An area at SHA-LA Waterfront with changing facilities and refreshment stations leads onto the mezzanine lounge. Mirror panels, chrome furniture, pale cabinetry and polished dark floors create a clean, futuristic atmosphere, while glimpses of brickwork, curtains and concrete hoppers keep the industrial context in view.

SHA-LA Waterfront Brings Yoga to a 19th-Century Grain Storehouse in Berlin's Kreuzberg

Words by Eric David

Berlin, Germany

Occupying a 19th-century grain storehouse on the banks of the Spree in Kreuzberg, the newest location of Berlin yoga studio SHA-LA eschews the soothing blandness so often embraced by the wellness industry in favour of a characterful hybrid of industrial scruffiness and futuristic polish. Designed by Hannah Roßhirt of Studio Hamara, the building’s monumental proportions and raw materiality are tempered by Zen-inflected calm and sleek contemporary design, reflecting SHA-LA founders Joana Reicherts and Shahed Naji's vision for a design-conscious yet genuinely inclusive community hub.

A chrome floor lamp and rippling mirror-polished wall artwork stand against a pale wall and sheer curtain, distorting reflections into liquid-like forms. The vignette encapsulates Studio Hamara’s sleek material language, where metallic surfaces bring movement and lightness to SHA-LA Waterfront’s composed interior.

Photography by Jordana Schramm.

Seen from the mezzanine, SHA-LA Waterfront’s material contrasts intensify: raw concrete hoppers and weathered brickwork meet chrome molecular lights and rippling mirror-polished artworks. The layered view captures the project’s central dialogue between industrial weight, reflective futurism and Zen-like spatial restraint.

Photography by Jordana Schramm.

The exterior façade of SHA-LA Waterfront reveals the historic grain storehouse’s red-brick architecture, arched openings and cobbled courtyard. Behind the glass, glimpses of curtains, chrome lighting and studio interiors hint at the transformation of the listed industrial building into a contemporary yoga and community space.

Photography by Jordana Schramm.

Yoga mats and wooden blocks are neatly arranged across the polished dark floor of SHA-LA Waterfront’s double-height studio. Overhead, raw concrete hoppers and chrome molecular lights contrast with arched windows, sheer curtains and weathered brickwork, creating a grounded yet quietly theatrical setting for practice.

Photography by Jordana Schramm.

Part of a listed industrial complex built around 1890 and now home to a mix of commercial and workspace uses, the building SHA-LA has taken over originally served as a grain storehouse. Rather than rewrite its industrial past, Roßhirt has embraced it, striking a fine balance between roughness and polish. The building's concrete structure and weathered brick walls remain the anchor, offset by a sleek, futuristic vocabulary of chrome accents and organic forms, and softened by sheer cream curtains that filter the light and temper the scale of the space.

In the main studio, a cathedral-like room defined by tall concrete columns and inverted pyramidal hoppers, chrome spherical lights cluster overhead in molecular formations, while rippling mirror-polished steel panels animate the walls, catching and distorting the light like the surface of the Spree beyond the windows. Polished dark floors amplify the effect, lending the room an almost liquid depth. The connection to the river is more than symbolic: in one of the smaller studios, views over the water become part of the experience, allowing the surroundings to enter the rhythm of practice.

Seen from above, the main studio reveals the sculptural force of the former grain storehouse: massive concrete hoppers descend over polished floors, exposed brick walls and mirror-finish chrome artworks. Soft curtains and reflective lighting temper the brutalist geometry with a more fluid, contemplative atmosphere.

Photography by Jordana Schramm.

  • Blue exercise balls scatter across the polished floor of the main studio, adding a vivid, playful rhythm to the otherwise restrained palette. Exposed brick, concrete columns, cream curtains, chrome lighting and mirror-steel artworks frame the space as both a functional practice room and a sculptural interior.

    Photography by Jordana Schramm.

  • SHA-LA Waterfront’s main studio pairs Kreuzberg industrial grit with Zen-like composure: exposed brickwork, raw concrete columns and inverted hoppers are softened by sheer cream curtains, while polished floors, chrome spherical lights, rippling mirror-steel artworks and a neon line introduce a sleek, futuristic edge.

    Photography by Jordana Schramm.

A mirror-finished chrome ceiling light forms a molecular cluster against SHA-LA Waterfront’s raw concrete hoppers seen from below. Designed by Hannah Roßhirt of Studio Hamara, the detail captures the project’s central tension: industrial heft animated by polished, futuristic accents and warm points of light.

Photography by Jordana Schramm.

A wide view of SHA-LA Waterfront reveals the double-height studio’s architectural drama: raw concrete columns, inverted hoppers, arched windows and polished floors are softened by full-height curtains. The mezzanine, staircase and towel storage integrate circulation and amenities into the studio’s industrial yet composed spatial choreography.

Photography by Jordana Schramm.

