LAVA Reinvents the Youth Hostel With Sport Oriented Design in Bayreuth

Berlin-based Laboratory for Visionary Architecture (LAVA) has designed a 180-room hostel for the Bavarian Youth Hostel Association in Bayreuth, Germany. Designed for the sociable Generation Y traveler, the hostel offers an abundance of flexible public spaces featuring bright colours and soaring windows overlooking the Bavarian landscape. Touted by the firm as a "yardstick for the sports hostel of the future," the futuristic building includes modular furniture and universal step-free access throughout all facilities, grounds, and sports fields. Circulation for the design centres on a Y-shaped plan designed to maximize natural light light while providing ample opportunities for athletic engagement.

Find out more about Bayreuth's futuristic Youth Hostel after the break 

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The central atrium will unite the building's three wings. Image Courtesy of LAVA

LAVA applied theories on intelligent organization when planning the hostel, creating a symbiosis of spaces while optimizing square footage throughout the building. Using their experience redesigning the Berchtesgaden Youth Hostel, the project team developed a plan that revolved around an energetic central hub of activity. The meeting point of the hostel's three wings is anchored by a two-storey amphitheatre-style atrium for socializing beneath a massive skylight or enjoying the landscape from one the space's full-height windows. The atrium flows into a host of other social and semi-private spaces, and is adjacent to a series of meeting and seminar spaces - an unorthodox addition to traditional hostel plans.

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Courtesy of LAVA

"We are in the designer age when Gen Y travellers want funky design, a special identity, access to online and community, and unique experiences - not just a clean bed and shower," explained the project team. A strong visual aesthetic teamed with clever functional elements provided the solution the team was searching for. Modular bedroom units featuring a combination of two, four and six beds placed throughout the hostel will offer maximum versatility for visiting sports teams and individual guests, simultaneously creating opportunities for networking in the in-between spaces. Amenities in the modern bedrooms include heated floors, in-room bathrooms, floor-to-ceiling windows and collapsible desk space. 

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A view of the modular bedroom units. Image Courtesy of LAVA

A focus on sport was the catalyst for the design, inspiring LAVA to provide unique vantage points of the adjacent sports pitches from each of the bedrooms. The complex features a series of hybrid indoor-outdoor spaces designed for warming up, practicing, and playing casual games. The open-concept style of the facility is designed to activate the space and provide opportunities to work, play and exercise. The facility will also include a bistro, kitchen, an outdoor terrace and plenty of space to roam the Bavarian landscape. 

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Courtesy of LAVA
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Courtesy of LAVA

Construction on the Bayreuth Youth Hostel is scheduled to begin in early 2015.

  • Architects

  • Location

    Bayreuth, Germany
  • Architects in Charge

    Chris Bosse, Tobias Wallisser, Alexander Rieck
  • Design Team

    Julian Fahrenkamp, Nicola Schunter, Paula Gonzalez, Jan Kozerski, Elise Elsacker, Myung Lee; Competition team: Sebastian Schott, Stephan Albrecht, Stefanie Pesel
  • Architects (costs + planning)

    Wenzel+Wenzel
  • Structure

    Engelsmann Peters, Stuttgart/Graz
  • Mechanical engineering

    IBT PAN, Berlin
  • Fire and Building Physics

    Bauart, München
  • Landscape

    IB Riede, Nürnberg
  • Kitchen

    b.o.b.
  • Area

    3400.0 sqm
  • Project Year

    2014
  • Photographs

  • Location

    Bayreuth, Germany
  • Project Year

    2014
  • Photographs

    Courtesy of LAVA
  • Area

    3400.0 m2
  • Fire

    Bauart, München
  • Building Physics

    Bauart, München
  • Mechanical Engineering

    IBT PAN, Berlin

Project gallery

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About this office
Cite: Finn MacLeod. "LAVA Reinvents the Youth Hostel With Sport Oriented Design in Bayreuth " 29 Nov 2014. ArchDaily. Accessed . <https://www.archdaily.com/573384/lava-reinvents-the-youth-hostel-with-sport-oriented-design-in-bayreuth> ISSN 0719-8884

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