marte marte architects to transform hitler's birth house in austria into police station

austrian architecture studio marte marte architects has won the competition to transform adolf hitler’s birth house in austria, into a police station. the news were announced by interior minister karl nehammer at a press conference on tuesday, june 2, 2020, following years of dispute. the winning proposal seeks to ‘neutralize’ the controversial site in the small town of braunau am inn, where the facist dictator was born in 1889.images courtesy of marte marte architects, via BMI – bundesministerium für inneres, unless stated otherwise

the winning proposal by marte marte architects sees the politically-charged building at salzburger vorstadt 15, braunau am inn, converted into a police station. the austrian government decided on the building’s new use last year as a way to halt neo-nazis from visiting the building as a site of pilgrimage. the new approach will integrate the building into the existing architectural fabric of the city while neutralizing the site with a modern construction. the renovation is expected to be completed in early 2023.

adolf hitler was born on april 20, 1889, in braunau am inn, a small town in upper austria, close to the border with germany. he only lived there until he was three years old, when his family moved to passau, germany. his birth house at salzburger vorstadt 15 has been the subject of a lengthy debate, with many hoping it would be demolished to eliminate the reminder that hitler was once there. though in 2016 the austrian government had announced it would indeed demolish the property, in 2019 it decided to alter its use and convert it into a police station with the hope that it would prevent nazi sympathizers from visiting it as a site of pilgrimage.adolf hitler’s birth house as it is today

image by thomas ledl, via wikimedia commons 

project info:

architect: marte marte architects

location: braunau am inn, austria