260 Grad

A bar that lets in Berlin's daylight and, come evening, glows with a magic all of its own: with the 260 Grad rooftop bar, OOW demonstrates how modern architecture puts light to optimal use and makes spaces perfectly usable.

The 260 Grad is an all-rounder: a rooftop bar by night, a café and event venue by day – all high above Berlin, with a 120-square-metre terrace and a panoramic view across the capital. The architecture therefore has to fulfil a correspondingly wide range of functions.

By day, the bar holds back, its friendly, sunny atmosphere inviting guests to enjoy the light-flooded space and the 260-degree panorama: from the Oberbaumbrücke along the entire East Side Gallery and on towards the west, where the evening sky is especially beautiful to watch. The black-green of the walls and ceilings forms a fine complementary contrast to the bar, which gleams red-gold through its polished copper.

As it grows darker and night sets in, the magic of the carefully matched materials and colours unfolds. The brightly lit bar now becomes the magnet of the roughly 300 m² space. The back bar – likewise in copper, with integrated glass shelves – is brought to the fore with uplights. The black-green of the walls and ceilings, which by day harmoniously complemented the red-gold, now takes on a new role: it deepens the darkness and draws the bar further into the centre of attention. The copper-clad bar reflects the sunset across the entire room – and the natural spectacle carries over into the space.

The design is completed by solid-wood parquet flooring and distinctive designer furniture, such as the Roche Bobois sofa upholstered in Kenzo fabrics – an eye-catcher at the heart of the bar.

The 260 Grad makes OOW's ambition for architecture clear: to create spaces that are not only visually stunning but also highly functional for guests and operators alike. Every seat running to the left and right along the façade, for example, offers an incomparable view. Above the bar and the stage, a suspended ceiling section of lacquered expanded metal provides space for stage technology – loudspeakers, projector, screen and stage lighting make it possible to stage a wide variety of events flawlessly. When no event is taking place, the technology integrates seamlessly into the design of the room.