Art of war: John Pawson makes a wartime base a home for The Feuerle Collection
![Second World War telecommunications base](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/7C8mELGa4JpRJTat3mJMHU-415-80.jpg)
When British architect John Pawson was asked to create a museum for The Feuerle Collection, in a Second World War telecommunications base in Kreuzberg, Berlin, he didn’t need much persuading. ‘You’re just awestruck when you come in aren't you?’ he says of the 1942 building, which is his first project in the city. ‘It is just so massive, so monumental, with such a charged atmosphere. This is a building designed by an engineer, who had real taste and an eye for proportion and scale. We didn’t want to change anything here.’
Still, the team has done a huge amount of work to make this two-storey, 6,500 sq m enclosed space a functioning museum. The bunker was specifically designed to protect the telecommunication system during the war; the high-quality concrete walls and ceiling are 2m and 3.5m thick, respectively, and the Allies were unable to penetrate them. ‘Physically it was a big challenge for us’, admits Pawson. 'We had to move slowly to keep our intervention subtle and modest.' In the two years of construction, much time was spent recovering the special texture of the aged concrete surfaces – by removing the plaster on the columns, the graffiti and accumulated dirt on the walls, floors and ceilings.
The chicane at the entrance that once acted as a bomb shield is now a passage leading to a unique experience. Starting from the basement, one enters the Sound Room to a background of minimalist tones and silences created by American composer John Cage. Until you enter the vast main exhibition room there is no natural light and the place is left in near darkness, forcing you to readjust all your senses to negotiate the space. Your eyes are then attracted to the ingeniously curated spotlights and centuries-old stone and wood sculptures from the Khmer Empire that seem to appear from nowhere.
During construction the team encountered flooding problems, as a canal runs next to the building. ‘It was rather beautiful when it was flooded; the columns were mirrored in the water like the cisterns in Istanbul,’ says Pawson. And he decided to keep this accidental art piece, calling it the Lake Room. ‘It is essential to preserve a space like the Lake Room, to let the structure breathe, and not intervene too much,' explains collector and museum founder Désiré Feuerle. ‘In that aspect Pawson is really a master – he shows respect for the building in an elegant way.’
Feuerle also brought to the museum his fascination with Asian incense ceremonies, a spiritual tradition dating back over 2,000 years. Pawson planned the Incense Room on an elevated platform in the basement, that features walls made of two-way mirrors, so one can focus on the peace of the ceremonial room while not losing contact with space outside. A set of incense tables and stools were designed especially for the ceremony, crafted by the last carpenter to master the art of traditional Chinese joinery, in precious African blackwood. They show a hint of Chinese spirit together with the architect’s contemporary minimalist touch.
The museum’s exhibits extend from the 7th century to the present; Imperial Chinese lacquer furniture sitting with contemporary works by artists including Nobuyoshi Araki, Cristina Iglesias, Anish Kapoor and Zeng Fanzhi. When talking about this otherworldly, almost religious experience, Feuerle says: ‘The aim is to have something different. Everything today is so quick, so commercial. I like to support the idea of quality.’ The Feuerle Collection was opened for preview across Gallery Weekend Berlin. It will next host the Berlin Biennale from June to September, and open officially in October.
Starting from the basement, one enters the Sound Room to a background of minimalist tones and silences created by American composer John Cage.
Until you enter the vast main exhibition room there is no natural light and the place is left in near darkness, forcing you to readjust your senses to negotiate the space.
Your eyes are then attracted to the ingeniously curated spotlights and centuries-old stone and wood sculptures from the Khmer Empire that seem to appear from nowhere.
The museum’s exhibits extend from the 7th century to the present; with Imperial Chinese lacquer furniture together with contemporary works by artists including Nobuyoshi Araki, Cristina Iglesias, Anish Kapoor and Zeng Fanzhi. Pictured left: Untitled, by Zeng Fanzhi, 2009. Right: Head of Avalokiteshvara Bayon, one of the Khmer sculptures, c.12th/13th centuries
The team has done a huge amount of work to make the two-storey, 6,500 sq m, solid concrete space a functioning museum. Pictured: the Second World War telecommunications base in Kreuzberg, before the Collection was installed.
