Image credit: Nicholas Worley
“We are delighted to open the first Locke hotel in Berlin, a city of innovation and creativity,” said Stephen McCall, CEO. “Locke at East Side Gallery has been a very special project for us and the end result is a stunning show. With an exciting partnership with music lovers’ bar and restaurant ANIMA, stunning views across the River Spree and a fantastic location within the trendy inner city districts of Friedrichschain, Kreuzberg and Mitte, we’re excited to open the doors and welcome people to Locke at the East Side Gallery.”
Image credit: Nicholas Worley
Locke at East Side Gallery also features a free co-working area for guests and locals to enjoy with a café, music lover bar and ANIMA restaurant, which will offer new immersive ways to experience music in the German capital. The property features flexible meeting and event space including a rooftop terrace, as well as a gym on the eighth floor, with floor-to-ceiling windows and views of Berlin’s Mediaspree.
Image credit: Nicholas Worley
Designed by Matthew Grzywinski of Grzywinski+Pons, the hotel takes its design from its surroundings – most notably the former Berlin Wall, the River Spree and neighboring parks. Each apartment combines sophisticated neutrals, natural textures and raw concrete with pops of playful colour. Within the rooms themselves, the walls are composed of wood panels, with oven-shaped glass inspired by the surface of the River Spree serving as a bathroom partition.
Image credit: Nicholas Worley
The furniture in the rooms exudes warmth and texture with turmeric chairs, pastel mirrors and heavily braided grass rugs alongside suede and rattan screens and headboards. Bathrooms feature black back-painted glass, while walls and ceilings feature exposed structural concrete tempered with a powder coat finish. Hand-scraped wood floors complement the use of wood and decorative glass.
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- Image credit: Nicholas Worley
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- Image credit: Nicholas Worley
The areas on the ground floor including the café, bar, ANIMA restaurant, reception lounge and co-working spaces are connected (in a subtle reference to the remains of the Berliner Mauer) by the use of discontinuous walls, creating implicit “neighborhoods”. in the space. Benches and built-in planters are made from locally sourced brick composed of recycled sand and lime, while the furnishings follow a cohesive palette of timber, reeds, fabric and rope, surrounded by green plants seeping from the planters and cascading from the ceiling.
Image credit: Nicholas Worley
ANIMA bar and restaurant for music lovers combines gastronomy and music. Designed as a dedicated space for audiophiles, the concept is inspired by Japanese “Kissaten” hi-fi cafés that preceded affordable home stereos. With a focus on providing the highest standards in dining, drinking and high-fidelity audio experiences, ANIMA allows guests to connect to music and each other within a simple, friendly, warm and elegant atmosphere. During the week, ANIMA Radio’s wide range of in-house recordings and live broadcasts provide the soundtrack for guests and locals to enjoy, while at weekends the music is selected by top local and sometimes international selectors.
Image credit: Nicholas Worley
Born from the desire to share, exchange and provide a place to bring people together, the ANIMA concept is reflected in its tapas-inspired food and drink offerings. Designed for sharing, the menu features fresh, local and seasonal produce combining children’s favorites and street food influences with a Mediterranean twist. A carefully selected group of independent, non-institutional partners based in Berlin offer specialty drinks, including a selection of wines from Ritual Wine, mezcal from Algavera, sake from Sake38, coffee from Bonzana, and tea from Yoshi EN.
“It is important to preserve the true nature of the ingredients and introducing creative twists on culinary traditions is vital,” said Andrea Lanisella, ANIMA’s head chef. “Berlin is an inspiring place that encourages exploration and experimentation in food and culture and this will be reflected in our offerings at ANIMA.”
Image credit: Nicholas Worley
In an exciting move that reflects Berlin’s cultural heritage, Locke has partnered with unisex brand Fade Out Label to provide team uniforms at Locke at East Side Gallery. Local fashion brand Fade Out has collaborated with legendary Berlin Wall artist Mirta Domasinović to create a unified collection featuring symbols of hope, new beginnings and the resilience of Berlin as a city to turn over a new leaf. Committed to a sustainable and timeless design approach, they used dead stock to repurpose a collection that would otherwise end up in a landfill.
Main image credit: Nicholas Worley