Friedrich Grammar School is the oldest conserved building in the northern part of Fredrichstrasse as well as the first school building in Fredrich-Wilhelm-City. As the oldest secondary school building in Berlin, it exemplifies the type of schools that were being erected in the second third of the 19th Century, just before the Hermann Blankenstein period.

After 15 years of neglect, the registered architectural monument has been restored to house the head office for the German publishing company UIIstain Verlag, and comprises a street building and a courtyard building. Both buildings have been refurbished, and a new building intervention extends the attic story of the courtyard building by two floors, providing generous management office space for the company.

Due especially to its uninterrupted function as a school, the original buildings erected in 1848/49 and the wing extension of 1884 were surprisingly well conserved. The centrepiece of the interior is the music hall in the summerhouse extension, erected in 1884. Because of its rich ornamentation, the elaborate original detailing of the intricately formed timber ceiling (composite truss frame with English trusses) was removed completely by hand by restorers (restoration to the upper beam) and the flaws in the original were respotted neutrally.

Design and implementation were carried out in 2001/2002 on the basis of a comprehensive survey. The conservation guidelines comprised archival research, building phase surveys, maps and appraisals of its monument status, and also probing colour tests for the existence of historical colour pigments and a detailed survey of the existing doors and windows.

Client: Muller-Spreer & Co
Gross Floor Area: 4540 m2
Design Architect: David Chipperfield

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