Expertise
- Comprehensive training as a university-certified restorer and carpenter
- Professional Furniture Restoration and Wood Restoration
- Professional Research on Furniture, Wooden Objects, and Wood Used in Construction
- A superbly equipped restoration workshop for conservation and restoration
- Excellent knowledge of the natural sciences and art history
- Artistic Sensitivity
- Classification of the objects within their respective stylistic periods from an art historical perspective
- Extensive knowledge of materials in the areas of wood, finishes, settings, metals, tortoiseshell, and plastics
- Comprehensive knowledge of historical techniques and construction methods
- Damage Assessments and Condition Surveys
- Conservation and restoration using the gentlest methods possible on the original to preserve history
- Use of historical recipes and materials, as well as traditional production methods, in restoration
- Preventive conservation
- artLABOR®: Material Analysis of Art and Cultural Heritage
- Strong References
- Europe-wide network
A Look Behind the Scenes
Philipp H. Westebbe, Certified Conservator And his team doesn’t create replacements—they preserve the originals. Furniture, plastic, icons—everything is expertly restored here. It’s loud, it’s quiet, it’s 70–90 hours a week. With a passion for every detail: that’s the Central Restoration Workshop in Berlin.
Since January 2022
Founder & Owner
artLABOR®: Material Analysis of Art and Cultural Heritage
- Instrumental Analysis for Non-Destructive and Minimally Destructive Testing:
- Portable UV/Vis/NIR Spectroscopy (J&M Analytik AG): TIDAS® S 300 – MMS VIS/NIR 3011
- FT-IR Spectroscopy (BRUKER): ALPHA II
Since March 2012
Founder & Owner
ZRW – Central Restoration Workshop Berlin
- RESTORATION: Furniture restoration │ Wood restoration │ Restoration of wooden interior furnishings │ Upholstery restoration │ Chair caning restoration │ Restoration of artisanal objects │ Restoration of Archaeological Cultural Heritage │ Restoration of Sculptures, Sculpture Mounting, and Polychrome Sculptures │ On-Site Restoration │ Refinishing │ Preventive Conservation
- SERVICES: Cost estimates for clients or insurance companies │ Transportation services & moving assistance │ Inventory │ Condition assessment │ Damage analysis (artLABOR®: Material Analyses) │ Concept Development │ Restoration Planning │ Documentation & Cataloging │ Object Management via Maintenance Contract │ Provenance, Authenticity, & Age │ Appraisal
February 2013 – March 2013
Independent Contractor
FANDRICH Carpentry and Furniture Restoration, LLC
at Master Carpenter WINKLER and Master Carpenter DEPSKI in Berlin
- Conservation and Restoration of Furniture and Wooden Objects
March 2012 – January 2013
Independent Contractor
at Dipl.-Arch. WESTEBBE in Ardegão, Portugal
- Renovation of a Baroque Mansion (Historic Preservation)
May 2010 – June 2010
Research Associate and Consultant
with Prof. Dr. Dr. PARZINGER in Tbilisi, Georgia
EU Twinning Project (Dossier No.: GE09/ENP-P&CA/OT/02):
Support for the Institutional Development of the Georgian National Museum
- Preventive conservation
February 2009 – February 2011
Research Associate and Project Manager
Rathgen Research Laboratory – State Museums of Berlin
at Prof. Dr. SIMON’s office in Berlin
Research Project:
Nefertiti ÄMP 21300 – Studies by the Rathgen Research Laboratory on the condition of the restoration and the suitability for transport
- Instrumental Analysis for Imaging, Non-Destructive, and Minimally Destructive Testing
- Preventive conservation
- Primary Source Research
- Final Report
August 2006 – August 2008
Research Intern
with Prof. Dr. TRISCHLER, Dr. BRACHNER, Dr. BERDUX, Dr. SICHAU, and Dr. HOLL in Munich
- Preventive Conservation of Art and Cultural Heritage for Exhibitions
- Preservation and Restoration of Technical Cultural Heritage
05/2006
Independent Contractor
LANGHOFF & GRUHLKE Furniture Restoration Workshop
at the workshop of restorer GRUHLKE and master carpenter LANGHOFF in Munich
- Conservation and Restoration of Furniture and Wooden Objects
Jan. 2006 – Mar. 2006
Independent Contractor
at Dipl.-Arch. WESTEBBE in Ardegão, Portugal
- Renovation of a Baroque Mansion (Historic Preservation)
October 1999 – December 2004
Degree Program in Conservation (University)
Chair of Restoration, Art Technology, and Conservation Science (Technical University of Munich)
at Prof. EMMERLING, Certified Restorer
- Thesis:
Investigations of Art and Cultural Heritage Using Pulse Thermography—A Non-Destructive Analytical Method
September 2003 – November 2003
Course participants
Infrared Training Center (ITC)– FLIR Systems GmbH
at Dr. SCHÖNBACH’s office in Frankfurt
May 2003 – August 2003
Internship During the Academic Program
Doerner Institute – Bavarian State Painting Collections
at PD Dr. STEGE’s office in Munich
03/2003
Internship During the Academic Program
Faculty of Earth and Environmental Sciences (LMU Munich)
with Prof. Dr. FEHR
November 2002 – March 2003
Internship During the Academic Program
Doerner Institute – Bavarian State Painting Collections
at the office of PD Dr. STEGE, CTA BAUMER, and Dr. KOLLER in Munich
August 2002 – December 2002
Internship During Studies (DAAD Scholarship)
Furniture Conservation Studio – Victoria and Albert Museum (V&A)
at NEHER Restoration in London, England
March 2002 – May 2002
Internship During the Academic Program
Conservation Center – National Museums Liverpool
at LARSON Restoration in Liverpool, England
August 2001 – November 2001
Internship During the Academic Program
Furniture Restoration Workshop – Bavarian Administration of State-Owned Palaces, Gardens, and Lakes
at Dr. PIENING, Certified Restorer (FH), in Munich
March 2000 – April 2000
Internship During the Academic Program
Furniture Restoration Workshop – Bavarian Administration of State-Owned Palaces, Gardens, and Lakes
at Dr. PIENING, Certified Restorer (FH), in Munich
April 2000 – May 2000
Internship During the Academic Program
Sculpture and Painting Restoration Studio – Bavarian National Museum
at Dipl.-Restaurator GÖBEL in Munich
August 1998 – September 1999
Pre-College Internship
Restoration Workshop for Furniture and Wooden Objects
at the SCHEUCH Restoration Studio in Munich
September 1996 – August 1998
Pre-College Internship
Restoration Workshop for Furniture and Wooden Objects
at KAINZ Restoration in Vienna, Austria
September 1996 – August 1998
Carpentry apprenticeship
Vienna Vocational School for Woodworking, Sound, Paint & Varnish and Pöchlarn State Vocational School
in Austria