INFORMATION
For more information, visit The Feuerle Collection’s website
ADDRESS
The Feuerle Collection
Hallesches Ufer 70
10963 Berlin
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
Yoko Choy is the China editor at Wallpaper* magazine, where she has contributed for over a decade. Her work has also been featured in numerous Chinese and international publications. As a creative and communications consultant, Yoko has worked with renowned institutions such as Art Basel and Beijing Design Week, as well as brands such as Hermès and Assouline. With dual bases in Hong Kong and Amsterdam, Yoko is an active participant in design awards judging panels and conferences, where she shares her mission of promoting cross-cultural exchange and translating insights from both the Eastern and Western worlds into a common creative language. Yoko is currently working on several exciting projects, including a sustainable lifestyle concept and a book on Chinese contemporary design.
-
Feel at home at Auberge, Château La Coste's new inn for culture lovers
Auberge La Coste sits at the heart of the art-filled estate, minutes away from the joyful town of Aix-en-Provence
By Harriet Thorpe Published
-
This Nova Lima apartment is a Brazilian family oasis with striking Minas Gerais views
A Nova Lima apartment designed by Jacobsen Arquitetura celebrates its long, natural Minas Gerais vistas
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Commune’s sustainable personal care products look ‘quite unlike anything else’
Commune’s Somerset-made products stand out in the sustainable skincare crowd. Madeleine Rothery speaks with the brand’s co-founders Kate Neal and Rémi Paringaux
By Madeleine Rothery Published
-
Inside E-WERK Luckenwalde’s ‘Tell Them I Said No’, an art festival at Berlin's former power station
E-WERK Luckenwalde’s two-day art festival was an eclectic mix of performance, workshops, and discussion. Will Jennings reports
By Will Jennings Published
-
Alexandra Pirici’s action performance in Berlin is playfully abstract with a desire to address urgent political questions
Artist and choreographer Alexandra Pirici transforms the historic hall of Berlin’s Hamburger Bahnhof into a live action performance and site-specific installation
By Alison Hugill Published
-
Lawrence Lek’s depressed self-driving cars offer a glimpse of an AI future in Berlin
Lawrence Lek’s installation ‘NOX’, created with LAS Art Foundation, takes over Berlin’s abandoned Kranzler Eck shopping centre
By Emily Steer Published
-
John Pawson unveils first-ever sculpture in Tokyo exhibition
At The Mass, Tokyo, British architect John Pawson stages his first solo exhibition in Japan, revealing his first sculpture and a new photography series
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith Published
-
Ryoji Ikeda and Grönlund-Nisunen saturate Berlin gallery in sound, vision and visceral sensation
At Esther Schipper gallery Berlin, artists Ryoji Ikeda and Grönlund-Nisunen draw on the elemental forces of sound and light in a meditative and disorienting joint exhibition
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith Published
-
Monica Bonvicini ‘I do You’ review: bondage, mirrors and feminist takes on masculine architecture
Emily McDermott reviews Monica Bonvicini’s much-anticipated exhibition ‘I do You’ at Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie
By Emily McDermott Last updated
-
Artist Ian Cheng explores the technological and aesthetic potential of AI
In Berlin’s cavernous Halle am Berghain, New York-based artist Ian Cheng plunges viewers into an immersive world of AI and existential anime in ‘Life After BOB’
By Will Jennings Last updated
-
Documenta 15 review: social practice, controversy and food for thought
Mired in evolving controversy, Documenta 15 has raised critical questions about transparency, accountability and creative freedom. Emily McDermott travels to Kassel to explore how an edition filled with social practice art urges active participation and throws global power structures into sharp relief
By Emily McDermott Last updated