Video // 1942 Berlin Bunker Transformed Into a Gallery & Home.

Photo © Ailine Liefeld for Freunde von Freunden.

Photo © Ailine Liefeld for Freunde von Freunden.

Photo © Ailine Liefeld for Freunde von Freunden.

Photos © Ailine Liefeld for Freunde von Freunden.

Photo © Ailine Liefeld for Freunde von Freunden.

Photo © Ailine Liefeld for Freunde von Freunden.

Photos © Ailine Liefeld for Freunde von Freunden.

Photos © Ailine Liefeld for Freunde von Freunden.

Christian Boros, the owner of a German advertising agency, and his wife, Karen Lohmann, an art historian, were looking for a large space in Berlin—both for living and exhibiting their vast contemporary-art collection—when they discovered a historical five-storey bunker in the central neighbourhood of Mitte. The bunker was built in 1942 as an air-raid shelter for residents of the area. “It was what we wanted: something really interesting from a historical point of view,” Lohmann recalls.

In 1945, the building was converted into a prison. After the war, it became a warehouse, first for textiles and then for produce. Since then, the property had undergone various reincarnations: a nightclub, a not-for-profit organisation, and an exhibition hall—until the couple bought it in 2003.

Left: Work by Michael Sailstorfer. Right: Work by Tomas Saraceno. Photos © NOSHE.

Work by Ai Wei Wei. Photo © NOSHE.

Photo © NOSHE.

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For the renovation they took their cues from the nearby New National Gallery, designed in the 1960s by Mies van der Rohe. They transformed the original roof into a penthouse apartment for themselves, leaving the rest of the floors for exhibition space. “We were inspired by the early works of the Japanese architect Tadao Ando,” Lohmann explains. “He uses smooth concrete with visible shuttering marks to create planes that capture light. We opted for this for the walls, but contrasted the coldness of the concrete with limestone floors.”

Boros and Lohmann visited antiques dealers and auction houses, slowly putting together a collection of objects that would serve as a framework for their art. Their penthouse alone holds more than 100 works – an eccentric and personal collection that reflects the owners’ passionate point of view.

[Images © Ailine Liefeld for Freunde von Freunden/ © NOSHE as noted. Video by Christian Fussenegger & Maren Sextro.]