“Taking over the Mall of Berlin is a concrete step against the dying-out of clubs in Berlin,” Club Commission (BCC) board member Sascha Disselkamp told the Berliner Zeitung.

In fact, the organization wanted to highlight the threat to the Berlin club scene from building projects such as the planned extension of the A100 road, which is menacing the land currently occupied by several world-famous clubs.

Board members' suggestion to turn the struggling shopping mall into a giant cultural centre called “Hall of Berlin” was met with enthusiasm by the over 140 members of the BCC, many of whom offered to take over running parts of the centre.

“My vision of a 'Techno Tower' bringing musical culture and the creative economy within arm's reach would return to its origins in Berlin Mitte,” Tresor club owner Dimitri Hegemann told the newspaper.

There was more than a hint of Schadenfreude to Hegemann's words, as he was forced to move his club out of the Leipziger Straße site of the Mall of Berlin in 2005 by the property developers.

Opened in September, the Mall of Berlin faces woes on multiple fronts.

The company managing the project, FCL Fettchenhauer Controlling GmbH, declared bankruptcy last week with debts of over €4 million to suppliers outstanding.

And Romanian workers demonstrated in previous weeks outside the shopping centre over unpaid wages.

Managers at the mall have until December 17th to fix fire safety problems, including blocked emergency exits, exposed cables and a faulty alarm system, or face closure.

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