Creative industry
Inside an old Berlin factory, interior architect and artist Ewelina Makosa and designer Jan Garncarek have created an inspiring, light-filled art studio.
WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY Anne Catherine Scoffoni
Combining manor houses with housing estates, and industrial locations with idyllic parks and natural lakes, the Berlin district of Reinickendorf is both relaxed and inspiring.
“Life moves at a much slower pace here, compared to Berlin’s city centre,” Ewelina explains. “The lack of trendy cafés and restaurants provides ideal conditions for genuine contemplation and focus. In addition, the local lake is a great summer destination.”
Ewelina and Jan, both originally from Poland, couldn’t have picked a better place to grow their work. The couple settled in their art studio in 2017. The warehouse was a former factory that was likely to have been used as a storehouse for aeroplane parts during World War II.
"Our space changes constantly..."
The building had remained unnoticed for many decades, until several years ago when a carpenter leased and renovated the property, sectioning the available space into several artistic workshops.
Ewelina and Jan made it just in time to stop the full-blown renovation works and claim it completely for themselves. They managed to save the original walls and floorings: witnesses of the times when the workstations and machinery were being disassembled.
The interior, designed by Ewelina, is not an obliteration of such traces. On the contrary – she has allowed them to function on their own in a vertical space, over five metres tall. A space that is clear and undisturbed by an excess of items.
Searching for traces and remnants of the past as well as studying the broadly understood problem of memory – are all recurring themes developed by Ewelina in her art. The building’s space conceals a plethora of traces and imprints of human labour and history, the couple wished to preserve.
Partially painted in white, the dwelling’s exposed concrete structures imbues the studio with a soothing austerity, enhanced by the large loft windows that bathe the space with an ever-changing peplum of natural light.
“We did only some basic renovations, mostly ourselves. We loved the raw walls, and wanted to keep it as it is, adding some nice furnishings. In general, our space changes constantly; it depends on what art project we are working on at that moment. We also love experimenting in the space when it comes to interior, design or art. The space itself is an inspiration,” explains Ewelina.
AN ARTISAN HOME Ewelina’s painting hangs on the wall alongside furniture and lighting designed by Jan.
Blessed with ample daylight, tall ceilings, and peaceful surroundings, not to mention a handpicked group of creative neighbours, the property that the Polish couple took over not only made for an inspiring studio but also turned out to be a great place to call home.
“All this makes for a stimulating environment in which diverse projects can be brainstormed and eventually developed in various directions,” mentions Ewelina.
The space is sparsely furnished with a selection of Jan’s designs as well as vintage pieces such as the Tatra sofa mass-produced in Czechoslovakia in the 1950s. Predominantly made of brass and channelling a pre-war, art deco aesthetic, Jan’s pendant, desk and wall lamps add accents of opulence and refinement into the studio’s otherwise industrial starkness, while their hand-crafted quality echoes the human labour that once filled the premises.
INSPIRED INTERIORS Ewelina describes the home as eclectic with new and vintage elements.
Some of them are still prototypes, like the glass office desk and the living room coffee table. Others such as the Hasta lamp (imitating fencing foils belonging to Jan’s grandfather) or the U2 suspensions lamps have already acquired the status of desirable and highly acclaimed collectible design pieces under the brand name of Jan Garncarek Design.
On the mezzanine level, hardwood flooring and white curtains soften the starkness of the exposed concrete surfaces while a free-standing bathtub, cheekily suspended on timber supports, further stokes the dialogue between the hand-crafted and mass-produced that runs through the project – a fitting discourse for a studio housing the practices of both an artist and a designer.
As Ewelina discovered, the loft windows are particularly useful when making large-format paintings. As an artist, she is always amazed by the warm light within the workshop, which plays on the warehouse’s surfaces, creating an aura of daybreak lucidity or hazy twilight – depending on the time of day and year.
Ewelina describes the workspace’s overall style and design as eclectic, with various elements of new and vintage coming together. “The place is like a haven to us. It lets us quiet down and focus, simultaneously providing an inexhaustible source of inspiration,” says Ewelina.
