Australian/German architectural firm LAVA (Laboratory for Visionary Architecture) is making waves in Berlin with the design of a new interior space to renovate a music hall theatre which has been buried since the Nazi regime.

The developers will renovate the 300 square metre three story building, called the Secret Garden, which will comprise spaces for performances and exhibitions, studios, meetings and conferences, and luxury apartments for short term and executive rental. 

The abandoned 1920s cabaret theatre has been recently uncovered after being buried under 30 tonnes of rubble since 1934 when it closed, speculatively due to a crackdown on the cabaret scene by the Nazi's.

The building is a three level musical hall and restaurant featured a ballroom, a theatre, and wall paintings and vaulted stuccoed ceilings.

Surrounded by apartment buildings and only a few metres from the well-known city baths in Mitte, the music hall theatre was found by accident by Dirk Moritz, founder of the Moritz Gruppe.

He stumbled upon the abandoned building located behind a courtyard in the former communist east of the city.

"From the outside, with its bricked-up windows and rundown facade it was hard to imagine the impressive architecture that awaited me within. Opening the front door revealed an amazing sight: I found an old hall, a grand ballroom, a 300 square metre theatre, wall paintings and metre-high stuccoed ceilings. Memories of a glorious time at the beginning of the last century," said Moritz.

After researching the history of the building, Moritz discovered it was designed by famous Berliner businessman/architect Oscar Garbe and constructed in 1905. In the same year, the theatre hall, complete with a stage and vaulted ceilings, was opened as a musical hall and restaurant.

"Unfortunately we can’t turn it back to a music hall due to city regulations but we will conserve interior features including the beautiful stucco. Our aim is to make a contribution to art and contemporary living – a mix of old and new. Otherwise this beautiful piece of history would just be forgotten completely and probably demolished at some point," added Moritz.

Construction will commence in March 2013, with completion due in mid 2014.