Here’s a nice mural in Erfurt, Germany by Italian graffiti artist MP5 in collaboration with all-female crew TO / LET.

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Rigaer 105 is a non-commercial project room based in Berlin. It attempts to operate in a non-consumerist and non-capitalist way and it’s run on volunteer basis by young people from across Europe. The aim is promote cultural exchange and social understanding, making it an open and inclusive space for people wanting to exchange ideas, knowledge and abilities.

There are groups on photography, drawing, painting, digital music, and even German classes. Anyone can propose a new project to be organised in the rooms, be volunteer and take shifts in the teahouse, or help with cooking Vokü (Volksküche or Peoples’ Kitchen: one hot meal made each night, usually vegan or vegetarian).

Not since the UGG has there been a shoe that is both equal parts comfy and ugly. Worishofer’s Granny Sandals are the newest favorite of the young celeb hipster set. With fans like indie-queen Maggie Gyllenahaal and Michelle Williams, the German-made sandal is made of the softest leathers and small wedge heel. Pair it with a vintage sundress or a geriatric chic house dress.

We love the satchel bags of German label George, Gina and Lucy spotted at Australian Fashion Week’s Emerge Showcase. Here, innovative use of wetsuit fabric (how very Aussie) contrasts wonderfully with what looks like an old-school private school tie used as piping. Hence it’s name: Sophomore Love. An unexpected mix, but we reckon expect to see more of these urban satchels slung over a shoulder near you soon.

The striking new building that houses the Unilever Headquarters for Northern Europe in Hamburg, Germany, is an attempt by the company to put sustainability at the forefront of their identity. The structure, designed by Benisch Architekten, consumes less than 100 Kwh/a m² of energy, and features a transparent “outer skin” to minimize heat gain from the sun and wind effect from the adjoining river.

The layout of the building aims to be like a stacked, ‘vertical village’ with various distinct paths that converge on town center-like meeting areas, bridges, and food courts, encouraging employees to interact in the open, spacious interior. Still, one wonders how a company whose primary line of products includes petroleum jelly and other synthetic substances packaged in plastic, can claim to take sustainability seriously.

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I was wandering around the permanent collection at the Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart, which is really quite impressive — they have works from almost every important Western artist you can think of. The room devoted to Bauhaus painter, sculptor, and dancer Oskar Schlemmer was particularly striking, with an entire display of the costumes for his ‘Triadic Ballet’. I could barely believe the pieces were meant to be worn, with their various features and bulbous shapes impeding the dancers’ normal movement. I would love to see this performance replicated, maybe with a duplicate set of costumes.

Through striking imagery of gravity-defying beans, toast, herring, and more, German photographer, Oliver Schwarzwald, has turned ordinary brekkie into something amazing. Originally shot for German magazine Feld Hommes, this series of beautifully composed photographs lovingly treats naked food — stripped of bowls, spoons, or cups — as its subject.

Aptly titled International Breakfast, Schwarzwald’s collection is clever and creative, covering the typical morning meal from the UK to Russia to Sweden and France (where, of course, cigarettes are involved). Admittedly, the series has bared the brunt of some complaints over accuracy (are Russians really drinking vodka with their morning meal?). Either way, the stellar images are bound to wake-up your senses and start your morning off right.

Nicolas Arnold comes from a small village in northern Germany, where he spent 19 years of his life. After he graduated from school he moved to Hamburg, where he currently resides. He had an apprenticeship at a multimedia studio until 2005 when he started studying at the Hamburg Academy of Arts. He now works as a motion designer and photographs for a motion graphics studio.

German painter Armin Rohr’s works look like stills from Stan Brakhage films, all acid-washed, scratched out, and ethereal like a sudden flood of memories.

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German illustrator Roman Klonek sucks you right into his topsy-turvy world of smiling cartoons and graphic woodcuts. I particularly enjoy his use of type to create images reminiscent of vintage eastern European ads.

German illustrator Sophia Martineck’s own description of herself as ‘The Sophisticated Pencil Girl’ is actually rather fitting. Colored pencils were always one those materials the professors always tried to steer us illustrators away from, but Martineck has me rethinking all of that. I really enjoy her flat use of the pencils and the subtle texture they impart.

