Behrens House

Peter Behrens' Haus Behrens is a striking early example of Gesamtkunstwerk design—where architecture, interior design, and furnishings harmonise under a single creative vision. The three-storey villa, nearly square in plan, showcases innovative material contrasts: bold red-brown iron clinker bricks and green-glazed facing bricks juxtaposed against light, plain plaster surfaces. The tall, curved gables to the north and west lend an almost ecclesiastical silhouette. The dramatic entrance, set deep within a stepped clinker brick frame and adorned with stylised eagle-wing ornamentation is enhanced by an inscription above the western lintel that reads 'Be steady, my house, amid the roaring of the world.' Behrens extended his design ethos beyond the house, integrating a terrace and a garden laid out as a direct extension of the architecture itself.

Inside, the level of detail is exceptional. Behrens designed the interiors and furnishings down to the smallest element. The music room is suffused with weighty dark furniture and meticulously crafted decor, while the adjoining dining room introduces a brighter, lighter mood with white furnishings accented with deep red elements. Though the house was severely damaged during World War II, the exterior walls, including the clinker pilaster strips and glazed ceramics, remain preserved, continuing to testify to Behrens’ pioneering synthesis of form, materiality, and design unity.

Address: Alexandraweg, 64287, Darmstadt, Germany.