Buren House - An unknown Building by Mies van der Rohe in Berlin

I learned of this project through Nicola von Albrecht who showed me documents of the extension of a villa in the former Luisenstrasse near Berlin's Schlachtensee. These documents belong to the legacy of architect Herbert Hirche who had obtained his diploma at the Bauhaus in 1933, and worked between 1934 and 1938 in the Atelier Mies van der Rohe. However, there were no floor plans or elevations. After extended research at the Berlin building authorities I finally found the building file at the Berlin Landesarchiv under the signature Rep. 210-1 Nr. 1011. This file shows that the house was actually built in 1934 and that it no longer exists. The client was Mies' patent attorney Godfried Bueren and, as the correspondence between them shows, they worked together closely during these years. Mies had nothing else to build at that time, hence the patents for his furniture provided an important source of income. Mies created an addition for Bueren's large villa, which did not tend to contrast with the original building: the extension of the existing architecture was carried out with respect for the old architecture. The building file contains a detailed description of the structure. Mies also altered the existing building. Entering the house, visitors previously arrived in a narrow corridor and, by removing a single wall, Mies created a spacious entrance hall. This was an important intervention. The extension has a new kitchen with a ramp leading down to a garage. The ramp has the typical minimalist railing that we know from Mies' American buildings. Although Hirche was the project architect for this building, he told Nicola von Albrecht that it was not an independent work. He noted that here he had learned a lot from Mies about details. So now we know, that the statement Mies had not built anything between 1933 and 1938 is not true.