Shaped Drop
The clinker façade of the new economy-design hotel prizeotel in Hanover, Germany, with its broad window front accommodating the entrance has a welcoming effect on the guest. A highlight in the breakfast room is a drop on the ceiling shaped from plasterboard – made by the Emskirchen-based ceiling manufacturer Vogl Deckensysteme.
After three years of construction time, the Hanover City prizeotel was opened in September 2015. It bears the artistic signature of the famed designer Karim Rashid. For the 2-star superior hotel, the New Yorker developed a concept in which his love of detail is clearly notable both outside and inside. "If considered from a musical standpoint, it would be a triad of superior design and a comfortable hotel philosophy at an affordable price", is how he describes his interior design concept. The 212 extravagant and minimalistically created designer rooms of the economy hotel are equipped with all technical comfort.
Let's start by looking at the hotel exterior. When standing in front of the cube-shaped clinker building, you already get a first impression from the inside through the broad window front. The multicoloured interior welcomes the guests and asks them to enter the design which is colourful, however without appearing gaudy.
Feel-good colour concept
The star designer plays with the colours that stand out as a well-done medley here with the dominating colour shades being yellow, blue and white. In colour psychology, yellow is supposed to render a friendly warmth to a room. By contrast, the cool blue radiates a congenial effect of harmony and, interacting with white, is far from appearing sterile. Hues of purple and pink set additional accents and give the interior an expression of elegance. To make sure the colourfulness on walls and furniture do not run riot, the floor was adapted perfectly to the respective colour concept. – On the keyboard of an architectural scale, the interior is characterised by straight and curved shapes that are the icing on the cake.
Here, the guests can feel good and recover after arriving from a hectic journey or an exhausting sightseeing tour. The day begins in a relaxed atmosphere in the breakfast room – overlooking Hamburger Allee. Blue walls, contrasted by the white floor, stimulate the ambience. The oval buffet in white and yellow, with a pink photo behind serving as a partition, make your eyes wander upward. This is where the eye catcher hovers: a shaped drop.
A floating ceiling made of plasterboard is mounted below the ceiling. The installation of the moulded components, which were delivered quartered and packed to suit site requirements, was performed by drywall contractor Heinz Mänz Ausbau GmbH from Hanover under the supervision of project manager Dirk Hoffmann.
Type of object: Hotel
Completion: 2015
Vogl products: Acoustic Floating Ceilings
Photographer: Torsten Elger
Designer: Karim Rashid, New York, USA
Drywall contractor: Heinz Mänz Ausbau GmbH, Hanover
Curved floating ceiling
Prior to installing the eye catcher, the optimum sound absorption in the room was calculated. Particularly large rooms, such as a lobby or restaurant, require an acoustic system with high-level sound absorption. For, in order to reduce the sound, acoustic room planning considers not only floor, windows and doors, but walls and ceiling as well. Plasterboard is used for effective noise reduction because it has the further advantage of being an eco-friendly material that is easy to process. Dirk Hoffmann, project manager, adds: "The sound absorption values for the ceiling are just as relevant as the reverb values."
The room impression is influenced not only by direct sound, but also by the relationship between early and late reflections (clarity index) and their input direction (lateral fraction).
In compliance with all specifications, the multi-piece floating ceiling with integrated coved lighting was then manufactured in the Middle-Franconian company. "In interior design, floating ceilings are one option for an acoustic solution. They look good and get some swing under the ceiling. A plus factor for the architects: they provide the highest level of design flexibility", as Benedikt Roos, Vogl product manager, puts it.
Floating ceilings come in various shapes, such as rectangular, square, round or oval. Based on their material, they can be shaped concave or convex. They are manufactured at the plant in the specified dimensions and ready assembled there. This is important in order to see whether all parts that belong together have been processed to fit precisely. They are then packaged ready for shipment so that, upon arrival at the site, they only need to be mounted to a stable framework.
Packaging for easy jobsite handling
In this case, large unperforated plasterboards were installed below the floating ceiling so that the individual custom-made parts of the drop could be mounted in the next steps. "During the installation, size accuracy was very important, and so was observing the intersection. For example, a pillar existing on site had to be accurately integrated. For this purpose, a circular cutout was provided in the element already at the manufacturing stage, and the joining required millimetre precision to adapt to the height of the surrounding ceiling", Hoffmann describes the installation. In addition, the coved lighting had to be changed from inside to outside during the installation process.
The customised, curved moulded components consisted of 2 quarter shells 6.80 m in size and further moulded elements provided for assembly. Based on their being pre-assembled and packaged for easy jobsite handling, the drywall contractor on site was able to install them quickly and easily.
In interior design, the decision for a floating ceiling not only means setting a classy accent. Floating ceilings are the solution of choice when, for example, an old ceiling has to be supplemented. But also retrofitting technical elements in ceilings, such as cooling and heating systems, can be realised with floating ceilings. Another advantage: they can be combined with perforated and non-perforated plasterboards. And for those who like it colourful: they also come tinted.
It is a pleasure to start the day in a bright and friendly atmosphere. Thus, the room-closing element by Vogl Deckensysteme is not only an absolute eye catcher, but also increases the value of the building through form, colour and functionality.
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