HOTEL REVIEW
LEFT: Guestrooms features bedside table lamps by Metalarte, ESP task seating by Koi Design Ltd, Scantling Standing lamps by Mathias Hahn for Marset, and bedside tables by Hay OPPOSITE (TOP LEFT) The bar and lounge areas include many of Patricia Urquiola’s own designs for Italian companies such as Moroso as well as those of others (TOP RIGHT) Whimsical animal sculptures in wire and leather reference the zoo next door to the hotel (BOTTOM): Cinco restaurant features a dramatic overhead display of copper pots and pans paired with copper lamps by Tom Dixon. Elsewhere small dot-like tables by Dutch design firm Pols Potten continue the copper theme
with deft touches in the hotel’s public
spaces. Her interiors are at once engagingly comfortable and yet sophisticated. Bright splashes of coloured carpet and upholstery enliven a neutral background of the original stone and wood. Many of the furnishings are Urquiola’s own designs. Other objects, like leather animals in the shape of rhinos, hippos and buffalos that reference the neighbouring zoo, were curated by her. Copper is also used as a signature material throughout the public areas. The hotel’s bar is copper-clad, signage is on copper sheet and the main decorative element of the fine dining restaurant, Cinco, is a ceiling display of ‘cataplana’ copper pots and pans interspersed with Tom Dixon copper shade lamps. The use of verdigris within the hotel’s collateral is evidence this copper theme has been well thought through. The pale green colour decorates the pages of menus that are attached to simple wooden boards by similarly coloured elastic. Other neat design details in the restaurant include an angled mirror above a bright yellow preparation table in Cinco, allowing diners to see the action. CCTV cameras in the rest of the kitchen allow acclaimed Catalan chef Paco Perez to keep an eye on things when he is not in residence. Das Stue is the first project outside Spain for Michelin-starred Perez, who also oversees The Casual – a sharply triangular space, where slatted walls and skylights frame a
tapas-oriented, all-day-dining experience. To the rear of the hotel, a more formally appointed private dining room faces the zoo. Opened in February, the Bel Etage meeting space of four adjoining suites can be connected for an array of private or public uses.
A bronze crocodile sculpture by Paris-based
artist Quentin Garel, its jaws gaping beneath a wave-like lighting installation of small globes in the entrance hall, is an odd welcome to any hotel but striking nonetheless. Urquiola’s cosy ‘libraries’ on the landings of the grand staircase are perfect for private meetings or as quiet spots where guests can cosy up with a book from the Taschen-stocked shelves. Urquiola also helped to curate the original black and white fashion portrait photography, from the private collection of one of the owners, that adds yet another different layer within the hotel. Das Stue translates directly from the Danish for ‘living room’ although the owners have interpreted this less literally as a ‘Drawing Room’ – “the space in any well-appointed house where people relax, socialise, entertain, and discuss.” The result is a sophisticated hotel in tune with its surroundings in Berlin’s Embassy Quarter. As with many a diplomatic negotiation, the various design perspectives at play in Das Stue may not be entirely resolved, but they agree to differ in a quiet, grown-up manner.
088 MARCH / APRIL 2013
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Das Stue Hotel Drakestrasse 1, 10787 Berlin Germany Tel: +49 30 311 722-0
www.das-stue.com
80 guestrooms and suites Cinqo (fine dining) The Casual (all-day- dining) Bar, Lounge, Spa & Swimming Pool Bel Etage meeting area (4 suites)
Owner / Operator: Hotel Drakestrasse Betriebsgesellschaft mbH Architect: Axthelm-Rovien Architekten Interior Design (guestrooms): LVG Arquitectura Interior Design (public areas): Patricia Urquiola
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