Sanatorium Dr. Barner
Braunlage, Germany
2007–17
The Sanatorium Dr. Barner was founded by Dr. Friedrich Barner in 1900 in Braunlage in the Harz region as a clinic for internal medicine and psychotherapy. Dr. Barner was one of the first physicians to advocate the association between body and mind, in line with a holistic approach to medicine. The friendship between Friedrich Barner and architect Albin Müller, who visited the sanatorium regularly as a patient from 1903 onwards, was of defining significance for the building, which has been preserved in detail to this day. In 1905, the redesign of the entrance hall with the doctor’s waiting room, the furnishing of Villa am Walde and the construction of an elevated wooden hut formed the start of a long and intensive design cooperation. This culminated in 1912/14 with the extension of the middle house and its complete interior decoration.
Today, Sanatorium Dr. Barner, a specialist clinic for psychosomatic medicine and psychotherapy, is considered one of the most significant preserved Art Nouveau buildings in Germany and documents with its unique integrity 100 years of sanatorium culture and the history of medicine. As a synthesis of the arts, almost unaltered inside and out, the sanatorium provides a precise representation of the high quality of interior design and decorative arts during the late phase of Darmstadt Art Nouveau.
In 2007, David Chipperfield Architects Berlin was appointed to develop a masterplan for the restoration and refurbishment of the sanatorium. The masterplan promoted continuous maintenance and gentle repairs, to ensure both the preservation and uninterrupted use of the buildings. Based on a comprehensive restoration strategy, which establishes the principal conservation guidelines, the masterplan provides an overview of all necessary measures. An admission to the ‘Conservation Fund for Cultural Monuments of National Significance’ under the Federal Government Commissioner for Culture and Media was granted in 2009 to ensure a continuous implementation of these measures. As part of this programme, coherent construction phases have been planned and implemented annually since 2010 in accordance with the conservation masterplan.
The Sanatorium Dr. Barner was awarded an EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award 2018 in the conservation category. The EU Prize explicitly recognises the careful treatment of the architectural monument in conjunction with the uninterrupted use of the ensemble as a hospital.
Data and credits
- Masterplan
- 2007–2008
- Construction start
- 2009
- Completion
- 2017
- Gross floor area
- 10,500m²
- Client
- Stiftung Sanatorium Dr. Barner
Curator: Daniela Lorenz - User
- Krankenhaus und Sanatorium Dr. Barner
- Architect
- David Chipperfield Architects Berlin
- Partners
- David Chipperfield, Eva Schad, Alexander Schwarz (Design lead)
- Project lead
- Anke Fritzsch (Restoration concept, Preparation and brief to Developed design, Design intent details, Site design supervision)
- Project team
- Wolfgang Baumeister, Mariska Rohde, Ludwig Kauffmann
- Executive architect
- Ingenieurbüro für Baukonstruktion, Naumburg (Technical design to Construction supervision, 2009 – 2010) Ortsbild Architektur- und Ingenieurbüro, Herzberg (Technical design to Construction supervision, 2010 – 2015) Harzer Ingenieurbüro Gerken, Walkenried (Technical design to Construction supervision, 2015 – 2017)
- Structural engineer
- Ingenieurbüro für Baukonstruktion, Naumburg (2009 – 2014)
IGP Gockel GmbH & Co. KG, Baunatal (2014 – 2017) - Services engineer
- Ingenieurbüro Manfred Lohmann, Münster
- Fire consultant
- hhpberlin Ingenieure für Brandschutz GmbH, Berlin
- Consultants for history of art, construction and medicine
- Dr. Ludger Fischer, Construction historian,
Prof. Dr. Volker Plagemann, Art historian,
Prof. Dr. Gerhard Kaldewei, Industrial culture historian,
Dr. Philipp Osten, Medicine historian - Restoration consultant
- Hochschule für Angewandte Wissenschaft und Kultur Hildesheim, Faculty of conservation and restoration:
Prof. Dr. Ursula Schädler-Saub (Art historical basis of the restoration),
Prof. Ivo Hammer (Conservation and restoration of wall murals and architectural surfaces),
Prof. Dr. Gerdi Maierbacher-Legel (Furnishings and wooden objects),
Prof. Patricia Engel (Restoration of books and paper) - Conservation authority
- Niedersächsisches Amt für Denkmalpflege:
Cordula Reulecke (Department head),
Dr. Kerstin Klein (Consultant wall murals and architectural finishes),
Bernhard Recker (Restoration analyses),
Karen Ullrich (Untere Denkmalschutzbehörde Goslar) - Funding bodies
- Beauftragter der Bundesregierung für Kultur und Medien (BKM),
Niedersächsisches Amt für Denkmalpflege,
Amt für regionale Entwicklungsplanung,
Deutsche Stiftung Denkmalschutz,
Verein „Freunde Sanatorium Dr. Barner e.V.“ - Photography
- Ute Zscharnt, Stiftung Sanatorium Dr. Barner
- Selected Awards
- EU Prize for Cultural Heritage / Europa Nostra Award 2018
