably impresses with its elegant shapes and quality workmanship. It is one of the few office buildings from the Weimar Republic period preserved in such good condition. In an interview with the Berliner Morgenpost, the architect Meinhard von Gerkan described the Shell-Haus as the most beautiful building in Berlin.
Source: berlin.de, architectuul.com
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Shell-Haus just after the war and today. Photo. media.iwm.org.uk and Google Maps
