Peggy Hughes profiles some of her favourite reinvented buildings in Berlin…
History in Berlin is thinly veiled and easily touched. The past lives of the city sit close to the surface, and little more than a moment of reflection is needed to imagine the German capital in many of its earlier eras. Nowhere is that more true than in the city’s repurposed buildings, which symbolise its tendency towards reinvention and metamorphosis. Below are some examples of how the city and its residents have breathed new life into old structures, preserving traces of its former incarnations while broadening the spread of contemporary concert, gastro and club offerings…
Burgermeister, Kreuzberg
Approach Burgermeister’s flagship restaurant on Schlesisches Tor from the south side and you’ll be greeted with two cream-coloured signs. They indicate, in ornate black lettering, that “Männer” should turn right and “Damen” left. The signs are a remnant from this squat green building’s previous use as a public toilet—a public toilet that sat empty for twenty years before being gentrified by the Burgermeister team, who stripped its mould and dirt away and transformed it into one of Berlin’s most popular fast food restaurants, subsequently spawning 10 more outlets across the city.
Sandwiched left and right by heavily-trafficked roads and with an elevated S-Bahn line right above the restaurant roof, you’d be forgiven for assuming that this might be somewhat of a chaotic place to eat. Far from it: the speed and noise of the world going by lends the roadside eatery the feeling of a bubble, one where hungry burger fans huddle together to watch, and enjoy, the burgers and fries being churned out from the tiny white-tiled kitchen.
Café Pförtner, Wedding
If you’ve ever wondered, while munching on fresh pasta dishes, whether the restaurant in which you sit would be better if it had wheels on it—this is the spot for you. Formerly the gatehouse to a complex of public transport workshops (BVG were stationed here up until 2006), Cafe Pförtner—whose name translates as ‘Gatekeeper’—serves up simple, high-quality pasta dishes to a mix of locals and the few tourists who manage to find out about it and make it out here.
Although the main restaurant is attached to solid ground, it’s filled with quirky and creative upcycled furniture and interesting artworks, and a converted bus outside provides extra seats for customers and a bespoke dining experience for die-hard BVG fans amongst them. The strong Franconian beer list is a clue as to the home region of owner Peter Ullrich; afterward…