august2014
29
WESTBERLINRISES
equallyhistoricAstor FilmLoungehasalso reopened,
completewith recliningarmchairsandasynchronised
music-and-water show in themainauditorium.
Thearea’sart scene isbeingsprinkledwithstardust from
manydifferent quarters. RenownedgalleristDaniel
Buchholz–aone-timeBrianEnocollaborator andpatronof
WolfgangTillmans–hasdecamped fromCologne to
historicdigs innearbyFasanenstrasse. ArtistsDavidLieske
andPeterKerstenopened their fashionableMathewGallery
inSchaperstrasse 15monthsago. And thisautumnC/O
Berlin, a legendaryphotographyandart venue in theMitte,
willmoveacross town to the iconicAmerikaHaus,which,
following theSecondWorldWar,wasoneofWestBerlin’s
most culturallysignificant addresses.
Thecentrepieceof thewholearea’s revival isalsoa
throwback topost-war architecture: theBikinihaus, a long,
thinsix-storeyofficeblockbuilt in 1957 to fill abombed-out
holenext to thezoo. Theminimalist glassbuilding’smost
distinctive featurewasanopensecondstorey that divided it
horizontally into twopieces– likeabikini.
Over thepast fewmonths, BelgianartistArneQuinzeand
hisarchitecture firmSAQhave turned thebuilding–which
hadcomeclose todemolition for twodecades– intoBikini
Berlin, ahugeandunusual contemporaryspace,with the
lower floors laidout asavast, industriallychicconcept store.
Thisshowcasesmanyof the insider fashionanddesign
brandsmoreassociatedwith the labyrinthinecourtyardsof
EastBerlin, somepermanently, someaspop-ups. The
upper levelscontainseveral art galleriesandplentyof
eatinganddrinkingoptions. At theheart ofBikini Berlin–
and its real headturner– isamini versionofNewYork’s
HighLinePark, affordingunrestrictedviewsof thezoo’s
variousmonkeyenclosures.
Above:Thenewly
refurbishedZoo
Palastfilm theatre.
Thecool 1950s
building re-opened
in time for thisyear’s
BerlinFilmFestival
EAT
Fewdiningexperiencesaremoreglamorous
thandinnerat
LesSolistesbyPierreGagnaire
,
at theWaldorfAstoria (waldorfastoria.com).The
Michelin-starredFrenchchef’s fabled twistson
traditionsuit thehotel perfectlyandhis ingenious
reinterpretationsareboth respectful andplayful.
It’salmostworthbooking just for thebreadbasket
and theseaweed-flavouredbutter.At theother
extreme,at
Neni
,on the 10thfloorof the25hours
Hotel (25hours-hotels.com),youcaneatachocolate
fudgebrownie thesizeof yourhead,highabove
theorangutans.
SHOP
Multiple-
award-winning
14oz
in
theMitte isoneof the
world’sbest clothes
shops.Last year it
openedasecond
store in thegorgeous
Cumberlandbuildingat
Kurfürstendamm 194,
fromwhere it curates
manyof thebestmen’s
andwomen’s labels
fromEurope,Japanand theUS. It isslightlypreppier
than theMittestore,but like theoriginal ithasa
gloriousgarden tohangout inandhaveadrinkwhile
youagoniseoveryourcarry-onallowance.Whileat
BikiniBerlin,besure tocheckout thepop-upstore
of cultonlinehomewarebrand
Urbanara
, the latest
outpostof local designsuperstore (andsuperstar)
AndreasMurdukis,and
Gestalten
,another import
from theMitte,whichhasanoutstandingcollection
ofdesignbooksandcovetableobjects.
HANGOUT
If youwant tostick to theWestbut
want somethinggrittier, from theKurfuerstendamm
U-bahnstation it isfivestops to
KorbusserTor
in
bustlingmulti-cultural Friedrichshain-Kreutzberg.
HereyoucanwalkalongOranienstrasse towards
SchlesischesTor
.Kreuzbergwassurroundedby the
Wall on threesidesandafter thewar, rentwas
regulated,making itcatnip forstudents,artistsand
immigrants.Aswell as restaurantsandbars (many
riverside) there isplentyof streetart,parks,and
handsome residential squares toadmire.
When inWestBerlin...
LesSolistesby
PierreGagnaire
Bikini Berlin
SchlesischesTor
FLYTO
berlin
fivetimesdaily.
brusselsairlines.com
