An armchair of one's own
Here at ALHAUS, we're always fascinated by beautiful working spaces around the world. Our quest for the perfect armchair in a light-filled room, with ample laptop space, fast Wifi and endless amounts of coffee, never ends — somewhere we can write and edit in utter peace. And what if that armchair resided in a historic 1920 Bauhaus building in the trendy Berlin enclave of Mitte? So much the better, we say.
Soho House Berlin – one of 27 properties operated by prestigious private member's club and hotel group Soho House – can be found at a bustling intersection in the stylish German capital. Before its absorption into the cultural and commercial juggernaut that is Soho House in 2010, 1 Torstrasse lay vacant, with a history that echoes the tumultuous past of Germany itself.
Designed in the New Objectivity style by architects Georg Bauer and Siegfried Friedlander, this now Grade II-listed landmark started life in the 1920s as Jonass & Co, a Jewish-owned seven-storey department store. In 1933, when the National Socialist Party came to power and the store’s Jewish owners were pushed out by shareholders, the building became the headquarters of the Reich Youth Leadership for the duration of the Second World War.
When the Allies gave control of East Berlin to the Soviet Union in 1945, 1 Torstrasse became the seat of the Communist Party’s Central Committee. In the late 1950s, the building was converted into the Institute of Marxist-Leninism, its spacious dimensions making it the ideal repository for the Central Party Archive. After the collapse of the Berlin Wall, the descendants of the building's original Jewish owners succeeded in having the building returned to them under the reparations act. When Soho House acquired the property in 2010, it was the beginning of a whole new chapter for 1 Torstrasse – as a focal point of the Mitte district's vibrant creative hub.
Today, Soho House Berlin features quirkily decorated rooms with vintage and contemporary design notes — you’ll find old-school record players, floral couches and art deco bathrooms. Lofts boast enormous space and an industrial-chic aesthetic, while the hotel’s rooftop pool and bar offers views of Alexanderplatz. Steeped in history, the building’s new modern-day design pays homage to its Bauhaus roots, while bestowing it with a glamourous personality all of its own.
Here at ALHAUS, we're ready for our Soho House Berlin membership cards – but with a global waiting list of 30,000, we might be waiting just a little longer for a cosy Soho House armchair to call our own.