hospitalitystyle.com

(Fall 2011) posted on Wed Oct 12, 2011 EDT

Moveable Feats: Kameha Grand Bonn’s multifunctional spaces customize the design experience for the operator as well as the guest.

By Mary Scoviak

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Guests have been the primary beneficiaries of the trend toward customizable hotel design. Kameha Grand Bonn in Germany extends that same luxury to the operations side. “Because of our proximity to Bonn’s city center as well as Cologne, we needed a program that would make every square inch of this hotel a lieblingsplatz [favorite haunt] of corporate FITs, travelers on government business, groups and people attending social functions,” says Carsten K. Rath, president and founder of Lifestyle Hospitality & Entertainment Management AG (LH&E), the property’s leaseholder and operator. He gave design superstar Marcel Wanders an amazing “playground” in which to achieve that: nearly 151,000 sq. ft. within the curving glass-walled shell designed by architect Karl-Heinz Schommer.

This five-star’s extreme flexibility is Wanders’ response to his client’s mandate for public areas that can be all things to all markets. Without sacrificing his flair for expressive interiors, this Dutch master uses modular furnishings and multi-functional elements to erase the old boundaries between lobby and meeting space as well as between business and social centers.

For example, the signature red sectional sofas can expand to provide gathering space for more than a dozen people or separate off into loveseats for private conversations. Wanders favors round rugs, not only because he was referencing Delft-inspired patterns and flowing lines, but also to encourage guests to pull up seats around the circle and enjoy some intimacy within the public space.

Even in a sprawling footprint like the Kameha Grand’s, lobbies can eat a lot of space without generating enough revenue to pay their way. Wanders addresses this by suspending decorative lightweight panels from the ceiling to enclose “meeting islands” within the glistening glass box of the lobby. He decorates the columns to look like oversized vases. While the impact reflects his belief that design should be larger than life, the functionality creates a series of niches where people can work or network. They can also just enjoy his sense of humor. In the PureGold bar, guests can sink into quilted armchairs and put their drinks or laptops on a table that features a pig sculpture as its base. Or, they can move to the Stage Bar and Lounge and get a taste of the future in pedestal chairs that look as though they’re upholstered with tufts of fabric flower petals.