Best of Interior 2021: Ester Bruzkus

The jury has now honored the winning projects at the “Best of Interior” Award 2021 in Munich. At the same time, the book accompanying the competition presents the 50 best submissions on over 300 pages.

Svenja Bechtel, project manager at Ester Bruzkus Architekten, speaks into the moderator’s microphone. It was a wrong color used by the painter that gave the planners the idea for the dominant (and eponymous) color of their project: green. The jury of the “Best of Interior” Award 2021 confirmed to Ester Bruzkus and her team just how right this decision was. Their submission “The Green Box” was awarded first prize in the competition. This is the second win for the Berlin office, which already won the award in 2018.

The centerpiece of the design for a 120-square-meter penthouse apartment in a new building in Berlin is a large-format built-in unit, the aforementioned box. It divides the floor space into different zones and also creates plenty of storage space. At the same time, it sets the main color accent in the open-plan apartment with its vibrant shade of green. The architects cleverly combine other materials and colors: brass, pink marble, green natural stone. Certainly not a budget project, but perfectly implemented, “The Green Box” is this year’s deserved winner of the “Best of Interior” award 2021.

Ceilings dare color at the “Best of Interior” Award 2021

Ester Bruzkus Architekten have been among the most renowned interior designers in this country for years. In contrast, the five recognitions at the “Best of Interior” Award 2021 went to even lesser-known architecture and interior design firms. For example, Moser und Hager Architekten from Linz, who restored Anna Moser’s parents’ house in an exemplary manner. During the initial work, the architect couple came across a historic ceiling painting under thick layers of paint. With the help of experts, they then painstakingly removed the overpaintings so that the ceiling painting now shines again in its former glory. However, the two architects did not return all the walls and paint residues to their original state. Others retained their patina and were merely conserved. Moser and Hager also designed furnishings that are refreshingly simple and independent, but do not try to steal the show from the historical elements.

Another “Best of Interior” award 2021 went to Berlin for the “Minimal Flat” by Fabian Freytag Studio. Freytag’s 30-square-metre apartment in Lichtenberg is a successful example of living in a small space. His conversion of a one-bedroom apartment in a 1960s building demonstrates a bold use of color and original solutions.

A cross-section of the interior design scene

The Parisian studio Razavi converted an apartment with 80 square meters of living space in Lyon. (Read our article on this project in Baumeister 8/2021) The architects managed a balancing act. On the one hand, they carefully restored the 16th century building fabric, while on the other, they created an interior that Aldo Rossi would probably have loved.

A total of 50 projects are presented in the “Best of Interior 2021” volume published by Callwey-Verlag. The interior design ranges from playful to minimalist and thus represents a comprehensive cross-section of the interior design scene in German-speaking countries. The book, written by Guido Heinz Frinken and Ute Laatz, is available in stores from today.

Guido Heinz Frinken/Ute Laatz:
Best of Interior 2021: The 50 most beautiful living concepts
320 pages, hardcover
Munich: Callwey 2021
ISBN 978-3-7667-2532-5
59,95 Euro

You can read more about interiors and design in Baumeister 8/2021 , where we also present Studio Razavi’s project in detail.