London-based design studio PostlerFerguson has been creating super realistic and accurate looking paper guns and other arms. Three of them will be released by German design publisher Gestalten. So now you can make your own!

German-based Michael Arndt spent six years and a bucket of dough constructing a McLaren Formula One car from 956,000 matchsticks and 1,686 tubes of glue. The car, which can be broken down into 45 pieces for transport, has a top speed of zero miles per hour. But damn, it looks fun to drive.

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Heinrich Kley was an illustrator working in turn-of-the-century Germany. Primarily remembered for his paintings of industrial landscapes and machinery as well as his satirical, humorous, and topical drawings that tackled the social issues afflicting his country between the two world wars, Kley gained some Stateside notoriety with his drawings appearing in Coronet Magazine and Walt Disney becoming an avid collector of his work.

OroVerde, a German non-profit dedicated to preserving the rainforests of the world, has unveiled a new poster that shows a wide range of bulldozers and heavy equipment, describing them as invasive species of the rainforest.

A university lecturer’s elderly father pays a prostitute to leave her profession and live with him, then accidentally kills her, kicking off a series of events with the only common link being those implicated attempting to do one good dead. The university lecturer attempts to find the prostitute’s estranged daughter, who is at the same time being chased by authorities in different countries because of her political activities. Set in Germany and Turkey, and told in several languages, this is a truly international film that focuses on a search for meaning and purpose in an otherwise mundane existence. The scenery plays a central role in the many quiet scenes, often conveying intense emotions. While difficult to watch, this is a film that is not easily forgotten, making it both powerful and beautiful.

The Andreas Binder gallery in Munchen, Germany, is showing an exhibition of works by the artist Tina Berning. In her latest series, she investigates the connections between conditioned aesthetics and individual self-determination. Captured on found paper, Berning liberates what is locked inside the frozen masks of the lifestyle and consciousness industry. She creates both a subjective and critical view of the human body, its shortcomings, and its basic affinity for beauty. Streaks of color are laid over fine outlines, bodies fall, spots and spaces overlay the transparent characters. The exhibition runs between January 23rd and March 7th.

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Fitting Forward is a new Hamburg based Concept-Store which shows what simmers secretly behind the scenes. Every two months a new headstrong theme world will evolve out of a composition of fashion, product, accessories and illustration. The platform of the shop is a deep black lacquered room-in-room installation. A three dimensional walk-in sketchbook provides space for different artists and illustrators to draw themes onto the walls, ceiling and floor. The shop has a partnership with Edding, the pencil company, so they can change the styles easily to suit the themes. Aforestdesign joined Fitting Forward in its first theme: The TalenTierT – The Zoo Of Uniqueness, which was launched at the beginning of December. The first theme is about weird creatures, wondrous animals and bewildering absurdity. In the zoo of uniqueness you will find elephant-jumpers, parrot-jackets, lonely-wolf-lamps and bunny-mask-broochs, all gathered under the absurd-species-protection-program.

Since the beginning, architects have been faced by the challenge of housing the ever unpinnable idea of music. The challenge here is the Elbe Philharmonic Hall in Hamburg, Germany. Basel-based architects, Herzog and de Meuron have created an ephemeral glass tent-like structure perched on top of an existing heavy modernist abandoned warehouse. The warehouse will be composed mainly of parking and back of house, while the glass structure incorporates concert halls, restaurants, bars, apartments and a luxury hotel. Clearly, this is a tremendously exciting alteration and addition to an existing site and building, with this new ice sculpture reflecting the surrounding changing environment and the soaring notes within. Completion is scheduled for 2010.

I’ve yet to find out what they put in the water in Germany that generates such a consistently rich stream of good electronica. Carrying the torch at the moment is Hendrik Weber, aka Pantha du Prince, whose early 2007 release, This Bliss, landed on my doormat with a deep bass-kick and hasn’t left my iPod since. The album builds and builds, from the stripped-down and steady opening of Asha, through the ambient Saturn Strobe and upwards. It’s all fairly minimal yet distinguished by the expanse of sound and exquisite production that stands him apart from other generic ‘deep house-electronica’ producers, a label that is often off-putting. Listen to his song, Saturn Strobe.