Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset saw beauty and potential in an old water-pumping station in suburban Berlin. These two artists (formerly a couple, now just artistic partners), after having lived in Berlin for some years without investing in property, finally took the plunge and purchased the out-of-place space. They soon began renovations with the help of two young architects, Nils Wenk and Jan Wiese, and completed the project in about a year. Keeping most of the original architecture, the two artists saw the space as a spatial challenge, "somewhere we could apply the concepts we had been working with in our art." For example, four large vents in the upper floor once used for ventilation have been transformed into a fireplace, a table, a guest bed, and an embedded bathtub. Now the water-pumping station is both home and studio, and perhaps a work of art in itself. Join discussion...