Locke at East Side Gallery

Lifestyle aparthotel brand Locke will open its third German property, Locke at East Side Gallery, in June 2023. With breath-taking views overlooking the River Spree and city skyline, Locke at East Side Gallery is situated amongst Berlin's trendiest inner-city districts Friedrichshain, Kreuzberg and Mitte.

The new opening will comprise 176 sleek studio apartments, which come equipped with kitchenettes and living areas, with many also having access to a private balcony with river or skyline views. Locke at East Side Gallery will also feature a complimentary co-working area for guests and locals to enjoy, third-wave coffee shop and deli and audiophile bar and restaurant ANIMA, which will introduce new immersive ways of experiencing music in the German capital. The property will also feature a flexible meeting and events space that includes a rooftop terrace, as well as a 24-hour gym on the eighth floor, with floor to ceiling windows and views overlooking Berlin's Mediaspree.

Designed by Matthew Grzywinski of Grzywinski+Pons, Locke at East Side Gallery takes its design cues from its surroundings - most notably the former Berlin Wall, River Spree, and neighbouring parks. Each apartment combines sophisticated neutral tones, natural textures, and raw concrete with pops of playful colour. Within the rooms themselves, walls are composed of timber panelling, with kiln-formed glass inspired by the surface of the Spree River acting as a partition to the bathroom. The furniture in the rooms exude warmth and texture with turmeric chairs, pastel mirrors and heavily braided grass rugs juxtaposed with suede and rattan floor screens and bedheads. The bathrooms feature back-painted black glass, walls and ceilings feature exposed structural concrete, softened with a powdery finish. Hand-scraped wood floors complement the aforementioned wall-as-threshold assembly of timber and textured glass. On the ground floor, social spaces comprising of the cafe, bar and restaurant, reception lounge and co-working spaces are connected with the use of non-continuous walls which in a nod to the vestiges of the Berliner Mauer are used as compositional elements, creating implicit "neighbourhoods" in the space. Built-in seating and planters are fabricated from locally-sourced bricks comprised of recycled sand and lime while furnishings follow a cohesive palette of timber, cane, fabric and cord, surrounded by verdant vegetation spilling out of planters and cascading from the ceiling.

On the ground floor, ANIMA, an audiophile bar and restaurant, combines gastronomy with music. Intended as a dedicated space for music lovers and inspired by Japan's "Kissaten", hi-fi cafes predating affordable home stereos, ANIMA is born from the desire to share, exchange and come together. This concept will be reflected in the food and drink offering, designed for sharing and featuring fresh, local and seasonal products with a selection of natural wines, spirits, cocktails and craft beers.

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