Double house at Brügglerweg 22/24

About the building

At Brügglerweg 22 and 24 stands a residential building in two parts that hardly knows a straight line. It was designed in 1909 by the Bern firm Nigst & Padel, which according to the City of Bern building inventory was also the client. The house is rated worthy of protection and belongs to the Obstberg building group; for number 22, protection was laid down by agreement in 2003.

The plan is irregular, and this irregularity is matched by the many parts of the façades and the changing roof forms. Bay towers cut through the eaves, joined by cross gables, terraces and flat polygonal bays. The main body is covered with rough, broom-thrown render. Some sections show half-timbering in geometric patterns, others are clad in wooden shingles.

Originally a four-part house was planned. It would have fitted well with the double and terraced houses that characterise the Obstberg district, which was almost entirely built up between 1890 and 1914. The section that would have completed the building to the south-east, however, was never built. Only two of the four planned parts were built.

The house belongs to a group of romantic Heimatstil buildings that Nigst & Padel put up on the Obstberg, including the house at Steigerweg 2 and three double houses on Tavelweg. According to the inventory, the firm was one of only six that built 85 housing units around Wattenwylweg between 1902 and 1911. A walk along Brügglerweg, Steigerweg and Tavelweg shows how alike and yet how different these houses are.

Researched and summarised by Bärn Kit. Sources: Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Brügglerweg 22, 24 · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Baugruppe Obstberg · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Steigerweg 2 · Bauinventar der Stadt Bern: Tavelweg 19–29 · Wikidata: Q138868543