A former women’s prison turns boutique hotel at Berlin’s Wilmina

Words: Kristofer Thomas

A prison might not seem like the ideal foundation for a hotel, but through its smart adaptive reuse of a 19th century women’s correctional facility and courthouse, Grüntuch Ernst Architekten has flipped the script on this historic structure for an inner-city Berlin sanctuary surrounded by lush gardens and interconnecting yards.

Featuring new additions including the contemporary German restaurant Lovis alongside repurposed original elements – a selection of the 44 guestrooms sit within former cell outlines for example, whilst what was once the assembly hall serves now as a serene garden loft – the project highlights a constant dialogue between past and present.

Combining a series of minimal interventions and shifting interior volumes, the project’s high-ceiling public spaces and more intimate private nooks are connected via neutral palettes and pops of greenery that speak to a sense of new life across the site.