The Sernau “Forsterhof” Office Building

Together with Martin Knauthe, Alfred Gellhorn designed several office buildings for Paul Edgar Sernau, the proprietor of a toy and jocular games export company of which only was built.
The three-storey steel-armoured structure built with infill brickwork had a light stucco. It rose to four storeys on the eastern side so that a strikingly rising gable was created on the southern approach. The south side was the decorative front of the building. The structure of the front façade with its emphasised stairwell emphasised the two-part office floor behind it. Originally, the front entrance was trapezoid shaped that corresponded with the shape of the front gable. The building was quite an attraction in those days and was often pictured in trade journals and books.
Even today the building serves as offices. During the 1991/92 renovation the original tilt sash windows were replaced with white plastic frame windows.

Literature:
Anette Bussmann: Zu Adaption and Demontage von Architekturgeschichte im „Neuen Bauen“ der Weimarer Republik: Alfred Gellhorn (1885-1972) Bauten, Projekte, Schriften 1920 – 1933. Ph.D. Thesis, Marburg University 2003.