Römischer Hof

The Römischer Hof stands on Unter den Linden, the grand boulevard at the heart of Berlin's Mitte. Today it serves as an office and commercial building, and a prestigious business address at that. Its predecessor, the Grand Hotel de Rome, was famed for a Renaissance-style facade and ranked among the top hotels of its day. By 1910 the shine had gone, and the hotel came down.

In its place rose the present building, designed by the Berlin architects Kurt Berndt and A. F. M. Lange, completed in 1912. The Second World War damaged part of it, yet the building survived where many neighbours did not. After the war the Deutsche Reichsbahn moved in, and cultural and business tenants followed. A careful restoration later stripped the structure down to its foundations and rebuilt it from historical images and documents. The facade you walk past is therefore mostly early twentieth century, part of a design that blends historical and modern elements.

Since 2014 the Satellite Office has occupied the entire Art Nouveau complex, fitting lounges, conference rooms and offices behind the old front. Ferrari and the Condé Nast Verlag count among the tenants. The contrast is deliberate: the boulevard bustles outside, and inside the award-winning interiors keep the calm that work needs.