Bötzow Brewery

The former brewery opened in 1885 and combined a modern production yard with a popular public beer garden. After many extensions, war damage and decades of neglect, the ensemble was listed as protected in 1990.

The British design team’s masterplan makes the site a public destination again. The buildings were refurbished in close cooperation with the heritage authorities, guided by the history of the complex and the character of its industrial architecture. The great vaulted cellars below are linked to the world above at selected points while keeping their mysterious atmosphere.

Traces of use were kept, the fabric was preserved as far as possible and broken elements were repaired rather than replaced, saving resources and cost. Seven buildings completed in 2021 now hold a technology company’s innovation lab and co-working spaces, with fitness and wellness facilities in the old cellars. Where the original garden stood, a new beer garden opens the site to the city, and the natural slope leads on to a central square. The plan also includes four new buildings and an underground car park.