Located in a traditional harbour setting near the town centre of Warnemünde, Germany’s first upcycled hostel has been created.
The concept of using shipping containers for residential projects is not new but the scale of their use for the Dock Inn is what marks the project out. In a previous life, the 25 m2 shipping containers transported goods of all kinds across the oceans, today they offer travellers a hostel and the opportunity to dream of the expanse of the oceans. The Swiss-German architecture firm Holzer Kobler Architekturen has combined 63 shipping containers into a boutique hostel in Warnemünde.
The hostel, with its use of recycled containers and its location on the pier, connects the project to the industrial shipyard surroundings and the open sea. The building complex is divided into two parts: a four-storey structure made from recycled, soundproofed containers sits on a two-storey base structure of steel, concrete and glass.
The base structure comprises an open, inviting entrance hall with a restaurant, bar, guest kitchen and work stations on an integrated gallery. The glass front facing onto the street allows lots of natural light into the space. The painted container modules make up the four upper floors. These are offset and placed in a galvanized steel and concrete structure. The painted containers are staggered over their four-storey height which help to reflect the maritime environment of the sea, beaches, shipyard cranes and create an eye-catching, industrial-style of architecture within the harbour area.
The boutique hostel offers double rooms and dormitories, as well as suites on the top floor. Some of the container units on the top floor have even been transformed into a spa. Facing the nearby River Warnow, all living areas offer a view of the harbour.
The balconies providing access to the rooms feature extended platforms where you can relax and get to know some of your fellow guests. The unusual, open entrance areas on all floors makes the building look ‘lived in’ from the outside and marks it out as a place of interaction to anyone passing by — whether on foot or by boat.
Architect: Holzer Kobler Architekturen
Image: Jan Bitter, Berlin