From Berlin Germany, Metrofarm Studio has produced a number of stunning, custom built DJ Desks. Having released a concrete DJ table a couple of years back, the new desks, in folded stainless steel and wood painted black and neon orange demand attention. But they're not just for finely tuned vinyl slingers looking for the perfect ergonomic ratios to heighten their musical flow. They're for anybody with a musical mind and an eye for detail, looking to add spark to a lounge room, club or gallery. It's art for the DJ's sake. By Nick Christie
Berlin’s Magma Architecture
won several awards for its entry in the JETZT | NOW series of temporary
installations at the Berlinische Galerie, Museum for Contemporary Art,
Photography and Architecture. Magma’s installation, 11th in the series,
was called fittingly “head-in | im kopf” and its concept is based on
exploring the properties of materials, form, color and light.
The
main feature of the installation is an alarmingly orange flexible
fabric (polyamide-elastan mix) stretched between the walls, ceiling and
floor. The fabric is the most visible part of the exhibit, yet it is
also the tool with which the viewers can focus on smaller details.
Visitors bend down under the fabric into which openings were cut.
Through these holes, visitors pop their heads up into the orange space
to view drawings, models and photographs suspended from wires. These
items are from Magma’s work and include representations of the
revitalization of the former GDR Radio Centre (Berlin, Nalepastrasse,
2007), a bridge over the Landwehrkanal river in Berlin (competition
entry in 2006), the new Nexus Productions headquarters in London, and
the exhibition Trial & Error in London (2003). Luckily, we have
images to show how it all worked as the full effect of the experience
is quite impossible to describe in mere words.
The project team
for head-in | im kopf included Anke Noske, Hendrik Bohle, Dominik Jörg,
Lena Kleinheine, Ksenia Kagler, Yohko Mizushima, Lena Kleinheinz,
Martin Ostermann and Ben Reynolds.
Magma was established in 2003 by Martin Ostermann and Lena Kleinheinz.
The Ohio native Ostermann is a former senior architect at Studio Daniel
Libeskind. The Denmark-born Kleinheinz is an exhibition designer. Magma
is known for its inventive, experimental and experiential approaches to
architectural work. By Tuija Seipell
Berlin is one of the world’s most creative cities and now you can get your way around a lot more easily. Don’t bother with the public transport system (even though its good), rent your own little buggie style karts, which surprisingly, you are able to drive legally on the roads alongside real cars. The mini size makes them easy to maneuver and parking is a breeze. Not to mention the fun factor – it’s like one big game of dodgem cars for grown ups. Rent them at kart4you.de By BillY T
Berlin is one of only three UNESCO Creative Cities and it has a distinctive and strong creative subculture.
But it takes a while for the cool aspects to become apparent because
Berlin is not a city with instant sex appeal like Paris or Rome. And
don’t try to do anything before 11am - the place is dead till then.
Luckily,
we knew where the action is. In Berlin, it is in the Mitte district (German
for middle or center), a historic district formerly part of East
Berlin. Now, it is somewhat edgier than SOHO but also similar with its
refurbished buildings, one-of-a-kind designer fashion shops, cafes,
bakeries, restaurants, bars, art galleries, studios and an overall
creative vibe that attracts the city’s designers, architects,
photographers and artists. Mitte is also the historical heart of Berlin
with most of the main sights and many media companies within its
borders.
In Mitte, we stayed at Lux 11.
Lux 11’s name gives a nod to Rosa Luxemburg, the German champion of
socialist causes, after whom the street is also named. The hotel name
also refers to luxury and light (lux is light in Latin).
Lux 11
is a chic 72-room apartment hotel opened in 2005 in a renovated
building that started as a stately residences in the late 19th century.
It was later converted to an office building from which the KGB was
apparently in direct contact with Moscow during the Cold War. We don’t
know if this is true but we like the story.
The hotel concept and interior are by London-based architects Giuliana Salmaso and Claudio Silvestrin.
They‘ve managed to create an environment that combines a clean,
minimalist and practical style with an abundance of tactile and sensual
details, white walls, natural wood, concrete in China green, curtains
in leather, upholstery in rough canvas. We liked the simplicity – no
frilly things to annoy you, no boring sets of matching bedding and
window treatments. We also liked the little kitchen (the hotel buffet
breakfast did not appeal) which we stocked at Bio Organic Supermarket a
block away on Dircksenstrasse. We found the best coffee at Buscaglione
on Rochstrasse (1 Block away) and the best soup at Kultur (opposite hotel).
What You'll Love: Location, location, location. Mitte is where its all at.
What You Wont: No air conditioning, lifeless pillows. Expensive internet access (12 Euro for 5 hrs)
Shiro i Shiro
is a Japanese-Mediterranean fusion restaurant with French undertones.
It is located at Rosa Luxembourgstrasse 11, on the ground floor of the
chic Lux 11 apartment hotel
in Berlin’s trendy Mitte district. Shiro i Shiro (Japanese for White
Castle) is the second concept of Vietnamese-born owner and sous-chef
Duc Ngo (aka Mr. Duc) whose three Kuchi restaurants are Berlin’s best-known hip sushi bars.
