Category: Interior design

The client desired an artistic and distinctive atmosphere for their new office space. Therefore, inspired by the possibilities of film as an art form, the ideas of “Movement, plasticity, and infinity” become the core concept of our design. The possibilities of the space are explored and stretched in an attempt to materialize these core ideas, connecting the spatial experience to the profound and dramatic multidimensionality of film.

The first and second floors of the project are mainly used for reception and office functions, while the third and fourth levels host leisure and entertainment areas, and the supporting and auxiliary functions are all arranged in the basement. The surrounding public space harmoniously integrates with the new interiors thanks to the inclusion of the existing building’s concept of “Chinese water landscape painting” into the design aesthetics.

The freedom and flexibility of the curve dominate the design to create a sculpture-like space. Meanwhile, the color palette uses a base of light gray to black, with orange as the accent color throughout all levels, creating a dramatic and powerful ambiance. The result is an inspiring atmosphere for artistic production.

Location 

The compound is quite close to the working place of the addressed German residents, the FAW-Volkswagen car factory and R&D Centre, and it is also part of the much bigger so-called “Talent Industrial Park”. The overall urban planning of the entire – mainly residential – area has been done by RhineScheme starting from 2019 and has been approved in 2020.

The interior design is certainly only one, but an important key factor in the efforts to provide a second home for the addressed German families. Equally important is a specific range of services in the surrounding area (playgrounds and sports facilities, a German club, specific retail offers, international kindergarten and school) and the quality of the open space planning (designed by RhineScheme as well).

One of the biggest advantages of the location is its vicinity to the huge green areas of the “Auto Park” mentioned before which is only a stone’s throw away from the community gate. 

Task

Young families from Germany, invited by FAW-Volkswagen, will have the opportunity and chance to live in China for several years, in a foreign environment, but with the familiar amenities from home. Interior design, architecture, urban and landscape planning: none of them can solve and heal the problems which sometimes come along with living in the diaspora, in in a completely foreign environment and culture.

But at least a considerate planning can ease the difficulties in many ways: by creating a family environment that does not hinder to live the habits known from Germany, by urban and landscape planning that enables and stimulates the group contacts which are utmost necessary when having language barriers outside of the group.

The interior design uses this main concern of the planning (“create a second home”) as a story-chain to explore the typical characteristics of a modern German home environment and to create a neat, cozy, humane and warm space for family life. 

Design Approach 

The specific needs of the German families in Changchun have been explored in two rounds of interviews with Volkswagen managers that are responsible for expatriates’ coordination.

Apart from the mere technical requirements, a series of detailed wishes regarding the interiors were requested to be considered as follows:

• High quality regarding materials and technical equipment
• Solid construction regarding durability and easy maintenance
• Open style, with bright and sunny interiors
• Preference of duplex typology for the bigger apartments, in order to better separate functions and having space for privacy and retreat.

Our designers questioned: A young German family with typically two children under ten years old will come to China and live there for a few years. Which living habits from Germany do they want to keep under all circumstances, and how can these habits be re-created, re-invented or relocated? What is typically German anyway?

For the general design direction, some features have been formulated as basis:

Family-friendly | contemporary | timeless | warm in atmosphere | clear in design | creating an unmistakable living center that consists of cooking-dining-living. 

Design Concept

As a result, the interior design team has set a contemporary and simple tone for the indoor living space, pursuing richness in detail (and not superficial luxury) and showing elegance in simplicity. The design elements, colors, and materials have been simplified to a certain point, whereas the requirements for the texture of the materials are not compromised.

Open-plan layouts with flowing transitions between the kitchen, dining and living area create a generous sense of space. Light colours and materials create a pleasantly restrained setting for domestic life. The selected furniture design conveys a calm simplicity. The equally homely and lively atmosphere of the flats and their straightforward style not only communicate a modern understanding of living; they also help the Western experts to settle into a new environment with different culture.

An open kitchen where the family can cook and eat together shall boost the communication within the family: a place where the family meets in a casual way, where good and bad experiences are shared and where daily problems can be easily solved. A place where you can also meet friends, and celebrate: The kitchen is the open core and the social center of the apartment.

Beside the kitchen you will find an inviting living room that is convenient for sitting and reading, chatting and relaxing, and a dining table that is not only suitable for eating, but also for work and play…

In the end these simple but essential characteristics will help the German families to continue their accustomed lifestyles, to relax from pressure and from abundant impressions, and to enjoy the comfort of their new home in China, … and by that find a new home abroad.

