We visited both the newly redesigned AM store and AM Möbel + Architektur space to learn more about the idea behind their design, and about Murkudis’ take on the rise of concept stores…
Can you tell us a bit about the recent developments of the Andreas Murkudis brand and how it has evolved over the years?
Andreas Murkudis: Well I first started with one store in Mitte, then opened another one and yet another one in the backyard of Münzstraße. Four years ago, we all moved together here to Potsdamer Straße, in the old Tagesspiegel building, and since then the store has been growing. In summer 2014, we opened AM+ in Bikini Berlin, a concept mall, and then in May 2015, AM Möbel + Architektur was opened on Potsdamer Straße 77. To me, it’s all about the spaces and how they’re all connected to each other as well as the objects and the garments. You’ll never find something I wouldn’t want to own myself in one of my stores.
What was the idea behind the interior design for the main store with the newly designed small hall?
Andreas Murkudis: I love to discover beautiful things and there were so many new brands that I wanted to include but had difficulty because of space limitations. I like it when objects and products can breathe and have space to be discovered by store visitors. When I noticed the AM store at Potsdamer Straße getting a bit full, I wanted to bring back the airiness we originally had. At the same time, I somehow wanted to democratize the store a bit – to have beautiful things for everybody. We now have a much wider price range and I hope visitors can find their own piece or object of beauty inside these halls. As for the redesign of the smaller hall, we just worked with the design that was already there – so the entrance hall is dominated by white and the smaller hall is black now. There are these black tiles from the 60s from when Tagesspiegel was still in these rooms, which are very special to Gonzalez Haase AAS and I. The displays are also black and the products correspond with them – my hope is that the way the space and products are connected will resonate with people.