This is an architect who mostly works by two mantras: use cost-effective building methods and implement a reasonable energy economy. Why? Not because he’s a born energy saver – as a teenager, he always preferred to leave the lights on. It’s simply because it makes sense, he says. It’s just that the man who established one of the most important creative centers in Berlin – a polycarbonate building at Berlin’s Brunnenstrasse 9 – likes brightly lit living spaces a little too much.

Naturally, his Antivilla is opulently lit as well – in this case by former church lights. But the lights are just one feature of the former lingerie factory building in Krampnitz, near Potsdam, that’s currently causing a stir. It’s also the Antivilla’s sustainable energy concept, and its most visually striking feature, the giant windows Arno and his friends carved out with a sledgehammer to provide better views of the lake. For him, the view is one of the most important facets of the Antivilla, alongside the architect’s cost-effective building methods.