“Maritim Hotel Group” has extensive experience in operating large assembly halls and conference centers of international format.
Derived from the German roots of the brand, the design concept is – similar to the adjacent hotel – based on the motto: “Feel the breath of Northern Germany”. Like in the hotel, the interior design translates the underlying idea into an elegant spatial concept, yet in a far more classical approach.
A stone’s throw from the hotel, just crossing below the bridge which spans over Liu River, Taicang Conference Center will find its home in a refurbished building that stretches along the river bank.
At the time of opening, the new facility will be the biggest Conference Center in Taicang with a Grand Ballroom measuring 1,200 square meters, suitable for conferences and celebrations accommodating 600-900 persons.

The buildings has 3 levels, in which the ground floor serves as double-height Grand Ballroom with adjacent VIP Reception room.

The second floor accommodates a suite of 3 luxurious meeting rooms which can be either used in a flexible way as conference area, in which 2 or even all 3 rooms can be combined according to necessities. Or the three rooms can be used for political/economical events in which the first room serves for guest reception, the second for contract signing events, and the third for the subsequent celebration.

Finally the third floor accommodates 3 separate VIP Dining Rooms, each suitable for up to 20 persons, in which smaller exclusive celebrations can be held.

The existing building is kind of neo-classical in its architectural style. The interior design is an answer to the façade style, but filled with and inspired by German, Central European design elements.
As a visitor, one enters the building through an arcade and the impressive double-height lobby, which is kept in light colours and which is using unobtrusive classical style elements.
All the elements introduced in the lobby – classical wall paneling, profiled or coffered ceilings, chandeliers and wall lamps, mirrors and precious flooring materials – are repeated in different variations throughout all the main spaces.
Wood in the form of typical German oak wood is used in special locations, such as the wall paneling in the entire Grand Ballroom as well as in the coffered ceilings of the VIP dining rooms in the top floor.
In all design areas, light colors are combined with furniture and decorative lighting elements that are seeking a balance between tradition and modernity.

Last not least the artworks, all inspired by typical maritime design features (like Delft tiles or Frisian tiles), or the photographs and pictures that show landscapes, buildings and people in North German locations, all stand for the “Maritim” brand on the one side, and on the other side for German culture and German quality which is already an important part of Taicang local culture.

This hotel is a treasure chest that not only reflects the spirit of the hotel brand – timeless, understated, quality- and value-driven – but goes a step beyond for the Chinese market: passionate, playful, relentlessly creative and welcoming.

Like any successful hotel, this one is a time machine that rushes through and links the years and eras, the change of day and seasons, faraway places and important moments in life. A place where one celebrates a special ambience, away from the everyday, and where stories written on the walls and ever-changing guests are waiting to be awakened and discovered, as if in a play.

Every hotel is a place of encounter, of coming together, of relaxation and recreation, of amusement and celebration of glorious moments in life. But every good hotel is also more than that, namely a home away from home.

“MAXX by Steigenberger” Baoding seeks to combine these good qualities of a hotel: that of a time machine soothing the soul, that of a communicative, relaxed and celebratory agora, and that of a familiar home.

PRELUDE

The overarching aesthetic theme for the interiors is inspired by classical music genres – not only from Germany. Music leads – as we have known not only since Thomas Mann – to the innermost part of the German soul. In this respect, music would also be the very best basis for the storytelling of a German hotel brand.

Music was and is an important part of cultural life in Germany. German composers, orchestras and conductors, singers and instrumentalists are world leaders, and have been for centuries. Germans have played a formative role in the development of so-called “classical, serious” music: Johann Sebastian Bach and Georg Friedrich Händel, Ludwig van Beethoven and Robert Schumann, Johannes Brahms and Richard Wagner are just a few of the world-renowned shining lights.

However, the transfer and translation in the spatial design of a hotel is not to be taken literally. During the design process, musical genres are rather understood as a stimulus and support that help to capture and consistently implement certain intended spatial moods, colour and light tones, and immaterial vibrations. As form elements, at most arches and curves are suitable for transferring musical elements into the spatial; however, these fulfil the purpose precisely and are therefore used generously in many areas of the hotel.

The branding and identity of the hotel brand “MAXX by Steigenberger” is not neglected in all this. Maxx’ identity is thoroughly eclectic, cheerful and sophisticated. The hotels are multi-layered and always offer a balance between comfort and drama. This leaves room for exaggeration.

In short: In the spirit of the aforementioned and through the collaboration of creative minds in the fields of architecture, design, art, gastronomy and hotel business, the “MAXX by Steigenberger Baoding” is brought to life in an idiosyncratic and meaningful way.

INSPIRATIONS

• Historical Inspiration: Emerging Jewel in the North

Baoding – the city’s name, which roughly translates as “protection of the capital” – refers to its close proximity to Beijing. Thanks to its convenient transport location, charming surroundings, pleasant climate and rich cultural and tourist resources, Hebei Province has become a pearl of China’s tourism industry and an ideal destination not only for Beijingers.