A staircase cuts diagonally through SHA-LA Waterfront’s industrial interior, its black metal balustrade and timber handrail set against raw concrete columns and arched windows. Beneath it, custom storage filled with pale green bolsters and towels turns a functional zone into a carefully composed design moment.

Photography by Jordana Schramm.

From the mezzanine stair landing, SHA-LA Waterfront’s layered spatial drama unfolds through concrete beams, black railings, sheer curtains and glimpses of the main studio below. The view frames the building’s industrial skeleton while drawing attention to the polished floors, chrome accents and carefully preserved brickwork.

Photography by Jordana Schramm.

A lounge corner on the mezzanine at SHA-LA Waterfront looks onto the main double-height space. The combines industrial structure with soft, reflective detailing: raw concrete hoppers hang above polished floors, while chrome tables, sculptural metal stools, a green patterned rug and flowing cream curtains frame views down to the main studio’s brick walls and mirror-steel artworks.

Photography by Jordana Schramm.

SHA-LA Waterfront’s mezzanine lounge balances industrial structure with tactile softness: raw concrete beams and arched windows are softened by sheer cream curtains, while forest-green modular seating, a patterned rug, chrome tables and a reflective floor lamp introduce a sleek, sculptural counterpoint.

Photography by Jordana Schramm.

Overlooking the main studio from the mezzanine level, a small lounge offers a relaxed communal pause between classes while acting as a threshold to the changing rooms and more intimate spaces beyond. Here, a sculptural daybed in forest-green upholstery and a matching patterned carpet are paired with polished chrome tables, brushed metal stools and a chrome floor lamp, with sheer cream curtains providing a soft, luminous backdrop. Chrome accents carry through to the adjacent changing rooms, where beige tones and neatly ordered amenities extend the same balance of utility and refinement.

A close-up of the mezzanine lounge highlights its material dialogue: mirror-polished chrome tables and a ribbed metallic vase reflect the green patterned rug and olive velvet daybed. A crumpled steel artwork adds a fluid, almost liquid accent to the room’s futuristic softness.

Photography by Jordana Schramm.

The changing room at SHA-LA Waterfront layers polished dark floors, cream curtains and chrome accents with a softer, almost domestic pause. A sculptural metal bench rests on a circular woven rug, while a refreshment station and mirror-polished wall artwork extend Studio Hamara’s sleek, reflective language.

Photography by Jordana Schramm.

Framed by flowing cream curtains, the mezzanine lounge becomes an intimate pause within the industrial shell. A ribbed forest-green daybed, chrome tables, sculptural metal stools and a patterned rug sit beneath exposed concrete beams, creating a calm, tactile counterpoint to the building’s rawness.

Photography by Jordana Schramm.

An area at SHA-LA Waterfront with changing facilities and refreshment stations leads onto the mezzanine lounge. Mirror panels, chrome furniture, pale cabinetry and polished dark floors create a clean, futuristic atmosphere, while glimpses of brickwork, curtains and concrete hoppers keep the industrial context in view.

Photography by Jordana Schramm.

True to its Sanskrit name, meaning “home”, SHA-LA Waterfront is a grounded, generous space in which Berlin’s industrial fabric is recalibrated for stillness. Folding dynamic yoga, breathwork and sound healing into a broader programme of teacher training, treatments and community-oriented events, it functions as both a place of practice and a social anchor, capturing Kreuzberg's gritty-meets-gentrified character as much as Berlin's modern appetite for mindful living.

  • A quieter room preserves traces of the building’s industrial past through an exposed mechanical wheel suspended near the ceiling. White-painted structure, sheer cream curtains and glossy dark floors create a restrained, meditative atmosphere, balancing functional simplicity with the old grain storehouse’s raw utilitarian memory.

    Photography by Jordana Schramm.

  • A quiet detail frames cream curtains falling to a polished dark floor beside a green plinth and ribbed glass vase. The composition highlights Studio Hamara’s softer interventions, where fabric, shadow and small sculptural accents bring warmth and stillness to the former industrial shell.

    Photography by Jordana Schramm.

SHA-LA Waterfront’s main studio is framed by exposed brickwork, tall concrete columns and full-height cream curtains, with chrome molecular lights glowing overhead. Rippling mirror-polished artworks and a thin neon line animate the raw industrial shell, while polished floors heighten the room’s reflective, river-like atmosphere.

Photography by Jordana Schramm.

Yoga mats and wooden blocks are arranged beneath glowing chrome molecular lights in SHA-LA Waterfront’s main studio. Warm illumination along the brick wall and subtle neon highlights animate the raw concrete shell, while sheer curtains and polished floors temper the industrial setting with atmospheric calm.

Photography by Jordana Schramm.

Seen from above, the studio’s double-height volume opens onto the Spree through tall arched windows draped in sheer curtains. Raw concrete columns, inverted hoppers, polished dark floors and chrome molecular lights create a poised dialogue between industrial monumentality, softness and futuristic refinement.

Photography by Jordana Schramm.