"Superb for visitors who prefer the flexibility of an apartment to a hotel room"

Mind Bender

"Berlin Mitte is still an architectural hotchpotch of a district that presents a challenge to adventurous architects keen on undertaking a little 'bridgework' in small spaces.

Britta Jürgens and Matthew Griffin and their Deadline Office for Architectural Services acquired themselves just such a war-damaged, semi-built site a few years ago on which they chose to build their first building. The result is a very Berlin-style take on urban living.

Not only is the 'Bender' building, with its curved aluminium and glass curtain wall, one of the most exciting examples of add-on architecture in town, but it's also a superb pied-à-terre for visitors who prefer the flexibility of an apartment to a hotel room.

Jürgens and Griffin have managed to pack eight remarkably spacious minilofts into the building by causing it to bulged outwards over its tiny ground floor which contains a shop and underground parking for four cars.

The modestly priced lofts give guests the kudos of living in a real architectural highlight only ten minutes away from the Reichstag - priceless."