I visited Berlin in Summer 2001 and stayed at a cheap hostel in East Berlin – very kitsch and full of life. That is how I remember East Berlin should be; raw, creative rebellious and constantly recreating itself. If I ever re-visit this progressive city, I am keen to try a new experience at the first Michelberger Hotel which is opening in September to celebrate Berlin’s rough edges and creative spirit. Owner Tom Michelberger got a patchwork of young friends together to create a funky budget hotel with communal social space, mixing the best elements of hostel and hotel for all types of travellers.

Rather than putting energy into design for design’s sake, they have thought of modern hospitality and what guests actually want – a house of friends and with input by the world-class designer Werner Aisslinger, the brainchild behind LoftCube. Every detail is well-thought with playful execution and an abundance of personal, human elements from flea markets and antique stores combined with style from the entire team.

The 119 rooms will fill the old landmark building of a former factory with a brick façade, courtyard garden, high ceilings, stone archways and large windows. Guests are expected to be dreamers, movers & shakers, love-birds, soul searchers, artists, craftspeople, globetrotters and Berlin aficionados. Rooms come in all shapes and sizes to suit number of travelling buddies and budgets. All rooms are ensuite, have 6 film channels on a video loop and wireless internet access.

Stylists Anja Knauer and Sibylle Oellerich from the film world applied their aesthetic from set design to tell a story of each room. Werner Aisslinger made space efficiency playful and fun through verticality and transparent surfaces. Everyone involved had to re-think everything for contrast, fun, ease of use and to break up the typical, oppressive feeling of anonymity in a city hotel.

Every room features unique wallpaper by Azar Kazimir with images that represent ideas, thoughts, and moments that inspired the team through the process of creating the hotel. All little things with personal meaning to the Michelberger team, all of it hand-drawn. In addition, there are pictures from antique photo albums, a hand-selected personal library in each room to add up to a feeling of spending the night at the house of an extremely cool friend.

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Yen Huynh, Creator of mecho | the style black book

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