The guestrooms follow the brand’s prescription, but the public areas depart into an innovative layering of oval forms within a large, open area where lighting and contrasting materials are used to “zone” space.
The starting point for the interior design was the constriction of the round architectural envelope. A circular double height volume to the base of the building was topped by five three-quarter circles of bedroom floors, projecting over the base and wrapping inwards on one side to create the main entrance from the terminal. All the public spaces – reception, lounge, bar, spa, fine dining restaurant, breakfast area and workspace – were to be accommodated within the round, ground floor.
The designers were concerned to avoid the potential pitfall of creating a single central hub within a large, but under-utilized circular area. They therefore introduced a series of organic oval forms. These play across the strong and structured concrete space in its entirety like a layered series of discs that are harmoniously related but separate from one another. Inter-relating oval shapes are present in the form of the reception desks, the design of the bar and in the spiral staircase leading to the conference areas. They are painted boldly on the walls, reflected in the choice of furniture and repeated in the carpet design. In the heart of this dynamic space, a sphere accommodates the restaurant with two satellite spheres, bar and breakfast room, on facing sides.
The flooring is in “roasted” oak interspersed with areas of limestone slabs and carpet to define particular areas and their usage; timber paneling is combined with colored and lit acrylic sheets and the imposing buffet bar is in black granite. A particularly intriguing feature is that the door surrounds two large wine chillers. With hundreds of inset wine bottle bases, back-lit to glow through the space, they are transformed into pieces of “glass-art” commissioned by JOI-Design from the acclaimed German glass sculptor, Sybille Homann.
Throughout the public areas, hard finishes are juxtaposed with soft and fixed elements with floating, breaking down conventional barriers between work and leisure spaces while creating a sense of flexibility and mobility.
Lighting is the key in the public areas of the Radisson Blu. The overall color scheme is quiet – in tones of browns, grays and beiges – with occasional highlights such as the cream leather seating in the restaurant. Custom designed freestanding lamps are placed over the bar.
This is a modern business hotel, appropriate for its busy airport location, but it also offers a number of intimate, even cozy, areas where guests can work or dine, or simply unwind, at all times throughout the day.
JOI-Design was founded in Hamburg in 1984 by Peter Joehnk. The firm had an experience of twenty five years which has led them to believe that design is the hotelier’s best marketing tool.
