Grand Scandi style interior experience in a former Jewish girls' school

The highlights are:

• completely restored historic preservation building: a former Jewish girls' school has been divided into only 7 apartments
• overall concept combines outstanding modern interior design with existing historical architecture
• unique mix of different furnishing styles with exciting contrasts such as black, hand-made tiles in contrast to whitewashed walls
• distinctive, floor-to-ceiling built-ins, some of which also function as room dividers
• herringbone parquet in lightly soaped oak ensures uniform harmony
• extraordinary kitchen with various perforated doors in a warm white tone with matching ceramic panels
• professional gas stove in stainless steel
• high-quality built-in materials and details
• mixed use (partial trade) possible (working or renting approx. 72 m²) with a separate entrance - live in the front and utilize the back as a work or rental space
• shared garden with fireplace and wood supply, plantings of herbs, flowers, vines, magnolia and a young apple tree that bears fruit
• serene and quiet location almost directly on the Spree and Treptower Park

INTERIOR
This 202 square meter interior highlight is drenched in history. Originally financed by Jewish couple the Simon's, this magnificent construction was built in 1907/1908 as an orphanage for young girls; it is now classified as a single monument. After numerous changes of ownership throughout the course of history, the architect Wilfried Bete acquired the building in 2012 and converted it into a listed building in 2015; in result nine hyper-modern residential units were created.

The overall concept aims to harmonize outstanding modern interior architecture with the existing historical architecture; preservation of, for example, the facades, the entrance hall, the windows etc. and, after complete gutting, the implantation of residential units with floor plans and technology that meet the latest standards (lift, LAN cabling).

With its all-around arrangement of windows, you get a view of light from two different sides of every room in the space. Since there are two access points to the flat, it is also an ideal space to divide into sections.

The rooms, some of which are square or rectangular, are also appealing in their height (approx. 3.25 m), and in turn results in beautiful proportions throughout. Two bathrooms, a grand living / dining and kitchen area with an entirely separate utility room are just a few of the highlights this space has to offer.

The floor-to-ceiling built-in wardrobe elements, the color of which was modeled on newspaper, and which in some cases also function as a room divider, are also striking. The consistent retention of the white lime color creates this holistic impression paired with spaciousness and generosity.

The restrained hand crafted custom furnishing combined with modern classics (Nakashima, Wegner, Eames) and playful borrowings from history, matching the time the building was built (washbasin, bathtub, bathtub fitting), result in this unique mix of different styles. There is also an alluring contrast between the handmade black triangular tiles to the whitewashed walls.

The herringbone parquet in lightly soaped oak, which was laid in all rooms, magnifies to the harmony. The kitchen unit also completely custom, fits in with this unusual design concept - differently perforated doors also in a warm white tone, matching ceramic panels combined with rough wooden drawer fronts and worktop, plus the professional stainless steel gas stove also embody the design concept.

There is a diversity in the materials used for construction, surfaces and colors that showcase the level of quality, and a museum-like atmosphere when you enter. The ravishing details with affinities of traditional Scandinavian architecture reveal the high-quality design.

OTHER
The apartment is heated by stylish tubular radiators that are connected to gas central heating. A subsequent one in the living / dining and kitchen area is possible to add. The bathroom is equipped with a free-standing cast iron bathtub with Manufaktumm fittings, a British floor-standing toilet and enamel washbasin. The original double-box windows have been completely restored (double glass inside and single glass outside), which results in very good insulating properties. The switch system consists of a classic British switch series. There are also original, manual wooden shutters in green. Heavy current is available for items such as a sauna.

EXTERIOR
This building is located on the quiet south-west border of Kreuzberg, though a few hundred meters from Badeschiff, and minutes from Markthalle9 and the heart of Kreuzberg 36.

The building was planned by the architect duo Alfred Breslauer and Paul Salinger in 1907/08 and is based on the villa style of the suburban villa colony of Alt-Treptow at the time. This architectural style can be assigned to neoclassicism. On a plot of more than 1,700 m², which is now jointly owned and used for games, barbecues and gardening, a building was created completely clad with beige-brown split clinker bricks, which makes an extremely representative impression, especially due to the main facade.

Characteristic details blend harmoniously into the overall appearance. This includes a simple structure without pronounced protrusions and recesses. Thanks to the large gable roof, the resident still experiences the feeling of being housed. Large numbers of windows were regularly arranged one above the other and next to one another. A slight recess with smooth plaster, each decorated with a garland of leaves under the window, visually connects the windows and promotes the vertical alignment of the building. Horizontal cornices delimit the top row of windows or form a transition to the imposing roof.

Symmetry, for example, in the layout of the entrance, more likely to be referred to as a portal, with stairs to the portal, create this externally legible logic that is immediately apparent to the viewer. All of these elements contribute to the stately overall impression that can still be experienced just as authentically today. This also continues inside, where, for example, the entrance hall has been preserved in its good state of preservation.

Here again, new meets old, as is the case with new staircases with filigree steel railings made according to the architect's designs or colors that refer to the existing aesthetic. Pale green-gray harmonises beautifully with the beige-brown of the split clinker brick or the speckled gray-black of the terrazzo tiles.

It is hard to imagine that such an elaborately decorated building has endured so much of Berlin's 20th century history. From today's point of view, a luxurious-looking architecture that the current residents or owners can enjoy to the fullest.

LOCATION
The Spree is a stone's throw away and here you can not only paddle up and down with your SUP, but also find the world-famous Badeschiff or the Freischwimmer. This is a magical location where you feel like you are almost sitting in the water and can enjoy delicious creations like Burratina or the vegan Ceviche. The Bouché elementary school is six minutes' walk away and the Wirbelwind daycare center is only three minutes' walk away. Those who want to get out of Berlin can either take the S-Bahn from Treptower Park, which is 200 meters away, or take car2go on the city highway in a quarter of an hour. The new airport BER is also only 25 minutes away.