Built in 1956, Haus Hardenberg for decades was home to Kiepert, a prominent Berlin bookstore. When Kiepert was forced to declare bankruptcy in 2002, we had the opportunity to acquire a building that had become a popular destination for an intellectual clientele, attracting visitors from far beyond the city of Berlin.

At the same time, a rare opportunity presented itself to breathe new life into this heavily neglected yet superb building from the nineteen-fifties. To ensure appropriate treatment of this historic monument, we carefully studied architect Paul Schwebes’ other buildings in Berlin, which allowed us to verify Haus Hardenberg’s essential qualities and effectively combine them with our goals for the building.

At the start of the project, we defined several changes to the building’s appearance in an effort to transform the property into a modern office and retail environment. The most important of these changes led to the creation of two new high-profile entrance foyers for the offices, a lit signage strip above the shop windows along the entire building’s length, and an illumination for the projecting cantilevered roof.

All alterations were to appear as if they had existed since the building’s original construction. While the historic façade and staircases were refurbished with an approach of sensitive restoration, the interior fittings and building services were completely renewed. For the faithful restoration of Haus Hardenberg, Hühne Immobilien was awarded the Federal Award for Monument Conservation.

By attracting key tenants such as Manufactum, the bookstore Lehmanns and others prior to the completion of construction, we were able to revive the character of Haus Hardenberg. Despite a difficult market environment, leasing of the office space was successful, too. The building acquired an entirely new and outstanding tenant base. The project was subsequently sold very successfully to a Spanish investment group.

Basics