ArchShowcase 
Sumit Singhal
Sumit Singhal loves modern architecture. He comes from a family of builders who have built more than 20 projects in the last ten years near Delhi in India. He has recently started writing about the architectural projects that catch his imagination. Andel’s Berlin Hotel in Germany by Jestico + WhilesDecember 1st, 2011 by Sumit Singhal
Article source: Jestico + Whiles Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 the drive to rebuild and redefine the city has sparked ambitious development projects. This dynamism and Germany’s central location in Europe makes Berlin a thriving centre for business and a vibrant destination for tourists.  Image Courtesy Ales Jungmann
 Image Courtesy Ales Jungmann Jestico + Whiles’s fourth hotel for the Andel’s brand of modern business hotels capitalizes on this. The hotel makes a significant contribution to the redevelopment of part of East Berlin, revitalizing a former apartment building by Studio Aldo Rossi near Alexanderplatz. This unfinished concrete structure had been abandoned shortly after the wall came down and remained empty ever since.  Image Courtesy Ales Jungmann It is converted from the shell of the redundant “Landsberger Arkaden” On Landsberger Allee 106, Berlin. This was designed by Studio Aldo Rossi as a mixed use retail, commercial and residential scheme. Works were halted on site in the early nineties due to a lack of funding, where the topped-out structure sat unfinished and unoccupied for a decade and a half. In 2007, following the acquisition of the shell, Jestico + Whiles were appointed as interior designers to create the fourth and largest Andel’s hotel, with almost 600 keys.  Image Courtesy Ales Jungmann The form of the building is reminiscent of a classic four-sided castle enceinte, with unique tower at each of its four corners. This allowed development of the wings as a guest rooms on a double loaded corridor with either “city” or “courtyard” aspect, with special suites and combinations of suites in the towers. The concept is built off the solid foundation of the Andel’s brand principles. Function and comfort are given equal priority, to accommodate the needs of both business and leisure guests. The spaces are uncluttered and crisp but softened by focused textural enhancement. Materials are carefully chosen to be discrete but effective. Colours are to be fun and stimulating but also calming.  Image Courtesy Ales Jungmann Above all, the design is understated but memorable. Supplementary to the guest experience, Andel’s Berlin offers one of the largest conferencing facilities in the city, with 16 meeting rooms, a large ballroom and a separate basement exhibition hall. All of these are linked by generous break-out spaces which continue the guest lobby language.  Image Courtesy Ales Jungmann Linked to the lobby at ground floor is the grand, double height, ‘Oskars’ bar. Enlivening the corner of Landsberger Allee and Storkower Strasse, its monolithic stone tile interior is juxtaposed with accents of colour from the lounge furniture and stacked glass bar. The sky bar, in the crown of the tallest corner tower, has 360 degree views of the City. It is a louche and loungy loft space, lined with anthracite polished plaster, scored to reveal a lining of fuschia suede. The hotel also boasts a destination Fine Dining restaurant with 60-covers, serving gourmet Austrian cuisine with a dedicated sommelier and wine cellar. There is also further dining for over 500 guests or delegates in the hotels two dining rooms, which still retain a special intimate feel through the use of upholstered dividing screens and windows.  Image Courtesy Ales Jungmann Supplementary to the guest experience, Andel’s Berlin offers one of the largest conferencing facilities in the city, with 16 meeting rooms, a large ballroom and seperate exhibition hall. All of these are linked by generous break-out spaces which continue the guest lobby impression.  Image Courtesy Ales Jungmann In common with the Andel’s brand standards, the bedroom is a perfectly considered, crisp, calming, uncluttered space and a premium quality bathroom, superior to its peers. This ergonomic, simple room is careful to only offer as much as the guest needs and wants. A timeless palette of anthracite, black and white is off-set by accents of shocking, saturated citruses. A sheer, raw silk panel mounted in glass connects the bedroom to the bathroom and illuminates as a Rothkoesque artwork when the bathroom is occupied, filtering light while allowing privacy. The typical bathroom accommodates an king sized shower and WC in frameless glass enclosure, aswell as a full sized bath tub. Stone porcelain tiles are washed by concealed lights, to soften the mood further.  Image Courtesy Ales Jungmann Andel’s Berlin is the fourth of the Andel’s roll-out through central Europe. The next, opening in May 2009, will be Andel’s Lodz, converted from a 150 year old textile factory in Poland’s industrial city of Lodz.  Image Courtesy Ales Jungmann  Image Courtesy Ales Jungmann  Image Courtesy Ales Jungmann
Contact Jestico + Whiles
Category: Hotel |
|
|
|||||
|
|
|||||
|
|||||
email
Facebook
Twitter
RSS Feed
