Munich-based Henn GmbH has won the competition for the interior design of Bellevue Palace. The award-winning design, selected from eleven submitted concepts, integrates and develops the building's historical layers by translating democratic fundamental values into specific room atmospheres. A jury awarded the concept first prize, highlighting the high quality of the combination of existing and newly selected furnishings.
Bellevue Palace, located in Berlin's Tiergarten and built in the 1780s, serves as the official residence of the German Federal President. This function makes it a symbolic place for democracy, dialogue, and encounter. The listed building is facing extensive renovation in the coming years, during which the now-awarded interior concept is to be implemented.
Conceptual orientation of the interiors
The developed interior concept is based on a series of themes that are of historical importance, possess current relevance, and will be decisive in the future. These include popular sovereignty, equality, remembrance, civil courage, freedom of the press, and generational responsibility. These guiding principles structure the design of the palace's central rooms.
Each central room will be dedicated to one of these themes and named after a personality who embodies the respective principle. The individual room atmospheres are created through a curated selection of furniture, both historical and contemporary. This is complemented by a differentiated spectrum of colours, materials, and artworks. This careful compilation aims to make the respective themes tangible and create opportunities for conversation, which meets the palace's aspiration as a place of dialogue.
The significance of the project
The renovation and redesign of the interiors of Bellevue Palace represent a significant undertaking. It combines the necessity of preserving a historical monument with the task of establishing the Federal President's official residence as a modern yet representative place of democracy. Henn GmbH's concept takes into account both the building's architectural history and its symbolic function, thereby building a bridge between the past, present, and future.
- —Award winner: Henn GmbH, Munich
- —Number of competition participants: 11
- —Location: Bellevue Palace, Berlin Tiergarten
- —Concept focus: Historical integration, democratic values
