Conversion of a former power station into a nightclub 'The ruins of the old powerhouse forming part of the former Wriezener railway station on the Stalinallee in Berlin have been converted into a nightclub. This neoclassical cube structure dating from 1954, with its rustic plinths, colossal pillars and large transom windows has been the home of Berghain since 2004, the successor to the legendary Ostgut nightclub. A wall-sized installation by Piotr Nathan, which consists of 175 aluminium panels portraying the power of elemental forces, dominates the foyer. This ushers visitors into the actual club, which occupies two floors installed inside the 18-metre-high space that was formerly the power station’s monumental turbine hall. Steel staircases lead from this temple of concrete into the neighbouring Panorama Bar, whose raw, turbine-hall charm is relieved only by the sparing use of certain design touches. Two giant Tillmans photographs decorate the black, rubber-lined walls of the central bar. A bar decorated with glass and metal rods, another with pillars, on the ground floor, and several dark areas all provide a place of refuge. Seating is provided by suitably converted, prefabricated concrete pipes weighing 1,462 kilos each.

40 rooms in Berlin, Urban 32 

2006 Ice-cream parlour Extension of the Berghain nightclub to include an ice-cream parlour and coffee bar. A previously unused area near the Berghain’s dance floor has been converted into an ice-cream parlour and coffee bar decorated with stainless-steel-covered tiles. The narrow interior staircase has had to be complemented with a fire escape installed on the outside of the building. 

2008 Smokers’ lounge Refurbishment of the Berghain’s fire-escape staircase The smokers’ lounge linking the Panorama Bar and the Berghain nightclub also provides an emergency exit for both parts of the venue.