White stand-alone

Located directly on the “Binnenalster” lake in the district of Rotherbaum in Hamburg, the luxury hotel “The Fontenay” boasts 130 rooms and suites and a fantastic view of the water and the park-like surroundings. The dynamic, wave-shaped architecture combines three intertwining circles clad in ceramic panels glazed in white – in line with the design guidelines for construction on the “Alster” lake. In contrast to red brick, the building material typically used in Hamburg, the facade creates a dazzling interplay with the nearby water. Even on gray days the façade, with its 14,000 square meters of window panes, allows a great deal of daylight to penetrate the rooms of the luxury hotel.

With its intricate design, construction of the facade alone, a combination of self-cleaning ceramic panels, glass and metal, required a general contractor with several years’ experience. Lindner took on the job as a one-stop shop, handling the entire planning down to the very last detail, the supervision of the construction work, and the coordination of the subcontractors. According to Jan Störmer of Störmer Murphy and Partners, the architects were more than happy with Lindner’s performance: “We were satisfied with every aspect of the work Lindner Fassaden GmbH provided – from the highly skilled planning of the grand hotel’s facade, which involved a great deal of technical know-how, to the technical implementation of the organic shapes with a professional team on site.” The wave-shaped building’s construction needs no solid columns, as the corridor walls are load-bearing. The heart of the white solitaire is green: It is made up of A greened inner courtyard and an enclosed 27-meter high atrium form the heart of the white stand-alone. (am)