Filtered Rays is the name of a colorful pavilion created by London-based designer Yinka Ilori as an event space for the Hotel Estrel Berlin here in Germany.
Located on the banks of the Neuköllner Schifffahrtskanal, this pavilion is one of the latest public interventions created by the designer who recently worked on a gorgeous skatepark in Miami.
I visited the area at the end of August 2022, and you can learn more about it below.
The designer’s idea was to create a space that could bring people together through a meditative and reflective experience. This was done by combining colored cones in several layers to create a filter for the outside view.
This pavilion becomes an illuminated space at the water’s edge that encourages people to see the world differently. And you can have one of the city’s most visually exciting ping-pong tables.
Filtered Rays were purposely made of colors. Yinka Ilori believes that colors have many uses in architecture and the spaces we walk through. Also, the excellent service of colors can help improve any experience and your mental health.
Filtered Rays was designed as a permanent pavilion for the Hotel Estrel Berlin. However, Yinka Ilori chose to develop the project in a collapsible way so that the entire place could be dismantled and transported to another location.
Filtered Rays are located on the edge of an area where the expansion of a highway is being built. The area has been covered in fences and in the works for years. I visited the place a few days ago during a bike ride through my neighborhood. I found it strange to come across this colorful pavilion in the middle of a not very inhabited neighborhood area.
Furthermore, the region where this pavilion was made appears to be a new target for local gentrification. The area has recently been taken over by real estate co-working spaces, and local spaces such as Griessmühle have closed.
As such, I see Yinka Ilori’s Filtered Rays as an example of design being used to convince people that the gentrification caused by real estate exploitation will be good for some. As it comes with shiny objects that will be a hit on Instagram.
So, whenever you go there for pictures, remember that the shiny objects in front of you can be just a distraction for actual state exploitation.
You can find Filtered Rays by Yinka Ilori between the Hotel Estrel Berlin and the Neuköllner Schifffahrtskanal, very close to the S-Sonnennallee train station.
Leaving the station, you need to go under the bridge and walk to where construction work is taking place. When you see a triangular-shaped building, you’ll know you’re in the right place.
Filtered Rays by Yinka Ilori in Berlin-Neukölln
Hotel Estrel, Ziegrastraße 2, 12057 Berlin
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