WIDN blog

The building’s architecture and locale are rooted in the early 20th century Jugendstil art movement and tell a story that is a vital ingredient in the design mix. These influences were seamlessly mixed with Le Méridien standards and reflect the cosmopolitan style for which the brand is known.

The Fürstenhof addition was built to accommodate overflow from the existing restaurant and double as a conference room when necessary. JOI-Design’s use of a classic black and white colour pairing is crisp and confident, whilst black mouldings on ivory panels are a refined interpretation of traditional Germanic construction with plaster and timber beams. The smooth streamlined style of the Jugendstil era is evoked through the clean lines of the wenge tables and suede dining chairs, silver floral wallcovering and striped patterns in the carpet.

In the guestrooms, heritage details, modern classics, and cartography have been channelled into fashionable elements that suggest luxury associations. Doubling as coffee tables and nightstands are bespoke steamer trunks tailored with tooled leather corners and handles. In some of the bedrooms the headboard is tufted in a diamond-pattern, while the sofas are upholstered in a black-and-white hound's-tooth check.

The city’s cultural heritage is paid homage through the interior design. Nürnberg was the birthplace of German artist Albrecht Dürer, whose woodcuts created in 1515 of the constellations in the northern and southern hemispheres would influence theorists for years to come. The city is also the home of the first pocket watch. JOI-Design borrowed from these landmark symbols of the passage of time – as well as the Le Méridien brand tenet of cartography – by integrating into some of the guestrooms bespoke carpeting and wallcovering with a pattern of an astronomical map.