Mossehaus is an office building on 18–25 Schützenstraße in

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, renovated and with a corner designed by

Erich Mendelsohn Erich Mendelsohn (); 21 March 1887 – 15 September 1953) was a German-British architect, known for his expressionist architecture in the 1920s, as well as for developing a dynamic functionalism in his projects for department stores and cinem ...

between 1921 and 1923. The original Mosse building housed the printing press and offices of the newspapers owned by

Rudolf Mosse Rudolf Mosse (8 May 1843 – 8 September 1920) was a German publisher and philanthropist. Biography Mosse was born in Grätz, Grand Duchy of Posen, as the son of Dr. Markus Mosse, a noted Jewish physician. He began his career as an apprentic ...

, mainly liberal newspapers such as the ''

Berliner Tageblatt The ''Berliner Tageblatt'' or ''BT'' was a German language newspaper published in Berlin from 1872 to 1939. Along with the '' Frankfurter Zeitung'', it became one of the most important liberal German newspapers of its time. History The ''Berli ...

''. The sandstone-fronted historicist 1901 building by

Cremer & Wolffenstein The Cremer & Wolffenstein architecture firm was founded in Germany in 1882 by Richard Wolffenstein (1846–1919) and Wilhelm Cremer (1845–1919) and existed up to the death of its two founders. During the so-called ''Gründerzeit'' in Berlin, th ...

was badly damaged in 1919 during the

Spartacist uprising The Spartacist uprising (German: ), also known as the January uprising () or, more rarely, Bloody Week, was an armed uprising that took place in Berlin from 5 to 12 January 1919. It occurred in connection with the German Revolution of 1918� ...

; held by the insurrectionists, it was laid under siege by government troops. In 1921, on the strength of his Einstein Tower, Mendelsohn was hired to add extra storeys and a new entrance to the building. The new frontage made prominent use of aluminum and

modern typography Modern Typography is a 1920s principle that expresses a reaction against what its proponents perceived as a decadence of typography and design emerging from the late 19th century. This amalgam consists of the foundations and overall notions of Des ...

, and the new upper floors were made from

ferro-concrete Reinforced concrete, also called ferroconcrete or ferro-concrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low ultimate tensile strength, tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having ...

. The experimental nature of the structure led to a disaster during construction in 1923, when one of the slabs of the new extension fell into the newspaper offices, which were still in use, killing 14 people. The use of strips and sculpted elements in the fenestration gave it a dynamic,

futuristic The future is the time after the past and present. Its arrival is considered inevitable due to the existence of time and the laws of physics. Due to the apparent nature of reality and the unavoidability of the future, everything that currently e ...

form, emphasised by the contrast with the earlier Wilhelmine style. It was one of the first examples of a streamlined building, and hence a great influence on

Streamline Moderne Streamline Moderne is an international style of Art Deco architecture and design that emerged in the 1930s. Inspired by Aerodynamics, aerodynamic design, it emphasized curving forms, long horizontal lines, and sometimes nautical elements. In indu ...

. The effect on American architecture is perhaps unsurprising, as Mendelsohn's partner on the Mossehaus and the designer of the interiors was

Richard Neutra Richard Joseph Neutra ( ; 8 April 1892 – 16 April 1970) was an Austrian-American architect. Living and building for most of his career in Southern California, he came to be considered a prominent and important modernist architect. His most ...

. The building was very badly damaged during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The entire wing along Jerusalemerstraße was destroyed, as was the façade on the corner of Schützen-/Jerusalemerstraße, which was elaborately constructed by Mendelsohn. After the war, it was rebuilt in a simplified form. The building was very close to the

Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...

, so it became dilapidated. Though Mossehaus was at one time the tallest non-church building in Berlin, it is now dwarfed by the nearby

Fischerinsel Fischerinsel (, ''Fisher Island'') is the southern part of the island in the River Spree which was formerly the location of the city of Cölln and is now part of central Berlin. The northern part of the island is known as Museum Island. Fischerin ...

tower blocks on the former East side and the

Axel Springer AG Axel Springer SE () is a European multinational mass and online media company, based in Berlin, Germany. The company offers printing and publishing of advertisements, digital classifieds portfolio, marketing models and related services. Axel S ...

buildings on the former West side. The building was restored to its original splendor in the 1990s.

References

* Kathleen James, ''Erich Mendelsohn and the Architecture of German Modernism'' (CUP, 1997, ISBN, pp. 88–102)

External links

*
Mossehaus at Berlin.de Sights
{{coord, 52, 30, 31.86, N, 13, 23, 48.86, E, type:landmark_scale:3000, display=title Art Deco architecture in Germany Buildings and structures in Berlin Cremer & Wolffenstein Erich Mendelsohn buildings Expressionist architecture Modernist architecture in Germany Office buildings completed in 1923 Streamline Moderne architecture