• Secular Inspiration: The Arch

Whether natural or man-made, the simple shape of the arch can have a powerful effect. The culturally connoted shape alone can define a gateway to new experiences. Seen from inside the arch, the light dancing in contrast along the curved edges guides the hotel guest from experience to experience.

• Social inspiration: innovative neighbourhood

The arrival of “MAXX by Steigenberger” marks a milestone for the district, a jewel within the rapidly developing Sci-Tech Park.  The surrounding “Venture Capital Center” includes office buildings, business hotels, expert flats and service facilities. In addition to brash business activities, the district also attracts a community of amateurs and patrons who embrace artistic creativity as part of a new lifestyle, cultivating a general commitment to the arts and celebrating design, music, fine arts and and culinary arts with passion.

• Aesthetic Inspiration: East meets West | Past meets Present

The hotel’s interior design integrates and marries Western and Eastern approaches to art, as well as traditional and modern visual styles. It respectfully adds bold, rich colours to the hotel brand’s more subdued, understated complexion. Colours, artwork and ornaments complement each other in an exquisite, dynamic, and elegant way.

The classically simple, art deco-inspired packaging of the rooms arouses curiosity … about underlying stories or those conjured up by the guests themselves. A kind of modern elegance is created through the use of timeless stylistic elements. Set pieces of local (Chinese) and imported (German) culture merge and respond to each other in deliberately artificial, sensual sceneries.

INTERMEZZO

This is not just any hotel. This hotel tells a story, a charming, intimate story, with a little drama, with a pinch of excitement, with a good bit of fantasy; at best, the story of a short intense dream.

• 1^st floor | ENTRANCE & LOBBY | “Promenade in lavish Symphony”.

Symphony is “harmonious sounding together”: symphony refers to a large orchestral work in classical form (quite appropriate for the spatial impression of a lobby), consisting of several movements (transferred: foyer, reception, lift lobby, lobby bar).

The lobby is signature of the style the hotel guest can expect. Physically surrounded by a glamorous shopping world, the lobby of the “MAXX” offers a more or less seamless transition into the no less glamorous experience world of a hotel. Its design – at once elegant, striking and refined – is inspired by the luxurious living style of famous 20th century fashion designers.

Entering the hotel, one immediately finds oneself in a spacious, oval entrance hall of double floor height. With gentle curves and arches, it is designed to open up 360-degree views in all directions. The lobby has an integrated concierge service, reception, and meeting and lounge area.

A huge oculus also opens the view upwards, into the gallery lounge or coffee bar of the All Day Dining restaurant, which can also be reached from the ground floor via an elegantly curved flight of steps.

Next to the reception, through an art déco vault, you enter the lounge bar with the counter in the middle, which divides the room into two parts, with elegant tables near the window and round French-style benches along the wall.

• 2^nd floor | ALL DAY DINING | “Revel in glowing Rhapsody”.

Rhapsody, originally an ecstatic poem in free form, also refers to a musical work that is not bound to any fixed form. In its own way ecstatic, exalted and bound to no fixed form is also the ADD section.

The room continuum for food and beverages (“All Day Dining”), which is open all day, is – both in real and figurative terms – the centre of the hotel and one of the core areas of the “MAXX” brand experience. It is therefore also, along with the lobby area, the core task of interior design.

Surfaces, layers and textures, textiles and objects show the influence of the food culture of different regions of the world. The ambience is casually elegant, hospitable anyway, enriched by whimsical and lascivious moments that stem from the geographical abundance of culinary cultures and the seasonal richness of the dishes.

The colour scheme and shapes are inspired by the rhythmic and melodic variety of a rhapsody that can be heartbreakingly emotional at times, mysterious at others, or playful, which is reflected in the contrasting tones of the interior.

The dining room as a whole is a feast for the eyes … and, of course, also for the taste buds. Guests are invited to immerse themselves in the dark, exquisite, sparkling décor and revel in it – as in a rhapsody.

• 3rd floor | BALLROOM & MULTIFUNCTION AREA | “Waltz in glittering moonlight”.

The Waltz – as the oldest of the modern bourgeois ballroom dances – is the omnipresent wedding and ballroom dance, danced in a “demure” manner, in a closed posture with a fixed step pattern. For a ballroom and for a hotel also used by business people, it is the appropriate inspiration: festive and formal.

The ceiling seems to float above the banquet hall, the changing rhythm of light and shadow corresponds to the sensual experience of (dancing) progress.

Clearly more sensual than the two multifunctional rooms is the design of the associated foyer. The collision of light with saturated velvet and serpentine-green marble as well as with the lush decoration of arched wall niches and passageways forms the visual focus and the festive setting.

