Renovating in Berlin, in English. From design to done, without the language wall.
ZEIA is a small Romanian-Swiss architecture studio, run by the two of us. We plan and run interior renovations in Berlin — in English, from the first call to the last snag.
A Berlin renovation has its own character. The Altbau that will not take a bathroom where you want one. The Hausverwaltung that must approve before anyone lifts a hammer. Three quotes, all in German legalese, all different, none comparable. You can live here for years, work here, raise children here — and still be treated as a beginner the moment you want to move a wall.
You should not have to become fluent in German building law to get a kitchen you love. That is our job. We design the flat around the way you actually live, we know what the building will and will not allow, and we say so early — before it costs you anything.
A house we are building now
Up in the mountains, a family house lined entirely in pale timber — walls, ceiling, floor, one calm material carrying the whole room. A black woodstove, a bench built into the wall, and glass from floor to roof so the valley does the decorating.
Nothing in it is generic, because everything in it was decided with the family — down to where you sit when the fog comes up the valley in the morning.
A Berlin flat is a different brief: other rules, other bones, other light. The care is the same. We design the room around your life, and we stay with it until it is built.
What we bring to a renovation
We design around how you actually live and the things you carried with you — not a catalogue look. If it could belong to anyone, we have not finished.
Every drawing, quote and decision reaches you in English. On site we speak German with the trades, so nothing is lost in either direction.
Load-bearing walls, wet rooms, listed facades, house rules — we know what a Berlin building will and will not allow, and we say so early. When a job needs a German architect's sign-off, we bring in a local partner we trust.
You set the envelope early, you see the cost behind each choice, and nothing changes without you. Surprises on the bill come from decisions made without you, and we do not work that way.
How a renovation goes
Thirty minutes, in English, online or at your flat. You tell us what the place is and what it is missing. No pitch.
We come and see the flat, watch how the light moves through the day, look at what you already own and love. We write a short brief together first — and flag anything the building will not allow.
Concept first, then the details: materials, light, the built-in pieces. You see and decide everything, with the cost behind each choice on the table.
We coordinate the trades in German, keep you informed in English, and stay on it to the finished room. Then we stay reachable for the snags.
Thirty minutes in English, no pitch, to hear what you want this home to feel like. If we are not the right studio for it, we will say so, and point you to someone who is.
A few honest questions
Do you run the whole renovation in English?
Yes. Every conversation, drawing, quote and decision reaches you in English — it is how the two of us work anyway. With the trades on site we speak German, so nothing is lost in either direction.
We rent our flat. Can we still renovate?
For a full renovation you need to own the flat, or have your landlord's written go-ahead. For lighter work it depends on what you want to change. We will be honest early about what is realistic either way.
How long does a renovation take?
A bathroom is weeks; a whole flat is months. We will not pretend there is one number before we have seen the place. What we promise: a real schedule once we have, and a warning when it moves — before it moves, not after.
What does it cost?
It depends on the flat and on what you want — anyone who names a price before seeing either is guessing. You set the envelope early, we design inside it, and you see the cost behind each choice before you commit to it.
Do you deal with the Hausverwaltung and the trades?
Yes, in German, directly. Approvals, house rules, quotes, site coordination — you hear about them in English, in plain words, with a recommendation attached.
Where in Berlin do you work?
All of Berlin, and out to the edges where families settle — Pankow, Köpenick, Teltow, Stahnsdorf. Leipzig too. Half of the studio lives between countries, so travelling to you is not a problem.