House style: a Marcel Breuer villa is reborn
A thorough restoration of one of Bauhaus master Marcel Breuer’s lesser-known gems, Villa Harnischmacher II, has just been unveiled by its new owners, Monika Maria and Stefan Eller.
Located in Wiesbaden’s city centre, the bungalow was originally designed for the Harnischmacher family in 1954 – in fact, it was the second one designed for them by Breuer. The first one was damaged during the war and this smaller version was constructed in the grounds of the original, destroyed villa.
Bought by the Ellers in 2011, the structure – which is also Breuer’s only built home in Germany – was carefully refreshed over the course of four years, with the help and support of the German office for the preservation of historical monuments and the architecture firm Schreiber & Partner.
'We discovered the house because it was advertised by a big international real estate firm. But, in the advert, there wasn’t the slightest hint that this was the only bungalow by Marcel Breuer that still existed in Germany,' recall the Ellers. 'It was, of course, extremely important to us to preserve the original design.'
The clean, white Bauhaus villa features open plan living areas and has been lovingly furnished with a selection of pieces from the multidisciplinary artist and designer’s Thonet range. Crafting fitting interiors was equally important to the family, as was restoring the architecture appropriately. The tubular steel classics, most of which were designed in the late 1920s and 1930s, create a consistent theme for the house and perfectly complement its marble, leather and stone details.
Large openings, including a sliding door, help connect the interiors to the garden and swimming pool outside. These are bordered by the property’s original stone wall.
Now, the villa remains a precious listed historical monument, true to Breuer’s original intentions and the Bauhaus principles, while equipped with modern amenities and energy-efficient gear that bring it straight into the 21st century. 'To us, this bungalow is the perfect combination of timeless and very modern elegance on the one hand, and just the right amount of cosiness and wellbeing on the other,' say the Ellers. 'We are incredibly proud that we discovered this architectural treasure and are now allowed to enjoy it each day.'
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Ellie Stathaki is the Architecture & Environment Director at Wallpaper*. She trained as an architect at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in Greece and studied architectural history at the Bartlett in London. Now an established journalist, she has been a member of the Wallpaper* team since 2006, visiting buildings across the globe and interviewing leading architects such as Tadao Ando and Rem Koolhaas. Ellie has also taken part in judging panels, moderated events, curated shows and contributed in books, such as The Contemporary House (Thames & Hudson, 2018), Glenn Sestig Architecture Diary (2020) and House London (2022).
-
The Macallan Horizon with Bentley Motors is a decadent whisky with a luxurious twist
The Macallan and Bentley Motors release ‘The Macallan Horizon’, a single malt whisky with a 180-degree twisted presentation
By Tianna Williams Published
-
Ruby Dickson’s Kim Kardashian paintings explore celebrity culture in London
Ruby Dickson’s ‘Maybe my fairy-tale has a different ending than I dreamed it would. But that’s OK’ is exhibiting at Nicoletti gallery, London
By Sam Moore Published
-
Mayfair’s Murano offers beautiful design and incisively cooked food
Angela Hartnett’s Murano celebrates 15 years of Italian supremacy in London with a fresh look by Fabled Studio
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Reethaus is a performance space conceived as ‘a place for radical presence’ in Berlin
Reethaus, a newly opened cultural centre in Berlin, kick-starts a fresh era for the city’s growing creative neighbourhood of Flussbad
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
‘London Estates’ surveys the architecture and influence of the capital’s council-built homes
‘London Estates: Modernist Council Housing 1946-1981’, a new book by FUEL, is the perfect place to start for inspiration on how architecture can improve every sector of society
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Afrobeats and modernism: how the concrete ‘ruins’ of Lagos become a stage
We explore the relationship between Afrobeats and modernism in Lagos, as the Nigerian capital’s concrete structures become a stage for the music genre
By Olorunfemi Adewuyi Published
-
Is this the shape of wellness architecture to come?
Explore the future of wellness architecture through trends and case studies – from a Finnish sauna restaurant to UK cabins and a calming Canadian vet clinic
By Emma O'Kelly Published
-
Duplex brings two houses together as a single, raw, theatrical home in Leipzig
Duplex by Atelier ST is a raw and textured family home born of the transformation of two smaller residential buildings in Leipzig, Germany
By Ellen Himelfarb Published
-
Berlin's Atelier Gardens gets bright yellow focal point within MVRDV masterplan
The bright yellow HAUS 1 becomes a key addition to Atelier Gardens in Berlin, part of an ever-evolving, sustainable masterplan by MVRDV
By Harriet Thorpe Published
-
Restored former US embassy in Oslo brings Eero Saarinen’s vision into the 21st century
The former US embassy in Oslo by Finnish American modernist Eero Saarinen has been restored to its 20th-century glory and transformed for contemporary mixed use
By Giovanna Dunmall Published
-
Discover Dyde House, a lesser known Arthur Erickson gem
Dyde House by modernist architect Arthur Erickson is celebrated in a new film, premiered in Canada
By Hadani Ditmars Published