Herzog & de Meuron to redevelop Berlin’s Tacheles art squat

Herzog & de Meuron, the Basel-based architecture studio that designed London’s Tate Modern, is due to redevelop Berlin’s famous art squat Tacheles. The massive warehouse, in the now fashionable Mitte district, was occupied by artists after the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989. A symbol of the city’s subculture, Tacheles became a major tourist attraction. In 2012, the authorities closed the art centre amid widespread protests by artists and anti-gentrification campaigners. According to reports in the German and Swiss media, the new owners of the 25,300 sq. m site have hired Herzog & de Meuron to build a planned cultural district as well as apartments and offices. A spokesman for the architects confirmed the studio’s participation in the project but did not reveal further details.