The design of the artistic hostel by Alyssa Horbachevskaya and Natalia Kedzorek was awarded in an international competition entitled "Berlin Bohemian Hostel". The unconventional tourist facility refers to the artistic bohemian environment, rich symbolism and creates a distinctive point on the map of Berlin.
The goal of the competition organized by Archasm was to design an unconventional, modern hostel building in Berlin, whose theme was to be artistic bohemia and coliving. The main guideline was to create an innovative architectural and spatial environment that would influence the audience and break the conventional approach to hostel design.
The designed hostel is a tower with twelve floors
© Alisa Horbachevska, Natalia Kędzorek
hostel in an artistic district
The site for the project is located in Kunsthaus Tacheles, a self-governing, community art center in Berlin's Mitte district. Originally a Jewish neighborhood that was also used as a Nazi prison during World War II, it was later taken over by artists who created workshops, studios, galleries and cinemas there. Open spaces are occupied by art installations and pavilions made by artists from around the world. The competition proposal should take into account the ephemeral nature of the place and the spatial impermanence of the surrounding structures. The jurors were looking for forms that were dynamic, open and related to the context of the place. The new form was to be an important landmark of the district and an architectural icon, arousing interest not only from travelers and atheists, but also from Berlin's miscreants.
The authors' aim was to create a unique, slightly fairy-tale-like design
© Alisa Horbachevska, Natalia Kędzorek
artistic bohemia
With their idea, the authors refer to bohemianism. Bohemianism was an unconventional and alternative lifestyle that embraced various fields of art - music, fashion, fine arts, literature and film. The style developed in the 19th century, and its representatives were mainly artists, wanderers, rebels, people of art and literature - poor but intellectually rich. They spent their time playing together, creating, demonstrating with their attitude their contempt for social norms and materialism. In their work, they were inspired by symbolism, parapsychic phenomena and spiritualism.
As the designers say:
Our intention was to create a unique design, very idealistic and slightly fairy-tale-like with the use of symbolism that would tell a story about the object.
tower of consciousness
The architects approached the competition design ideologically, focusing on the symbolism and character of the building. Built on a circular plan with a diameter of fifteen meters, the hotel resembles a tower of twelve stories, and its height is forty-nine meters.
The object is divided into parts referring to different phases of consciousness
© Alisa Horbachevska, Natalia Kedzorek
The idea of our hotel refers to the style and inspiration of 19th century artists. The symbols used: the shape of the tower in the form of a circle - stands for perfection, harmony and balance. The spiral staircase is a symbol of the inward journey a person takes to reach a higher level of consciousness. The building is divided into five parts, which refer to different phases of consciousness. The first floor is full consciousness, level 1 is reception, a portal leading to further experiences. Levels 2 and 3 are about spending time together creating art, level 4 and 5 are dedicated to meditation and yoga. Floors 6,7 and 8 are for sleep, and the last 9 to 12 floors represent the highest spiritual experiences, intuition, visions and nirvana. The different layers refer to the atmosphere - from the lowest, earthly consciousness, to the highest cosmic layer representing parapsychic sensations. - Alisa Horbachevska and Natalia Kedzorek explain.
