The SIDE Design Hotel in Hamburg

The SIDE hotel is a harmonious symbiosis of styles emanating from the pens of Jan Störmer Architects, Hamburg, the Matteo Thun bureau of Milan and Robert Wilson of New York.

Rising between the two main structures is an impressive ten-storey edifice that, through its trapezoidal layout, creates an unmistakably electric atmosphere.

The hall, foyer and atrium of the SIDE lead at the lower level to the public areas comprising the conference and ballroom in the basement, the bar and the "fusion" restaurant on the ground floor, and further function rooms on the first floor.
A bold constant in the design of all these areas was the use of tactile characteristics and haptic contrasts in the surface finishes: rough natural stone and glass, sucupira wood treated to create an open-pore structure, and surfaces painted in high-gloss white. Accentuations in colour against a calming, warm matrix plus the staged lighting effects further underscore this interplay of harmony and contrast.

DORMA Hüppe was able to faithfully translate this demanding design brief into an integral component of its Variflex movable walls.

The movable wall system in the ballroom, for example, was finished in open-pore sucupira wood. When the elements are in their stacked position, three granite-clad Variflex panels provide the perfect finish to the concealment niche.

Variflex partition systems were also used in the restaurant and conference area, with appropriate surface finishes in each case. They serve to underline the image appropriately associated with a 5-star hotel.

Prominent Features