door la Repubblica

Nel 2004 hanno trasformato una centrale elettrica nel Berghain di Berlino. Nel 2026, in un complesso residenziale ispirato a uno chalet africano sulle Alpi svizzere di Gstaad, hanno realizzato Play. Thomas Karsten e Alexandra Erhard dello @studio.karhard di Berlino riflettono su cos’è cambiato nel modo di architettare la notte in questi decenni: “La richiesta di flessibilità. Uno spazio come Play deve poter passare da serate di cinema con audio surround a sessioni di ascolto intime, fino al pieno funzionamento da club. La gamma di funzioni che un singolo luogo deve essere in grado di offrire è cresciuta considerevolmente”.

In 2004, they transformed a power station into Berlin’s Berghain. In 2026, in a residential complex inspired by an African chalet in the Swiss Alps near Gstaad, they created Play. Thomas Karsten and Alexandra Erhard of @Studio.Karhard in Berlin reflect on how the approach to designing nightlife venues has changed over the past few decades: “The demand for flexibility. A space like Play must be able to transition from film nights with surround sound to intimate listening sessions, right through to full-scale club operations. The range of functions that a single venue must be able to offer has grown considerably”.

They work in places where the usual rules governing space are relaxed. Giving tangible form to intangible elements such as music, light and movement. Because, as the architects of the night say, converting a former industrial site into a club, or breathing new life into legendary dancefloors, means designing more for the body than for the eye.

by @valeriomillefoglie.

Discover more in the latest issue of door, on newsstands, and via the link in the bio.