By now you’re probably well aware of Berlin’s status as a global leader in arts, culture, dining, hospitality, nightlife, entertainment and beyond. It hasn’t always been like that, of course, and it’s recently been hyped so much as a “trendy city” that many have declared it to be “over.” But that’s a whole other (and incorrect) argument. We love the city’s vibrant social scene, thriving tech industry, contrasting architecture and even natural beauty – and it’s safe to say you’ll be hearing a lot more about it here on Notable over the next little while.
What enamored us about Berlin was how embracing it is towards concepts – taking fresh ideas, testing them out, ultimately having them define the city. We saw it everywhere from indoor/outdoor, 24-hour clubs complete with canteens and espresso machines to innovative dining installations that vanished as quickly as they set up shop. Not to mention an uncanny ability to turn war bunkers and formerly abandoned landmarks into one-off installations and venues that sold out whatever they were housing on a weekly basis.
When we take the word “concept” and apply it to a car, it makes total sense. It’s an abstract prototype, often developed to gauge consumer interest before committing to full-scale production. But when we apply it to grander projects, like a mall, our understanding gets a little murkier – and also a whole lot more exciting.
We were part of that excitement last week as the world’s first concept mall, Bikini Berlin, officially launched in the German capital. A jigsaw assortment of retail vendors – from local designer boutiques to hot global shops like Acne and Stella McCartney, as well as innovative interior design and art galleries – dining options, office space, and a football field-sized park stretching across much of the roof highlight the four-building complex in the heart of the city’s shopping district. It’s capped off with the highly-rated 25Hours Hotel on top, which also features the equally exciting Monkey Bar, quite literally with a view of the apes below as it overlooks Berlin’s magnificent Tiergarten (zoo). It’s safe to call it a young professional haven in the midst of a quickly revitalizing area that, up until a few years ago, appealed largely to the slightly older shoppers of West Berlin and dozen-odd chains of tourists.
The adaptable nature of this expanse is what piqued our interest during our hours-long first look at Bikini and got us thinking: Why don’t we have this here, and when will it arrive? Bikini Berlin was six years in the making, so we’ll apply that timeframe; here’s why we want to see a concept mall in Canada by 2020:
A new look every visit
The current mall setup – see: large, convention centre-style structure – allows for very little flexibility. One tenant’s contract expires, another tenant moves in. But how often does that actually happen? Multi-year contracts mean shops stay fixed for the duration of their lease, whereas concept malls offer a venue ideal for pop-up shops, bold retail experimentation, limited collection launches and space for local designers to showcase their talent. How great would it be to go to the mall that features a new store directory every time you visit…
Bold retail
The nature of our malls currently means that only big-name or recognized shops take up residence. They’ve proven themselves as successful, multinational chains that have finally chosen your city’s mall as the latest outpost. The problem is that these types of stores most likely already exist somewhere in our city. We’d be willing to skip the convenience of having them all bundled up under one roof to see riskier, more ambitious retail projects by brands who are testing the market in outside-of-the-box ways. We’ve never seen some of the products and designs we stumbled across at Bikini Berlin at a mall before, let alone available for purchase in-store anywhere. That’s notable.
A draw in itself
The word “mall” shouldn’t even apply to what we’re talking about here. It’s more of a shopping experience, a showcase even, with the ability to become an integrated part of the city’s culture given the right location and proper relationship with its surroundings, as opposed to the closed-off mass of concrete outcast to the suburbs we’re used to. It takes some precise planning to tastefully mix retail with landmarks while still spurring a vibrant street life on ground level, but here at Bikini we’ve seen it done. Sandwiched between the iconic Gedaechtniskirche and Tiergarten – a zoo set amidst a Central Park-style surrounding – the project just seems to fit in that particular space, partly because it completely revitalized a 1950s structure that otherwise served little purpose in an area with much potential to be a hot spot for locals and trendy jetsetters alike. There’s plenty of opportunity to seamlessly mould similar projects into our urban centres; the key is to intertwine the structure with the already existing neighbourhood. So pretty much the exact opposite of the ostracizing effect condos have.
But wait, there’s more!
World-class dining, mixed-used office space, art galleries, parks, lounges, cocktail bars, bakeries, hotels and even nightlife venues can all exist within such a concept space. The shapeshifting nature of such a building allows everything you love about Toronto’s King West, West Queen West and Ossington, for example, to be featured in a come-and-go style that suites whatever is in demand at the time. Film festival season? Just watch as the shops, galleries, restaurants and lounges adapt to reflect what’s particularly hot in the city that season. Let’s get it done.
#LYNL | (Live Your Notable Life)
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