BWGTBLD's Berlin Townhouse Blends Production Office and Private Art Collection

Philipp Ramhofer founded the production company BWGTBLD in 2012 in his Solingen bedroom. The company now occupies a neo-renaissance townhouse at Neue Schönhauser Straße 13 in Berlin's Mitte district. The building, designed by Alfred Messel in the early 1890s, originally served as Berlin's first communal dining hall for workers, later becoming a cafe and a cinema before being listed for its architecture. Ramhofer acquired it to house his business and display his art collection. Every three months, on select weekends, the space opens to the public as a museum with bookable tours led by Ramhofer and BWGTBLD's in-house curator. The collection, started over four years ago, includes works by Wolfgang Tillmans (Galerie Buchholz), Tim Breuer (Tramps), and Raphaela Simon (Max Hetzler), alongside design pieces by Frederik Fialin, EJR Barnes, Mario Tsai, and Illya Goldman Gubin. Ramhofer commissions bespoke furniture from Fialin, such as the Manta Manta table and reception desk, and uses an Erco lighting system. He criticizes Instagram's flattening of taste, citing architects Lina Bo Bardi, Niemeyer, and Bofill as inspirations. The space also features a Yasmin Bawa-commissioned hempcrete wall relief. Ramhofer emphasizes that creativity is meant to be shared, and the office transforms into a gallery at chosen times.