Motel One Campus-Restaurant

For the Munich headquarters of hotel chain Motel One, we designed a conference and training centre, multiple office floors, a central lobby and a restaurant that is also open to the public. The aim was to identify a single design idiom to be used across all areas, which meshes with the Corporate Identity of Motel One while still possessing an autonomous identity.

The Campus Restaurant caters to three different user groups: It is designed as an attractive restaurant and bar location for hotel guests and visitors, while also serving as a canteen for staff.

The restaurant extends upwards over two storeys. The entrance from the lobby is set within a large glass wall, which stretches from floor to ceiling and makes an inviting gesture. The metal ceiling lamellae in the lobby are continued into the restaurant, so that the visitor is drawn into the space. In the centre of the imposing airspace hangs a canopy of opulent pendant lamps that resemble Chinese lanterns.

Different shapes of lampshade, all made from corrugated cardboard, let light escape in horizontal lines, creating a warm and enticing ambience. These horizontal lines are reflected in the oversize window shutters, which play with the height of the space. The Chinese lanterns, window shutters and rear brick wall bring the outdoors inside, so that guests feel they could be sitting at a piazza table.

Guests can choose between different sizes and shapes of table dotted throughout the open space. Matching chairs were selected for each table, depending on the individual seating and conversation situation. An attractive and striking bar counter forms a backdrop, projecting a bar-like atmosphere into the space. Three table elements of differing heights and materials divide up this area, enabling multifunctional use, since it must function for bar and restaurant, as well as for the hotel breakfast buffet.

A tiled wood-burning stove marks the transition to the rear area of the space, while the wooden core behind conceals the kitchen. Here guests sit at long rows of tables that run at right angles to two large windows giving onto the lobby. In the rear area of what is now a one-storey space, the atmosphere changes. Low pendant lamps, leather-upholstered benches, wooden cladding and wine refrigerators bring a distinct look and feel to this area, which serves as an enoteca and bar.

The upper level is accessed via a long staircase and contains a small lounge and two separate private dining rooms. From here, a bridge connects the restaurant with the One University, the company’s in-house training centre.

With its heterogeneous range of seating options and very different hospitality contexts, the Campus Restaurant caters to a diverse yet discriminating clientele. Natural materials with open, haptic surfaces translate the atmosphere and philosophy of the hotel chain into an inviting restaurant environment.

Ippolito Fleitz Group
Gunter Fleitz, Peter Ippolito, You Seok Kirschenmann, Tim Lessmann, Yuliya Lytyuk, Emma Nishimoto, Mario Rodriguez, Enrique Sanz Segura, Tanja Ziegler

pfarré lighting design (Lichtplanung)