Modern nomad
For the modern nomad, Dieter
Neikes describes the hotel guests,
inviting them to slow down and
live in the moment. “The b’mine
hotel is designed for the mod-
ern man. For busy people. It’s
a getaway from daily routine.”
As he refers to the hotel rooms as
“a perfect home for limited time:
luxurious and practical”. The story
begins when you walk into the
hotel and the music invites you
into the elevator. When you leave
the elevator, kreon nuit in the
hallway continue to play music.
All the elements are uniquely
designed for the b’mine hotel:
the special flooring, the lighting
system, the artwork, the furniture
in the rooms, the colors that bring
the outside experience in.
Outside → inside
Even the use of colors is poetry
here. The same colors from the
outside façade were used in the
rooms. When the daylight fades,
the colors in the room change.
Just like colors in nature change
when dusk sets. It is how the
architect makes outside and
inside come together.
The hallways are designed
to counteract mass feelings.
No hallways with one door
behind the other as one might
expect from hotels. But little
coves with indirect light to give
a personal feeling.
Internationally
patented Car Lofts
The hotel has 202 rooms:
single rooms and double but
the hotel really stands out with
its unique and internationally
patented Car Lofts. Spacious
modern rooms adjacent to a
personal parking space for
your car. Guests drive their car
into the car lift and with the
barcode on their smartphone
— which they obtained after
checking in online or at the
front desk — the elevator takes
them to their parking space
next to their hotel room. The
same barcode gives access
to the hotel room from the
personal parking space. So if
you want you can check in,
stay overnight and leave the
hotel with your car without
ever meeting one single living
soul. If you want. kreon wabi
provides the individual car
parkings with indirect lighting.
In the hotel rooms of the Car
Lofts and the double rooms
guests find kreon holon 40
directional luminaires near
the bed. To touch, to redirect,
to read, to use at night should
they want to get up.
The artwork in the Car Lofts
all contain cars in one way
or another. The artwork on
the wall is highlighted with
kreon holon 80 directional
luminaires.
All the know-how and the experience of
Neikes and kreon was brought together
for the perfect lighting solution
↑
kreon holon 40
directional are
used as bedside
lamps and
kreon holon 80
directional as the
main lighting.
The modern design of the rooms
can’t compare. Everything you
see in the room is carefully
considered before it was placed
there. The curtain around the
bed makes the cocooning feel-
ing complete. There is no main
light in the room like other ho-
tels rooms often have. No stand-
ard installation but designed
for practical use. To simulate a
“loft” feeling.
Neikes explains: “ We want
guests to feel at peace with the
lighting. In the streets in gen-
eral there is too much lighting.
The minimum of light in the
hotel and the rooms bring calm-
ness and relaxation. You don’t
need more.” Less is more was
the rule of thumb in the design-
ing process. You see evidence
of this philosophy everywhere
throughout the hotel: the design
of the rooms, the hallways and
even in lighting less is more.
Less is more
As the architect explains, there
is only as much light provided
as is needed. In the hallways
kreon holon 80 luminaires were
placed when Neikes discov-
ered the glow circle was too
wide. “I immediately contacted
kreon and told them ‘we have a
problem’ they immediately came
to Düsseldorf and together we
figured out a perfect solution.
We adjusted the louvre of the
luminaires and kreon sent them
into production. Now the result
is perfect.”
Top floor
The top floor is designed as a
B2B location where meetings,
dinners, parties and soirees
can be organized. The poet-
ry in colors continues here as
every ceiling of each room has a
unique color with a story behind
it. The name of the colour of the
ceiling is the name of that room.
Even in toilets the color scheme
continues and the kreon lighting
provides just as much light as
is needed.
kreon and belux lighting is used
in the bar and the event loca-
tions. As is unsure for what type
of events this room will be used
— could be a corporate meeting
or a small dance party — the
choice of lighting makes it pos-
sible to accommodate all kinds
of events.
In one corner we see kreon holon
80 as well as kreon nuit. “It is
designed for small tables but
also for bigger tables” Neikes ex-
plains. “Your lighting and furni-
ture must be designed together
if you want to make it work.”
That is exactly how Neikes op-
erated in this design. The main
idea of the hotel was identified.
Then he opened the dialogue
with kreon lighting designers.
Together all the know how and
the experience of both parties
could be brought together for
the perfect solution for the hotel
lighting of this unique concept.
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kreonicle
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interview
