We are Weiss–heiten – a pan-European creative network with studios in London, Berlin, Paris and Zurich.
We create new concepts. Develop new designs. And unleash new thinking in our visual work.
We know every job is unique. So we get under the skin of every project and every brand we touch. The result is individual, distinctive, confident design.
We believe in the exchange of ideas, experience and expertise. Each of our studios inspires its peers. As a result, we bring the heart of European culture to our daily life and work.
Aesop House in Cologne
Weiss-heiten designed the interior of Aesop House in Cologne. The original architecture was designed between 1950 and 1960 by Karl Band (1900-1995). Sited on the corner of Pfeilstraße, the five-storey building is among many reconstructed in the 1950s following WWII. The house is a landmark representation of the prevailing post-war architecture and part of the Historical Archive of the city of Cologne.
The ground and first floors house retail areas; the second and third provide office space, meeting areas, a bathroom and kitchen. The fourth and final floor is a dedicated area for thinking, reflection and meditation. As a whole, the structure is an apt, humorous interpretation of the street’s name – its floor plan and roof noticeably mimicking the shape of an arrow head.
Referencing the city’s art history, the concept of the ground-floor retail area is a representation of the back of an artist’s canvas. Honouring its uncelebrated beauty and hidden poetry, raw linen covers the walls and furniture, creating a warm and calming atmosphere.
Shelving, flooring and furniture are crafted from German oak, a metaphor for the frame of the canvas. An original steel staircase, with emerald green marble stairs, spirals upwards to the second retail space, which pays homage to the 1950s design. Similarly, each floor above retains existing architectural details, such as the brick fireplace integrated beneath the staircase that leads to the fourth floor.
Photos
Aesop
Other Projects
