Mausebunker and Hygieneinstitut: Two Berlin Brutalist Icons

Threatened with demolition, celebrated as icons of brutalism: Gerd and Magdalena Hänska’s Mäusebunker and the Hygieneinstitut—designed by Hermann Fehling and Daniel Gogel—make for an idiosyncratic pairing. This volume explores the different architectural principles underlying these closely situated buildings, unpacking the intense debate concerning their preservation and questions surrounding their potential reuse, as well as appraising their economic and cultural value to the borough of Steglitz, Berlin. The enduring design influence and power of these concrete structures are explored here using the architects’ historical documents alongside contemporary artistic contributions, including photographs by Kay Fingerle that offer an intimate view of the buildings’ interiors rarely afforded to the public.

Documents the construction and use of two major brutalist buildings in West Berlin Features photographies by Kay Fingerle and artistic contributions by b+, Alexis Dworsky, Andreas Fogarasi, FORWARD Planung und Forschung, Lothar Hempel, ludwig heimbach architektur, make_shift, Julian Rosefeldt, Tracey Snelling, and Cecilia Vincent Based on the successful exhibition Mäusebunker & Hygieneinstitut: Versuchsanordnung BERLIN (BDA Galerie Berlin, 2020).