Recovery of historic baths in Berlin. A transformation that transforms them into luxury hotels

The city's public bath remained abandoned for three decades before being restored to life when it was purchased to be transformed into a hotel. The over 100-year-old building, with a total area of 8600 square metres, needed conservative restoration. It was essential to preserve as many historical elements as possible and where possible, restore them to their original state. According to the plans, the public bathroom was to be transformed into a modern swimming pool with spa and a 4-star hotel with a restaurant, a bar, several training rooms, 70 rooms, two apartments and 5 tower suites incorporated

At the heart of the renovation project was the swimming pool, with its cathedral-like appearance, which became the focus of the project. In just 20 minutes the billiard room and pool became an extraordinary location for events thanks to a specially designed lifting floor that transforms the space into a room for 800 people

The preservation of the historical elements was the main subject of the renovation work, as well as the 100 distinctive doors of the shower cubicles and bathtubs, which were completely restored and recycled. This operation was possible thanks to the choice of using Eclisse sliding door frames, consisting of a sturdy metal structure and designed in such a way that, regardless of the version for drywall or plaster, it enabled a very flexible design of the doors

Thanks to these solutions, it has been possible to masterfully restore the doors of the historic cabins. The door panels were fitted in a wooden frame and covered with two sheets of glass and supported by thin brass panels. Exhibited in this way, the old doors have a unique effect in modern hotel rooms. Another decisive factor in the choice of sliding doors was the fact that they disappear completely into the subframe mounted in the wall

The conference rooms were originally used for the small bathroom and the shower cubicles were maintained in their original appearance. Many details of the old public bathroom have been preserved and bring the old days back to life. For example, the soap trays integrated into the wall are now used as pen trays. The construction of the restaurant, located in the old boiler room and the bar was very successful: the two gastronomic areas are very elegant and fit harmoniously into the overall design concept, thanks to the extreme aesthetic sensitivity of the architects