Berlin-based Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA) has designed a 180-room hostel for the Bavarian Youth Hostel Association in Bayreuth, Germany. Designed for the sociable Generation Y traveler, the hostel offers an abundance of flexible public spaces featuring bright colours and soaring windows overlooking the Bavarian landscape. Touted by the firm as a "yardstick for the sports hostel of the future," the futuristic building includes modular furniture and universal step-free access throughout all facilities, grounds, and sports fields. Circulation for the design centres on a Y-shaped plan designed to maximize natural light light while providing ample opportunities for athletic engagement.
Find out more about Bayreuth's futuristic Youth Hostel after the break
LAVA applied theories on intelligent organization when planning the hostel, creating a symbiosis of spaces while optimizing square footage throughout the building. Using their experience redesigning the Berchtesgaden Youth Hostel, the project team developed a plan that revolved around an energetic central hub of activity. The meeting point of the hostel's three wings is anchored by a two-storey amphitheatre-style atrium for socializing beneath a massive skylight or enjoying the landscape from one the space's full-height windows. The atrium flows into a host of other social and semi-private spaces, and is adjacent to a series of meeting and seminar spaces - an unorthodox addition to traditional hostel plans.
"We are in the designer age when Gen Y travellers want funky design, a special identity, access to online and community, and unique experiences - not just a clean bed and shower," explained the project team. A strong visual aesthetic teamed with clever functional elements provided the solution the team was searching for. Modular bedroom units featuring a combination of two, four and six beds placed throughout the hostel will offer maximum versatility for visiting sports teams and individual guests, simultaneously creating opportunities for networking in the in-between spaces. Amenities in the modern bedrooms include heated floors, in-room bathrooms, floor-to-ceiling windows and collapsible desk space.
A focus on sport was the catalyst for the design, inspiring LAVA to provide unique vantage points of the adjacent sports pitches from each of the bedrooms. The complex features a series of hybrid indoor-outdoor spaces designed for warming up, practicing, and playing casual games. The open-concept style of the facility is designed to activate the space and provide opportunities to work, play and exercise. The facility will also include a bistro, kitchen, an outdoor terrace and plenty of space to roam the Bavarian landscape.
Construction on the Bayreuth Youth Hostel is scheduled to begin in early 2015.
Architects
Location
Bayreuth, GermanyArchitects in Charge
Chris Bosse, Tobias Wallisser, Alexander RieckDesign Team
Julian Fahrenkamp, Nicola Schunter, Paula Gonzalez, Jan Kozerski, Elise Elsacker, Myung Lee; Competition team: Sebastian Schott, Stephan Albrecht, Stefanie PeselArchitects (costs + planning)
Wenzel+WenzelStructure
Engelsmann Peters, Stuttgart/GrazMechanical engineering
IBT PAN, BerlinFire and Building Physics
Bauart, MünchenLandscape
IB Riede, NürnbergKitchen
b.o.b.Area
3400.0 sqmProject Year
2014Photographs
Location
Bayreuth, GermanyProject Year
2014Photographs
Courtesy of LAVAArea
3400.0 m2Fire
Bauart, MünchenBuilding Physics
Bauart, MünchenMechanical Engineering
IBT PAN, Berlin
