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Mr. Becker, you worked for Norman Foster and richard rogers in London before<br />
you set up your office in Berlin. What brought you to Berlin of all places? Was it<br />
the euphoria of reunification?<br />
Not only German reunification but also the expansion of the EU turned a great deal<br />
of things upside down. To experience these revolutions right in the epicentre of<br />
developments, i.e. in Berlin, was, and still is, real living. This openness and inspira-<br />
tion magically attracts creative people. The city is full of wonderful people ... and in<br />
Berlin there‘s still lots of room for something new.<br />
When you embark on your projects you establish that you will keep trying to<br />
find new architectural solutions, even with such supposedly conventional build-<br />
ing projects as building flats.<br />
Our clients and ourselves are constantly looking for better schemes and designs<br />
that find expression in creations full of character. It‘s only with better solutions that<br />
you can stand out from the run-of-the-mill.<br />
How important is innovation for you?<br />
I think, basically, that we can improve people‘s lives by what we do. That is our great<br />
motivation. Here my idea of innovation goes beyond pure innovation of design or<br />
technology and aims at solutions in terms of content. What matters to us is nothing<br />
less than new ideas for urban life.<br />
In what way?<br />
Whether we‘re building offices or residential accommodation, we maintain that<br />
more and more we are creating buildings with a village feel. Where earlier it took<br />
hundreds of years for a village to evolve, today they are being built in a few years. In<br />
spite of that they have a social life and a feeling of community. People feel at ease<br />
with each other and with the architecture surrounding them.<br />
Is there a secret recipe for this?<br />
No. It can only be created if you give a lot of serious thought to what people really need.<br />
Where do people get together, where can they meet each other, where can they share in<br />
other people‘s lives but also where can they retreat to, where can they live their private lives,<br />
where can they work in peace? All our projects take just these questions into account.<br />
ThE ARChITECT<br />
Eike Becker and his partner, Helge Schmidt, run one of the<br />
most successful architects‘ offices in Europe. A large number<br />
of prizes, awards and exhibitions document the success of<br />
Eike Becker_Architekten. With the “Fehrbelliner” Höfen, Eike<br />
Becker is realising his personal dream project. In an interview<br />
he revealed what architecture must achieve today and how you manage to create an<br />
environment where people will also feel at home tomorrow.<br />
INTERVIEW stephan Burkoff PORTRAIT Christian Brox<br />
How do you think the relationship between living, lei-<br />
sure and work will actually develop in future and how<br />
will you react to this in your projects?<br />
We are experiencing more and more the merging of these<br />
different environments. This can be seen already very clear-<br />
ly today particularly with work and home life. One reason for<br />
this is that work today has a different status from what it<br />
had a few years ago. Today people are trying to create more<br />
personal space and to link all areas of their life as sensibly<br />
and inspirationally as possible. In our latest project in Ber-<br />
lin, the “Fehrbelliner” complex, we have the best conditions<br />
for such a modern way of life. Living in a one room 34 m 2<br />
apartment, working from a 400 m 2 house with a view over<br />
Berlin, very high ceilings, large bathrooms, a combination of<br />
a hotel and home – we have developed 80 different types<br />
of residential accommodation suitable for the most varied<br />
requirements with lots of space to sit and think on your own.<br />
Because the people living in the “Fehrbelliner” complex will<br />
be as diverse and varied as Berlin is.