Bellevue Palace – Interior Design for the Representative Rooms
Berlin’s Bellevue Palace is the official residence of the President of the Federal Republic of Germany – and, as such, a symbolic place of democracy, dialogue, and encounter. Built in the Tiergarten in the 1780s and protected as a historic landmark, the palace is set to undergo extensive renovation in the coming years. For the redesign of its representative rooms, HENN Interior has developed a concept that both preserves and evolves the building’s historical layers by translating democratic values into spatial atmospheres.
Historical layers
The role of the Federal President is to represent Germany at home and abroad. At Bellevue Palace, the President welcomes high-ranking state guests as well as citizens for personal meetings, ceremonial state banquets, the presentation of state honors, and press conferences. A sequence of halls, galleries, and salons within the central wing serves as the setting for these occasions.
Over time, the building has been repeatedly altered and expanded. These historical layers – some of them also protected as historic monuments – remain legible in the interiors, most notably in the neoclassical Langhans Hall, reconstructed after the Second World War, and in the salons featuring furnishings from the 1950s, both of which are integrated into the new design.
Democratic values as spatial atmospheres
The interior concept is rooted in themes that were urgent in the past, resonate today, and will remain vital in the future: popular sovereignty, equality, remembrance, civil courage, freedom of the press, and responsibility toward future generations.
Each of the central rooms is dedicated to one of these themes and named after a figure who embodies it. A curated selection of historical and contemporary furniture, together with a diverse palette of colors, materials, and artworks, creates distinct atmospheres that make each theme tangible and encourage conversation.
The Richard von Weizsäcker Salon (currently Ferdinand Salon), dedicated to the theme of remembrance, is characterized by warm sepia tones. Reflective tables and wall mirrors, along with objects from different eras – including East German wall sconces and an 1820 console table – give spatial expression to the act of remembering. In contrast, the Sophie Scholl Salon uses intense reds to evoke strength and passion.
The Federal President’s office, designed in shades of green, conveys calm and balance, while four Gropius armchairs in different materials symbolize plurality.
Diversity and unity
Just as democratic culture is shaped through the encounters that take place here, the design concept connects the individual rooms into a cohesive whole that conveys both diversity and unity.
Three recurring elements run throughout all spaces: puzzle-shaped carpet islands symbolizing parts of a larger whole; a custom-designed table system crafted from solid dark-stained oak; and a design classic – the cantilever chair designed by Mart Stam for Thonet. The Federal President, diplomatic guests, and journalists alike all sit in the same chair, at the same table.
The interior design for Bellevue Palace is clear and understated in character, yet precise in its effect: it tells stories, inspires conversation, and stands as a spatial expression of the democratic values embodied by the Office of the Federal President.
Visualizations and material collages were created with the assistance of generative AI.
