May 07, 2025
Bauwelt Award 2025 for Tim Mahn: project space in former restroom
The historic building was affected by decay for years and is now a platform for exchange.
Architect Tim Mahn was awarded the Bauwelt Award "First Works" 2025 for his first architectural work.
Since 2020, Tim Mahn has been running his own architectural office in Halle (Saale). Additionally, he works as a research associate at the Chair of Structural Design in the Faculty of Architecture and Landscape at TU Dresden, involved in both research and teaching. He is also culturally active through projects in associations for urban redevelopment, monument preservation, and art.
The Bauwelt Prize "Das erste Haus" 2025 is an internationally renowned architecture award presented by the leading German-language architecture magazine Bauwelt. The prize is awarded every two years to young architects for their first independently realized building. Out of 140 submissions, Tim Mahn is one of five awardees. His conversion concept for the smallest listed building in the city of Halle – a former public restroom – transforms it into a project space with diverse uses, including an art gallery, neighborhood café, pop-up hair salon, and plant house. Besides the desired public character of the historic building, the sustainable preservation of historical details was a particular challenge. The required unconventional solutions contribute to the exceptional character of the project, which now serves as a platform for ideas, discourse, and exchange.
With his innovative conversion concept, Tim Mahn demonstrates that even small projects requiring sustainable handling of listed building substance and strong cultural engagement can lead young architects to success.