9 March 2007

The Crepe Hut: Update

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Buildings ∕ Interview

crepe_sergio.jpg

This is Sergio in his wheeled crêpe hut. Sergio because “it’s easier for people to remember than Selçik,” which is his real name. That’s how he introduces himself to me today when I express an interest in his micro-construction, and surprise him with an order for a crêpe topped only with icing sugar. “Most people want Nutella,” he explains.

Selçik built the box himself but expresses a desire to improve things: “These metal braces are pretty ugly,” he says, “and I want to cover up all the electrics at the back.” I’m actually quite taken by the honesty of the materials: everything’s on show. I ask him if he had to push his neighbours apart so as to fit the box in: “No, the space was already there.” I tell him I like that fact that he can write directly onto the box with chalk, and we discuss the merits of Siebdruckplatten (multi-layered screen-printing boards) which make up the front of the box.

New additions to the hut since my last visit are the horse-shoe shaped sign on the roof, visible from the other side of Rosenthaler Platz, and the snakey red and blue light tubes.

SLAB salutes the crêpe box: this is architecture.
And Selçik makes a pretty decent pancake, too.