SIX QUICK ONES WITH SAM CHERMAYEFF

Sam Chermayeff is an architect and furniture designer (and artist!) based in Berlin and NYC. He and his office create unconventional architecture as well as exciting pieces for one's home. He recently realized a building at Kurfürstenstrasse, an answer to our demand of modern collective living spaces. Glass facades meet exposed concrete, and a busy Kurfürstenstrasse on the front meets a quiet, peaceful backyard. Very special: Each unit consists of one double-high space and except for bathroom enclosures, there are no interior walls. Sam is also known for creating extraordinary kitchens. We had the pleasure of asking him our favorite six questions.

Fantastic Frank: Dear Sam, firstly we would like to acknowledge that you are one of the architects in Berlin that we truly admire. And we have to admit, there are very few. So to have you as an interview partner is a true honor. Thanks for having us! Please define your style (of working)!

Sam Chermayeff: Well. We try to have fun and also be practical. We love details but it is never about details. It should come out a little effortless and that leads to the part of work wherein we stand there hoping it looks easy while we are quietly saying that it was hard work and that this thing, we’ve made, is actually useful.

Your dream project to design/build? Or maybe you already did?
We like what we already do. It is more the people who we work for and want to work for that matter. That said, we’d like the work to respond and speak with an ever larger swath of the world. So maybe we want to make housing and think about living for people who we do not yet understand.

Your current favorite restaurant (in Berlin or somewhere else in the world)?
I like Barra. It is fancy but also kind of straight forward. You can have a little or a lot. You can make it feel like it is a birthday or just Tuesday.

Your favorite app!
It is all so ephemeral.

Your favorite building in Europe?
There are a lot of good ones. At this moment I am interested in decay and I am dreaming about concrete turning a bit green. So, Gottfried Böhm’s church in Neviges.

Your one piece of furniture you take with you on every move?
I move a lot. And I have a lot of furniture. Way way more than just for myself. I furnish several other people’s homes beside my own. Nothing is exactly consistent. I like a new piece when I get it in a new place to live. After a while I over crowd it (all) and then need to take drastic measures.

Sam, it's been an honor to have you and we hope we will see many more of your creations around Berlin and Germany, we really need them.

Images 1-4 and 7-8 are credited to Oliver Helbig
Images 5-6 are by Jeroen Verrecht