Project name: Ritz-Carlton Berlin

Location: Berlin, Germany

Date completed: March 2019

Architect: Himmler Sattler Architekten

Interior Designer: The G.A Group

Hotel Group/ Developer: Ritz-Carlton

Construction Company: Hagenauer

Berlin is a city that has never stood still. It always transforms, advances, reverses, but, never stops. This restless and vibrant attitude is what makes the city so fascinating and was the first pillar of inspiration for the design. The main feature in the guestrooms is the headboard panelling with its structured grid. This represents the precise and clear attributes of the German people, with some panels “moving” and revealing a new face. The colours of the light taupe and aubergine endeavour to speak for the day and night, for the setting and rising sun as it changes. The bathroom vanity & mirror is a clear homage to the old era of the Golden Twenties and the style of Art Deco of that period.

The renovated brasserie is a celebration of German food and drink, the copper brew kettles used to produce German beer lead the design narrative within a fresh and sophisticated palette. The traditional French brasseries used to brew their own beer to serve in-house and with Germany now famed for its own beers, the production of beer in the copper brew kettles was a leading design guide for the restaurant. The material has been used throughout the design, from the hammered copper counters and sheer panels to the display shelving and the quirky pots and pans feature that greet guest on their arrival.  The warm tones of the copper contrast effectively with the cool white of the marble and give an overall upmarket look.

The location of the hotel, Potsdamer Platz, has its own extraordinary history which exemplifies the change of the city in one spot: the crossroad of the Old Berlin; an ideological wasteland and a symbol of the New Berlin. The latterly erected buildings around the Platz represent the new and changed Germany. The various modern high-rises define and tell the story in a subtle way, amongst it the Art Deco inspired exterior of the hotel building. This ode to the Golden Twenties, the height of Berlin’s cultural revolution, along with the symbolism of the Potsdamer Platz form the second pillar of our design; their motifs visible throughout the design in subtle design details and quirky features.

This is a project full of bespoke elements. Furniture, joinery, carpets even tiles were made specifically for the Ritz-Carlton Berlin. The hardest element to source though were the show kitchen wall tiles in the POTS restaurant. These are grey tiles with white animal artwork on them.