Korean-born Huyn Jung Kim designed Shiro i Shiro’s fantastic interior
- a huge, open-concept white space with prim Neobaroque luxury and
richness of color combined with stark and edgy Asian minimalism. French-trained chef de cuisine Eduard Dimant is in charge of the
kitchen offering an exciting array of unexpected culinary
combinations. In its German version, the prestigious Gault Millau guide,
considered even more purist than Michelin, praises not only Shiro i
Shiro’s cuisine and wine but even the prices. No wonder the restaurant
is packed every night and Dimant is celebrated as one of the city’s
culinary shooting stars. By Tuija Seipell
The plush amenities of a celebrity rehabilitation centres can be yours, without the lawyer fees of a public DUI. Though its not the "rehab" you may be thinking, Yi Spa in Berlin will have your mind and body rejuvenated in no time, leaving your stress addictions behind.
The site opens with a cryptic passage from writer Khalil Gibran, "I had a second birth when my soul and my body loved one another and were married." Though we're not entirely sure how this relates to facial exfoliation and full-body massages, the feel-good vibe is there, and we'll follow it.
Yi-Spa continues down its unconventional path with eye-opening architecture and interior design. Instead of puritanical white, designers infused bright color (hot pink no less) into the spa's interior - a refreshing change from the stark, minimalist-inspired interiors that characterize most spas. Hard wood floors and white walls contrast with hot pink screens and curtains and dome shaped lighting.
For the high-strung Berliner in your life, you can purchase a "Feel-Good-Schien" loosely translated as a "license to feel good," or as we say in Australia, a gift certificate. By L.Harper
Timing is everything. With summer eeking its way into April and
May, trying to fathom the perfect moment to don the shades throws even
the most climate conscious among us. It can make the difference
between fashion faux pas and fashion icon. Thankfully, a young Berlin-based design team specialising in
top-quality glasses have opened a store just when that eyewear
uncertainty starts to creep in. MYKITA, the brainchild of Philipp
Haffmans and Harald Gottschling is a top-of-the-range eyewear brand
that has quietly been gathering praise in design circles since its
launch in 2004.
Known for their handmade frames, the brand won the 2007 iF product
design award and the collection’s “Rocco” model won a red dot design
award in the same year. With those credentials it’s no wonder
their new store has been designed with the utmost precision and
craft. The uber minimalist décor is disturbed only by the subtle
perforations in the industrial shelving. By day, the shop
interior is lit by row after row of spotlights. But by night, the
atmosphere transforms in to a beautiful array of animated light
sequences that reflect the movements of the street outside.
As well as the MYKITA range, the shop is rounded off with selected
eyewear and accessories from other brands. Isn’t it time you invested in a new pair?
MYKITA, Hours: 11am to 8pm. Location: Rosa-Luxemburg-Strasse 6, Berlin. By Matthew Husse
Themed hotels are becoming something of a phenomenon. The latest is Berlin's Hotel K¸enstlerheim Luise.
Described as the kind of place where you can get a good night's
rest inside a work of artù, the hotel features 50 rooms designed by
well known local artists, who, it appears, have a reoccurring interest
in fairy tales (think butterflies and oversized beds). The hotel is
located in a trendy part of town, walking distance from the Reichstag
building, Spree river, Friedrichstrafle, Unter den Linden, and the
Brandenburg Gate. by Billy T
Themed room hotels are becoming increasingly
popular throughout Europe. The concept of decorating each room on
individual artists works and varied themes has elevated the concept of
the hip hotel to new heights.
Berlin's Propeller Island City Lodge is
the latest offering in the art room hotel genre. Unlike many other art
hotels, PICL is very reasonably priced whilst maintaining a very high
room standard. The 30 rooms vary dramatically in their style. From the
Forest room, where your mattress floats on a series of logs surrounded
by red walls through to the Gruft room, where your two separate beds
are white coffins. The variety within the hotel is what makes it so
appealing. Where other hotels focus more on the work of individual
artists by way of reproducing their two dimensional art, PICL's
direction is very much more based on art installations. The result is a
wonderfully unique hotel, in a league of it's own. by Billy T
The new 'wild ones' of the architectural scene,
GRAFT (best known for their work on Brad Pitt's Hollywood Hills studio)
have designed a new super lifestyle hotel in Berlin. Named 'Q', this
5-star hotel earns a spot on Conde Nast Traveller's roundup of best
cool hotels for its inventive and striking design.
Thomas
Willemeit, Lars Kr¸ckeberg and Wolfram Putz, the trio behind Graft have
designed a unique room experience in Q!. For the first time in a hotel,
walls are no longer just the boundaries of a room but actual pieces of
furniture. Therefore, guests change their interaction with furniture
and architecture and become the actors on the lifestyle stage,
explains Thomas Willemeit. It is as if the room has been formed by
movement, he adds. The rooms at Q! convey energy, tranquillity and
inspiration and remind you of futuristic cocoons. Q! Berlin