RETREAT WITH A VIEW – THE BATHROOM CONCEPT AT WESTIN ELBPHILHARMONIE WOWS GUESTS

An interview with Tassilo Bost

So young and already an icon of architecture. The Elbphilharmonie, having overcome a few difficulties, has already become a world-class landmark. Its fascinating shape, the sophisticated wave design referring to the water around it, the union between the old Kaispeicher, a former warehouse building, with modern glass architecture make it as distinctive as its kindred spirits – the Eiffel Tower, the Sydney Opera House or Frank Lloyd Wright’s Guggenheim Museum. True beauty, however, also comes from within. The Westin Hotel, housed in the same building, has a bathroom concept – using products from Villeroy & Boch – that is just as radical and breathtaking as the shell. It shows just how comfortable you can feel in an icon. Villeroy & Boch, expert in high-quality bathroom designs, spoke to Tassilo Bost about his design – and why the “sublimity of a location” can practically become an erotic experience in a bathroom with a view.

As a long-standing partner of Westin, did it feel like a special vote of confidence when you secured the contract for the hotel in the Elbphilharmonie?

Our planning office had been working with Westin in 2008 even before the planning started. They didn't want an “off-the-peg” hotel and we could fully concentrate on dealing in depth with the virtuoso architecture designed by Herzog & de Meuron.

You once said, “Take a look at the bathroom and you will know how good the (hotel) room is”. Is this what prompted you to take such a radical approach and put a few bathrooms next to the façade?

When you have an architectural icon in such an exposed location on the one hand and a vital port on the other, then you need a confident idea. We didn’t want our design to simply follow a trend. We used purism and transparency to put the focus on the special quality of the genius loci.

Why did you put some of the bathrooms right next to the façade? This decision in fact contradicts the notion of using space efficiently.

The bathroom is probably where guests spend most of their time intentionally. As we see it, people find a special tranquillity here to concentrate on the unique view.

The extroverted location of the bathrooms lets you celebrate the view. What significance does that have for the hotel and, therefore, for the guests?

We want to offer visitors a retreat and not just unique architecture, a place where they can enjoy a distinctive moment of contemplation. Guests will then always associate this intense experience with their stay at this hotel.

Where do you think this sublime feeling comes from? From the unbelievable exclusivity of the location or that you are able to let your gaze drift off into the distance?

That depends on the person. For me, it was important to combine the contradiction of a private retreat with a view over the lively port. The “pampering of the ego”, i.e. the experience of exclusivity and luxury, obviously also plays a decisive role. Especially in bathrooms, this very private area, a place of undress, this “sublimity of the location” practically becomes an erotic experience.

How do you see the contradiction between the desire for privacy and the extroverted, almost exhibitionist location of the bathrooms?

This very tension creates that incomparable feeling, which provides guests with this special moment. These kinds of experiences can trigger an “addiction”. Maybe even a strong desire to return to this place.

What is the basic concept behind your approach to the Westin Hotel and can this concept also be transferred to other hotel projects?

It is becoming increasingly important for hotels to have some kind of connection to their locality, which is in line with a current trend in hotel design. This connection to the surroundings of the Elbphilharmonie extends to the privacy of the bathrooms thanks to the transparent façade. This “extroverted privacy” is key to the guest’s unique experience.

About Tassilo Bost

Founded more than 15 years ago in Berlin, the office specialises in hotel architecture and design. The interdisciplinary team has worked for Westin as well as many international hotel brands in the areas of consulting, design and implementing projects. The bathrooms in the Westin Elbphilharmonie Hamburg have also been fitted with products from Villeroy & Boch.