• 12^th – 20^th floor | GUEST ROOMS | “Dreaming in serene Serenade”.

The interior design style of the guest rooms is based on the German greeting, which is both concept and motto: “Welcome home!” Wandering through a forest of steel and concrete and being constantly busy has become a staple of life for many. The hotel room offers the liberating antithesis, a retreat where the formal mixes with the casual, in an unresolved, unbounded manner.

Naturally, hotel rooms are mainly used in the evening and at night. The design is logically inspired by a serenade, an evening song, a piece of music in free form that also has an entertaining character. This is exactly how the design is intended: elegant and light, unobtrusive and cheerful like stardust, in other words: like a slightly dreamy smile waiting for the morning light.

• 20^th floor | EXECUTIVE LOUNGE | “Floating in gentle Sonata”.

Sonata is the name given to an instrumental piece for solo or very small chamber music ensemble. The ‘Executive Lounge’ on the top floor is also intimate, small and exquisite in terms of chamber music. It is intended for moments when you want or need to rest, meet or discuss in a discreet atmosphere, or when you just want to relax and enjoy.

Dark floors and wall plinths, unobtrusive, elegant colours, reduced forms of the furnishings create a calm basic tone, which in the upper wall area and in the recessed ceiling merges into a friendly, bright mood with golden light accents.

A room, small only in dimensions, which in its simple exclusivity embodies the design attitude of the entire hotel.

EPILOGUE

The “MAXX by Steigenberger” Baoding is a treasure chest that does not disappoint those who open and discover it, no matter where the guest stays in this hotel. This hotel is a true embodiment of its hotel brand and its corporate culture: understated but meaningful, timeless and solid, high quality and value.

At the same time, it is full of enthusiasm, spirit and service, with a constant flow of creativity in all its areas. It is a garden full of precious details, where guests enjoy an inspiring ambience, comfortable like their own home and yet unusual, inspiring journeys of thought.

The hotel will open to the public at the end of 2023.

The existing architecture consists of three floors composed by two curved interlocking volumes that revolve around a central sunken patio. The interior design unified this partitioned preexistent architecture to maximize the available space and enhance the experience.

The building is separated into two functional systems. The library per se occupies most of the building, extending from the ground level entrance to a monumental staircase down to the full underground level, where public and private reading rooms, a children’s area, and an interactive space are the main attractions. A multifunctional room on the second floor complements the library’s functions. The second system is located on the red wing, where the Coffee Shop and Hotel Lobby merge into a continuous space from where guests can relax and admire the ski slopes and mountain scenery. A playground and outdoor coffee shop seating, complement the interior.

The Mountain Library 

The Library entrance is a discreet reception hall with an information counter and services right by the circulation core, this layout favors the independence of functions, especially regarding the second level. The Multifunction room on the second level is a flexible open space that can be adjusted to any particular requirements, with fully equipped service areas that facilitate the celebration of a wide range of activities.

The reading rooms and main collection are located past the circulation core. The first impression is a space that opens up to the beginning of a seemingly infinite bookcase that flows down with the focal point of the building; the staircase. A wide livable staircase connects the ground floor and underground level, serving both as an enormous bookshelf and informal seating area with ample views of the interior spaces and sunken courtyard. In the Underground, reading rooms and study spaces surround a well-manicured patio that brings natural light and scenery into this basement level. Opposite, rows and rows of books pile on high and undulating bookshelves that become the highlight of the level. The seemingly infinite bookshelf works as well as a partition, defining private meeting rooms and the interactive space.

Hotel Lobby and Coffee Shop

The second system, or the “red wing” composed of the Hotel and Coffee areas, is characterized by floor-to-ceiling windows that allow for the contemplation of the ski slopes. A warmer palette and lighting hues were chosen, emphasizing the feeling of shelter from the cold snowy landscape in front, being the area with the closest connection to the exterior.

The Hotel Lobby occupies the highest interior space at the Northeast end of the building, conveniently close to the parking lot. The area artfully exhibits the resort’s architectural model in the center of a relaxed and comfy atmosphere engulfed with books and art pieces. From the Hotel entrance towards the library’s end, the ceiling lowers down and builds a more intimate environment throughout the long south-facing space of the Coffee shop. Here begins a more informal atmosphere where seating is always soft and relaxed, lighting dim, and the design element sinuous, building a perfect setting for the contemplation of the beautiful landscape.

The proposal ultimately seeks to enrich the resort experience with a striking sculptural space that, unlike the mostly activity-oriented exteriors, gives way to an ambiance of peaceful enjoyment and relaxation. A warm oasis in a winter playground.