Typology Hotel, Gastronomy Building Volume GFA 9.580 m² Project Developer Landmarken AG User prizeotel Architecture kadawittfeldarchitektur in cooperation with RMP Stephan Lenzen Landschaftsarchitekten Competition Investor competition Realisation 2020-2021 Awards polis Award 2019 – „Reactivated Centers“, Brownfield24 Award 2023 Certification DGNB Gold
#New construction of a hotel with 214 rooms and gastronomy in the immediate vicinity of the city center and the Rhine on the banks of the Erzberg in Bonn.
The design of the outdoor space, which is oriented towards the Rhine as a terraced city stage, creates added value not only for the hotel’s overnight guests but also for Bonn’s citizens.
The new building follows the urban planning guiding idea of dissolving the barrier between the city and the banks of the Rhine. Thus, the alignments of the pentagonal structure take into account various streetscape visual axes to the Rhine and the neighboring Beethoven Hall. The height difference between city and Rhine level is about five meters. In response to this, the first floor zone of the hotel, together with the forecourt, a new staircase and a stage plateau at the level of the Rhine bank, is conceived as a coherent, gently modeled landscape carpet that mediates between the elevation levels. On this carpet, all the public-relevant functions of the hotel are arranged inside the glazed first floor level. The brick solitaire above houses the hotel rooms and a rooftop bar. Outside, the plateau in front of the hotel is oriented towards the Rhine as a terraced city stage. In reference to the musical history of the Beethoven city, the space can be used for concerts, open-air cinema, readings and other performances.
The new Hotel at Erzbergerufer is located just outside Bonn’s city centre in immediate vicinity of the River Rhine and just a stone’s throw away from Ludwig van Beethoven’s birthplace. Due to the mixed-use concept, including a hotel, a rooftop bar and dining facilities on the ground floor as well as the riverbank stage, this it not only a unique overnight spot for visitors but also a versatile outdoor space with added value for Bonn’s citizens.
The building is perfectly embedded in the urban environment. In terms of its spatial configuration, it relates to the Beethoven Concert Hall next door and incorporates the close proximity to the river in the orientation and design of the exterior space. The approach of the urban master plan was to consider the ground floor zone and forecourt as a single unit with the aim of removing the barriers between the built-up area and the riverbank.
The interplay of architecture, town planning and landscape design has created public space that goes beyond the required programme. It includes areas on private property, which are not only accessible to the public and function as a stage for concerts and other outdoor events but also serve as a terrace for the hotel’s restaurant. Other features, such as the access to e-mobility for hotel guests, the use of groundwater and the planting in the inner courtyard, are components of the future-oriented concept.
The Hotel at Erzbergerufer is set on the foundations of a historic bomb shelter. This was the only competition entry that retained the underground shelter and included it in the design. After performing some minor stabilisation and modernisation work, the structure is now used as an underground car park below the hotel. As a result, it was possible to retain and reuse large amounts of concrete and embodied energy as well as generate significant CO2 savings.
In order to preserve the medieval city boundary with its many visual links, the shape of the hotel is guided by the position of the old fortified city walls. The new urban stairway helps to mould a continuous “landscaped ramp” that mediates between the level of the city and the five-metre-lower river walkway. This transforms the plateau, which continues into the hotel’s interior and is open to the public, into a perfectly terraced urban stage for live concerts, open-air cinema events, readings and other outdoor performances. The north-eastern corner sweeps back to enable pedestrians approaching from the south to get a glimpse of the Beethoven Concert Hall.
“An essential piece of urban repair. Bonn residents will be given back a piece of the city on the Rhine. Not only hotel guests, but an entire city society will benefit from the new quality of stay in the future.”
– Elisabeth Gendziorra, Managing Director BFW Landesverband Nordrhein-Westfalen e.V.
The hotel’s reception area and foyers are conceived as a fully glazed space that is designed to emphasise the floating appearance of the large structural volume above the entrance levels. Its material concept and colour scheme relates to the abbey school just around the corner. The facade that protrudes beyond the glazed base is rear-ventilated clinker brick with a reddy-brown hue. The yellow tone of the ceiling soffits – both in the interior publicly accessible foyer areas as well as the covered exterior zones – forms a perfect contrast. The painted finish of the drywall construction with cement-bonded panels outside is continued into the interior in level and colour. Thanks to the interplay of glass facade, reddy-brown brick masonry and the yellow soffits, the Hotel at Erzbergerufer is a real eye-catcher.
The lower foyer can also be entered directly from the outside via a small vestibule, which appears as an extension to the staircase and also provides access to the dining facilities on the ground floor.
The levels with the hotel rooms up above are shaped in rings around the access corridors, that have been upgraded with landing-like extensions. The large single-pane room windows are set flush with the exterior brick surface forming a distinct contrast in the evenly perforated masonry facade. Inside, the window bays with their deep cushioned sills are a perfect place to sit and watch the lively happenings on and along the River Rhine.
“I am particularly pleased that the project will not only contribute to enriching Bonn’s hotel landscape, but that citizens will benefit from the new hotel construction.”
– Ashok Sridharan, Lord Mayor of Bonn.
The third upper level, the top storey, is set back on four of the five sides. This creates an extensive outdoor space facing east towards the Rhine, which is used as a terrace for the rooftop bar. The inner courtyard is planted with a range of grasses and perennials and functions as an outdoor breakfast terrace.
