nhow Berlin – the hotel
Situated directly on the Spree, nhow Berlin is right at the heart of the creative scene of
Berlin’s Friedrichshain and Kreuzberg districts. From the hotel you have a clear view of the
Molecule Man – a gigantic sculpture in the water at the edge of the city district Treptow – and
of the characteristically shaped Oberbaum Bridge which links the areas Friedrichshain and
Kreuzberg. In the immediate vicinity you will find a wide range of bars and clubs.
Architect Sergei Tchoban and designer Karim Rashid saw themselves faced with a twofold
task – of incorporating the industrial style of the local architecture while at the same time
accommodating the contemporary mood of an environment marked by variety,
unconventionality and new beginnings. The result has been an overall idea that emphasises
contrasts, based on the tension between the rather strict architectural style and the cheerfully
playful interior design of the building. The clinker façade and the 8th to 10th floors, which
project into space for 21 metres above the banks of the Spree and are rather suggestive of a
crane, seem an echo of Berlin’s old city port area. When you pass the doors of the nhow
Berlin, on the other hand, you are absorbed by the poetic, colourful and almost surreal world
of Karim Rashid. His typical amorphous forms and strong colours can be recognised in the
specially made furniture and design objects to be found at the nhow Berlin.
Constant development and change is an indispensable part of the Berlin lifestyle and accounts
for its fascination. The dynamic spatial planning of the public areas of the hotel takes its cue
from this. At regular intervals, a large proportion of the works of art exhibited at the nhow
Berlin will be replaced by new ones. The artistic conception takes account of the hotel’s
outside area, and it has been worked out and refined in close cooperation with highly regarded
gallery owners. This makes the hotel an integral part of the metropolis and the Berlin art
scene.