Tierheim Berlin

On 16 hectares in Falkenberg, there is a complex made of exposed concrete with over two hundred individually shaped round columns, large water features, and a circular outdoor area of approximately 210 meters in diameter, housing fifteen dog pavilions. Dietrich Bangert designed it, and productions like Aeon Flux use it as ready-made futuristic architecture.

Exposed Concrete and Water Features in Falkenberg

The Berlin Animal Shelter is located at Hausvaterweg 39 in Falkenberg, in the far northeast of the city, on a 16-hectare site. You can reach the “Tierheim Berlin und Dorfstraße” stop by taking the S7 to Ahrensfelde or the S75 to Hohenschönhausen, then bus 197; from Alexanderplatz, take tram M4 to the Falkenberg terminus, from there the same bus continues. It’s just under a ten-minute walk from the stop. The complex was designed by Berlin architect Dietrich Bangert, built around the turn of the millennium, and officially opened in 2002. It is run by the Animal Welfare Association for Berlin and Surrounding Areas, founded in 1841. The entire site is barrier-free, and the paths are wide enough for wheelchairs and strollers. The complex is divided into two long buildings for administration, small animals, and cats, as well as the circular area for dogs. In between are ponds, oaks, and paths that deliberately avoid dead ends, so that animals and visitors do not feel cornered.

Why Science Fiction Films Here of All Places

Architecturally, the animal shelter is a unique structure: exposed concrete, over two hundred individually shaped round columns, curved balustrades, large water features, and a circular outdoor area of approximately 210 meters in diameter, housing fifteen round dog pavilions. Precisely this austerity makes the location a film set for stories that want to depict the future or a laboratory. For Aeon Flux in 2005, the complex served as a model and filming location for a fictional complex; in the Tatort episode “Leiden wie ein Tier” (Suffering Like an Animal) in the same year, it became the Institute for Experimental Molecular Medicine, and a ten-part television series was filmed entirely here. If you wish to visit, please call in advance; groups of eight or more can register for a guided tour. The film set aspect remains secondary, as the facility takes in several thousand animals each year. Additionally, there is an animal clinic, an animal cemetery, and a dog playground, all part of the same design. Productions especially value that indoor and outdoor shots can be combined here without reconstruction, as the architectural language is consistent throughout.