Haus Am Wasser

In the location's words:

The Haus am Wasser, at Vegesacker Weserpromenade 2 in the Vegesack city garden, is located in the Vegesack district of Bremen. It was built in 1927 according to plans by the architect Ernst Becker. The building has been a listed building in Bremen since 1994.

The Vegesack Rowing Club had the house built as a boat and club house in 1927 by the then "radically modern" architect Ernst Becker in the Bauhaus style.

The first floor housed the boat storage area, from which the boats could be pushed out to the Weser via two large gates. The recessed upper floor provided space for the club rooms. A small observation tower provided a good view of the Weser and allowed the club flag to be hoisted. During the Second World War, the tower was "shortened" by around two meters by an aerial bomb^[2].

In 1974, the Vegesack rowing club moved to the Grohn marina and left the house on the waterfront.^[3] After 1974, the resident Carola Schulz kept over 300 parrots there, which is why the building was popularly known as the Parrot House.

The artist and curator Hanns Joachim "Hajo" Antpöhler (1930-2011) used the house as an exhibition venue and organized more than 40 art presentations there between 1990 and 1998^[4].

In 2000, the sculptor Thomas Recker and the painter Helmut Streich rented the house as an artist's studio^[5].

Today (2018), 114 m² of the Haus am Wasser is still used as a gallery and studio. Due to its proximity to the Weser, it is at risk of flooding. Although the doors and gates provide flood protection, permanent living there is not permitted as there is no second escape route. The listed building belongs to the city of Bremen, and Immobilien Bremen is looking for a new buyer.^[2]