Guest House of the Catholic Soldiers' Chaplaincy

The seat of the Catholic Military Bishopric of Berlin is located in the historic barracks complex on Weidendamm in Mitte. The corner building, which was erected in 1902 as a chamber and family residence, today houses offices and a guest house of the Catholic Military Chaplaincy.

Project

15 years after the guesthouse was furnished, the guest rooms including the sanitary facilities needed renovation. In 2015 and 2016, the guest rooms were rebuilt and renovated in two construction phases according to the planning and construction supervision by D:4.

Guest rooms and bathrooms were given a contemporary décor, which creates an inviting atmosphere with its simple, quiet aesthetics.

The goal of the interior design was a functionally emphasized furnishing of the premises. Minimalist built-in furniture in shades of blue and gray replaced the old veneer furniture.

As conference accommodations the short-term stay is in the foreground. This was met with a furniture programme developed for this purpose, in particular by suitcase shelves for "living out of a suitcase" and desks as notebook workstations.

In designing the rooms and bathrooms, the focus was also on the visual and functional enlargement of the sometimes relatively cramped space. This was achieved on the one hand by minor changes to the floor plan and on the other hand by a balanced colour concept with a play of light and dark staggering, the creation of depth and tranquillity through gentle tonal gradations.

In the bathrooms, the optical enlargement was achieved by room-length wall mirrors, which double the shallow depth of the room, and large tile formats with muted joint colours.

Works of art by the two Berlin artists Toni Wirthmüller and Klaus Zolondowski were embedded in the color scheme of the rooms as design focal points.