With the first complete presentation of the furniture from Haus Lemke in Berlin, the Kunstgewerbemuseum is displaying one of the most extensive original interior designs preserved from the work of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe.
The furnishings from Haus Lemke are clearly based on the designs developed by Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich since the mid-1920s. Irrespective of the spectacular modern tubular steel furniture, veneered wood furniture remained the basis of the interior design. In keeping with the style of the sophisticated interior design of their time, they combine the material aesthetics of elegant wood set in strictly geometric forms and spatial proportions with an equally elaborate workmanship of stone, glass, and metal surfaces.
Built in 1932 – 33, Haus Lemke is known today as the “Mies van der Rohe Haus”. Located on Obersee lake in Alt-Hohenschönhausen (Lichtenberg district), the building, located on a lakeside plot with extensive gardens, surprises with its modest dimensions. The furnishings, based on designs by Mies van der Rohe’s office, were installed well after the building was handed over to the owners in April 1933.