The guest house of the Textile Academy NRW is located directly opposite the teaching building and offers trainees and those taking part in adult education accommodation on the campus of the “Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences”.
In contrast to its conspicuous neighbors, the guest house design is reserved with a simple perforated facade in shades of matt anthracite. Both buildings, which are both designed by sop architekten, are dissimilar, but they enter into a dialogue and form a harmonious ensemble.
The two cubic structures, which are connected underground, are similar in their proportions and the arrangement of closed and transparent surfaces and the recesses on the ground floor along the foyer and bistro are arranged at an angle to one another.

The windows frames are designed to sit seamless in the facade made of textile-reinforced concrete, which creates a connection to the teaching content of the academy. It makes the range of uses of textiles tangible in a different way compared to the neighboring academic building.
Together with the outdoor areas between them, which are also used for outdoor seating of the bistro, the two buildings create an inviting "campus within the campus", which can also be used by the students of the university.
The guest house has 59 rooms, some of which can be connected, accommodating more than 100 people. A bistro, kitchen and a bar, lounge areas with games, a fitness and relaxation room and learning rooms create opportunities for encounters and collaboration.
Like in the textile academy, exposed concrete and furniture made of oak or matt HPL in dark shades dominate the interiors of the guest house. The interior design team at sop architekten custom-designed all fixtures for the special requirements of the trainees.

This also applies to the acoustically active seating furniture, which consists of five flexible modules with storage space, removable, cube-shaped stools, pin boards and whiteboards. These movable elements can be pushed together and used as seating, room dividers, for work or storage as required.
Not only the blue high-gloss tiles in the bistro provide a strong color accent. A stage is set for the eleven meter tall color installation in the central atrium, which sop architekten realized in cooperation with the artist Heinz Mack.
Twelve panels ranging from bright pink to light green to deep orange give the rooms on each floor spectacular colors. The acoustic-panels are covered with the same fabrics from the Mack color tower created in 2017 and bring its bright colors into the academy. The color tower, initially erected in Düsseldorf as part of an exhibition, stands in front of the Textile Academy since the end of 2018.
The guest house opened in 2021.
photos: Andreas Wiese