design et al are delighted to announce that nps tchoban voss have been successfully shortlisted in the Hotel over 200 Rooms category of the IH&P Awards 2014 with their project, the Music and Lifestyle Hotel nhow Berlin.
The design brief for the new construction of the hotel included: 310 rooms, ca. 21.463 m², two restaurants, convention centre with ballroom, art gallery, spa area, underground parking.
©Wolfgang Reiher
Aligning with the existing storehouses the hotel by the Spanish nh-group is located at the River Spree, only a 10 min walk from the U-Bahn Station Warschauer Straße adding a whole new chapter to the history of the site at the formerly important city harbour of Osthafen. The structure of the building and the façade design reflect and complement its special location. A huge cantilevered cube cites the motif of a crane cabin, whereas the façade’s surface mingles nicely into the ubiquitous brown stone materiality. The volume accommodates seven floors divided into two blocks, each forming an open U-shape onto the water, connected via a glass interstice. Except for the centrally located entrance the street front acts unmistakably as a subordinate, clearly functional face.
©Wolfgang Reiher
The western block is topped by four additional floors in a separate volume overpeering the banks, where the exclusive nhow suite gives access to the roof terrace and offers optional access to an in-house sound studio, cantilevered on about seventy feet and hovering eighty feet above the water. By its distinct, geometric appearance the complex has become a landmark for visitors of the city as well as the Berliners.
©Roland Halbe
On street level a floor-to-ceiling glass band with large-size panels distinguishes the hotel from the neighboring old storehouses. Service and management enter the complex by the wing ends. The façade zone above is formed by a perforated brick coat with irregularly arranged square windows loosening the rigorous, repetitive appearance of the neighbors. The chosen brick varies in colour as well as in its line-up, adding a vivid optical brigo to the massive volume by its irregular surface. The top levels (7th to 10th floor) wear a highly reflective aluminium cladding and allow splendid views to the southwestern skyline of the city through an all-glass double façade. Thus, large-scale form and close-up details complement one another and keep the observer and user of the building constantly attracted regardless of the distance. The eye-catching shape complies well with the inner program and at the same time serves as an adequate shell for the cheerful, bold interior by Karim Rashid.
©Patrica Parinejad