Joinery workshop at Gerberngasse 21a

About the building

In the courtyard behind Gerberngasse, right on the Matte’s industrial canal, stands a small building that looks modest at first glance. It was built in 1941/42 on what had been a garden plot. Its rear gable end is built against the courtyard house at Gerberngasse 19A, and on the southern boundary its fire wall partly projects over the canal.

The client was the Bern master joiner Fritz Stirnemann, and the plans were drawn by the architect A. Ghielmetti. The solidly built ground floor contains a single workroom; the upper floor is a clad timber structure. The board cladding is ventilated behind and divided by precisely placed joints. On the gable side, three large windows sit symmetrically side by side below, with a group of three openings above that recalls a simplified Serliana, a motif made of a central arched opening flanked by two narrow side openings. The glazing bars of the windows are carefully designed too. In the heritage office’s judgement, the whole looks calm and classical and at the same time timelessly modern.

One departure from the building plans is visible: the hoist opening on the upper floor now has glazing instead of the two shutters that were planned. The building belongs to a group of small classicist commercial buildings in the lower part of Wasserwerkgasse and Kanalgasse.

Woodworking has a long tradition in the Matte, because rafting and the sawmill were located on the Aare; in the 19th and early 20th centuries several joineries and furniture factories worked here. The industrial canal beside the workshop already appears on a view of the city from 1638 and at times drove some two dozen water wheels. The building is worthy of protection and belongs to the Matte building group. Look at the fine pattern of joints in the boards of the upper floor.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Gerberngasse 21A · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Baugruppe Matte · Wikidata: Q139701402