Every local who regularly welcomes relatives and friends to the city knows that atop every Berlin visitor’s to-do list is an “authentic” Berlin experience. But this, thanks to the hordes of tourists that traipse around the film set-like wall remnants, is becoming an increasingly difficult undertaking. Luckily, away from the bustle, little treasures are to be found that still provide an authentic insight into this city’s past. One such place is “Tautes Heim”. The lovingly restored townhouse within the Hufeisensiedlung (horse-shoe estate) in Britz affords the opportunity to not just learn about the architectural and sociological ideals of classical modernism in the 1920s, but to experience it from a whole new perspective: by living in it. The owners, graphic designer Ben Buschfeld and Landscape architect Katrin Lesser, are themselves residents of the estate recently added to the UNESCO World Heritage list. When renovating Tautes Heim, the duo considered it their first priority to realize the original ideas by architect Bruno Taut down to the finest detail – the hue of the colors on the wall, the furniture and even the bedside clock. Guests may rent the home for a few days or weeks. All those who don’t have a Christmas present for architecturally inclined kinfolk: vouchers may be purchased for the stay too.

Tautes Heim, near U Parchimer Allee, 12359 Berlin-Britz; map

Viviane Stappmanns is the publisher of the “Berlin Design Guide” and lives in Berlin-Friedrichshain.

Published in Cee Cee #88 on 20.12.2012