Berlin: Reichsknappschaftshaus

1929 – 1930

Architects: Max Taut, Franz Hoffmann

Breitenbachplatz 2, Rüdesheimer Strasse 54-56, Binger Strasse 50, Berlin, Germany

Building

The listed administration building was erected between 1929 and 1930 by Max Taut and Franz Hoffmann for the Reichsknappschaft (now Deutsche Rentenversicherung Knappschaft Bahn) in Berlin in the New Objectivity style as a three-story steel skeleton structure.

The steel skeleton construction is visibly designed with ceramic panels on the façade, both horizontally and vertically. The spaces between them are filled with clinker bricks and window elements.

While his brother Bruno Taut concentrated on social housing in Berlin and experimented with the effect of color, Max Taut took on commissions for administration and office buildings together with Franz Hoffmann.

Materials

Taut was particularly interested in new material combinations and the effect of surface structures in exterior and interior spaces.

The main strength of all buildings by the Taut brothers lies in the high quality standards of functionality and design.

The interior of the building is dominated by daylight, which enters the rooms through large window areas, glazed partitions and doors as well as skylights.

Skirting boards, door frames and stair railings and stringers set accents in black, red and blue, which are additionally underlined by various materials.

Today the building is used by the Free University of Berlin as the Latin America Institute.