Ventehalle inauguration
On Monday 16 September the Lord Mayor of Potsdam, the Ambassador to Norway and our client Michael Linckersdorff inaugurated the re-built Ventehalle (reception building) for the Imperial Sailing station Kongsnaes in Potsdam. This event marked the completion of the first phase of works at the Sailing Station which Borgos Pieper has been working on as designers since 2015.
Phases 2 and 3 of the project include three further buildings and a 12,000m2 of garden spaces surrounding the lakeside property that is being refurbished to accommodate residences within the former Captain´s House, Sailors Barracks and Boat House. These structures formed part of an architectural ensemble designed by the Norwegian Architect Holm Hansen Munthe for Kaiser Wilhelm II between 1892 and 1896. It is one of the handful of surviving Norwegian Dragon Style log structures remaining outside of Norway.
The Kaiser was especially fond of Norwegian architecture and commissioned these structures to be built upon his return from a sailing holiday in Scandinavia in 1892. The structures were prefabricated in Norway and reassembled in Potsdam. His sailing ship the Royal Louise would dock at the station on his frequent state outings between Berlin and Potsdam.