Memo From Berlin: What's Trending

Mairi Beautyman -- Interior Design, 3/19/2013 8:00:00 AM

Hüttenpalast by Sarah Vollmer and Silke Lorenzen offers indoor camping inside of a former factory. Photo courtesy of Hüttenpalast.


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Berlin is a city with a rich underground movement. Unexpected locations, often in seemingly abandoned buildings, reveal a hidden culture of bars, clubs, restaurants, art galleries and pop-ups that lean towards experimental, multi-use venues.

Temporary also means only well-informed tourists find themselves here—something locals put more and more value on with a booming tourism industry that in 2012 surpassed 24.9 million overnight stays, making Berlin the third most visited city in Europe (beating out Rome) after London and Paris.

In July 2012, Platoon Kunsthalle Berlin opened in Berlin's Mitte District as an experimental space for artists and creatives. Designed by communication consultancy Platoon in collaboration with Graft Gesellschaft Von Architekten, the modular building will remain open until 2014, and consists of 34 stacked standard freight containers that serve as a venue for art projects, workshops, and events.

Temporary spaces also include Base Camp by Nest One, which combines retail space, café, jobs, training room and event venue. Lil Schlichting-Stegemann's pop-up retail store, Lil Shop, offered second season collections by Comme des Garçons and Junya Watanabe from a whimsical interior that, before it closed in December 12, included rearing horses and chandeliers printed on the walls. A new location is expected to be unveiled early this year.

Untraditional tourists looking for a place to lay their heads will enjoy Hüttenpalast, an indor camping facility hidden away in a former factory. Sarah Vollmer and Silke Lorenzen designed the space to provide all the benefits of camping without the inconvenience of the outdoors.

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