Mind Bender
Berlin Mitte is still an architectural hotchpotch of a district that presents a challenge to adventurous architects keen on undertaking a little "bridgework"in small spaces.
Britta Jürgens and Matthew Griffin and their Deadline Office for Architectural Services acquired themselves just such a war-damaged, semi-built site a few years ago on which they chose to build their first building. The result is a very Berlin-style take on urban living.
Not only is the "Bender" building, with its curved aluminium and glass curtain wall, one of the most exciting examples of add-on architecture in town, but it's also a superb pied-à-terre for visitors who prefer the flexibility of an apartment to a hotel room.
Jürgens and Griffin have managed to pack eight remarkably spacious minilofts into the building by causing it to bulged outwards over its tiny ground floor which contains a shop and underground parking for four cars.
The modestly priced lofts give guests the kudos of living in a real architectural highlight only ten minutes away from the Reichstag - priceless.
Mind Bender, published in Wallpaper *, May 2005 (p. 98)
