Upcycling Hostel / Kinzo Architekten GmbH + Holzer Kobler Architekturen

Architects: Holzer Kobler Architekturen, Kinzo Architekten GmbH
Location: Warnemünde, Rostock, Germany
Lead Architects: Kinzo Architekten GmbH (interior design), Holzer Kobler Architekturen
Area: 6750.0 m2
Project Year: 2017
Photographs: Max Schroeder, Sebastian Dörken

Text description provided by the architects. Surrounded by the local harbor and shipyard near the town center of Warnemünde, Germany‘s first upcycling hostel was created. The idea to build a hostel out of vacant overseas containers is unprecedented. The interior design captures the rough charm of its surroundings, the industrial look of the harbor is playfully paired with urban nonchalance and a maritime feel.

The containers, which look back on a fulfilled life at sea, are dyed in four different colors. On the inside, the unusual layout of the containers of 12 x 2.5 m is divided into useful sections by well-placed cabinetwork, even integrating a separate bathroom space. Cozy upholstery made of natural materials in muted colors round off the atmosphere. 64 rooms with a total of 188 beds are located in four different types of containers: 30 sqm High Cube sea containers are transformed into spacious double rooms and practical four-bed rooms whereas two containers welded together create spacious harbor suites as well as affordable eight-bed dorms.

The decor of the public spaces has an adventurous feel to it. The wooden reception and bar counters take up the materiality of the rooms. An almost randomly positioned stack of europallets, the so-called raft, becomes the central meeting point of the open restaurant. In the galley, you can create your own recipes under laboratory-like conditions and eventually end the day overlooking the harbor from the spa underneath the roof.