Teufel to move headquarters and open a flagship store in Berlin’s Bikinihaus
Teufel is leaving its current location in lovely Schöneberg, but will stay true to its Berlin roots. In 2014, the company plans to move its headquarters to Budapester Straße in a central shopping and tourist area that is home to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, Berlin Zoological Garden, and the historic Zoo Station. A flagship store and demonstration cinema are also planned for the same location: Bikinihaus, a stylish 1950s structure with a story worthy of its unusual name. Designed by architects Paul Schwebes and Hans Schoszberger and completed in 1957, many fashionable brands immediately set up shop in Bikinihaus, transforming the building into a symbol of West Berlin’s vibrant culture. During the 1980s – and in a space soon to be occupied by Teufel’s cinema – Bikinihaus was the location of the cult club Linientreu, a cornerstone of the New Wave scene and frequented by the likes of David Bowie, Nick Cave, and Depeche Mode.
The name Bikinihaus originates from the original design which included an open area supported by pillars on the second floor that divided the building into closed upper and lower sections. Thanks in no small part to Brigitte Bardot, two piece bathing suits were all the rage in 1950s Europe, and so Bikinihaus it became.
Bikinihaus now forms the heart of a larger complex owned by Bayerische Hausbau that includes the Kino Zoo Palast – for years home to the Berlinale Film Festival – as well as the hotel 25hours. Work began in 2010 to restore the complex to the original designers’ vision of a dynamic and vibrate place characterized by a mixture of commercial, entertainment, and natural spaces. As the renovations on Bikinihaus near completion, we at Teufel are very excited to soon be part of this iconic’s building’s next chapter.
Our flagship store is set to open in the spring of 2014. Our headquarters will follow in the summer. Until then, you can get a feel for the area on Bikini Berlin’s nifty live cam. On the bottom left you’ll see the Berlin Zoo’s “Affenberg,” or monkey mountain – the most sought-after office view in all Berlin and it will soon be ours!
