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Interview with hotel designer Andreas Neudahm – „Nyx is an independent brand using a particular style DNA, which we’ve created exclusively for Leonardo Hotels. Layout and inside is now 100 percent of my own pencil”

Nyx München

Berlin, Germany – 17 November 2017 –
The hotel sector is extremely aggressive like no other sector. Outstanding design, technical advancements and concepts tailored to the needs of the guest determine the market. It’s therefore not surprising that Leonardo Hotels builds a contemporary lifestyle product – that the Nyx Hotels – that was created in cooperation with the internationally renowned hotel interior designer Andreas Neudahm. Nyx is an independent brand that is dedicated to individuality and urbanity within its own contemporary design idea. Interior Designer Designer Andreas Neudahm knows with over 25 years of experience what’s essential in the design and reports in an interview about the development of the Nyx Hotels.

Andreas Neudahm
Andreas Neudahm

They established, on their own, a comprehensive design theory for an entire hotel manufacturer – that the Nyx Hotels: How did that come about?
The Nyx job was the consequence of my long cooperation with Leonardo Hotels. The hotel industry is developing at a rapid pace, similar to the way in which the world wide web is growing. As a result, Leonardo Hotels wanted to create a contemporary lifestyle product, in which I eventually came into play: In conversations with them, we wondered how this kind of product may look like and shaped an exciting new theory – the Nyx Hotels.

I had been particularly interested in the simple fact that I had the chance to unite my classic interior design jobs with a more experimental job.

How do you approach such a hotel layout concept?
You examine the sector and think really carefully about where you can find your particular niche. We’ve found and filled this one market with Nyx for people, as together with our concept we’re not addressing a majority, however, a minority. The focus would be on the query: What special characteristics can we provide our clients? The answer is very clear: a product that sets itself aside and improves the market chances of the brand. To this end, we first discuss with sales, operations control and all other critical locations. Because of this, a fundamental idea may be put forward, like developing a hotel project at Nyx that handles the culture of the city and the neighbourhood. This procedure was extremely intricate and dull since we do not replicate anything, but make something new with every Nyx hotel.

Which things did you have to “know” back again? Exactly what “Aha” -understanding was there?
Here, too, it’s very important to take a good look at the market before designing your own project. It is striking that there is a lot of movement on the current market and many exciting concepts are represented. A significant aha-experience was that it is fairly possible to make an individual resort and yet it could be brought together with the standardized qualities of a chain. Exactly this is exactly what Nyx reflects – we’ve combined unique hotels with all the professionalism of a global hotel chain.

Nyx München
Nyx Munich

Did you have total creative freedom for your own layout concept?
Yes, as Leonardo Hotels and now I have been working together for quite a very long time. Thus, the confidence and profitable work are terrific. But I have always been part of the group and didn’t pick on my own.

How does your style of this Nyx Hotels differ from your other hotel jobs?
Nyx is now an independent brand using a special style DNA, which we have made solely for Leonardo Hotels. An important part of the interior design is the artistic strategy and also the Street Art concept. At each place, we work together with a curator found in the specific city. He, in turn, indicates suitable local street art artists, of whom we choose one to utilize. Along with graffiti, our attention is on sculptural artwork and street art painting. Artists are somewhat unconventional, just like their language, and it is precisely how they bring their own essence, strength and spirit into the plan concept of each hotel. This makes that the Nyx Hotels exceptional.

How much new fake is there in your Nyx layout?
Design and interior design is 100 percent of my own pencil, but the idea for the Street Art concept was developed together in a group.

Who do you want to address along with your lifestyle design concept?
Youngsters, young professionals, people who are interested in art, folks who prefer to travel separately and naturally people from the surrounding region. We appeal to people who are cosmopolitan and that like to adopt new views while they want to travelling in an upscale manner.

Nyx München
Nyx Munich

What special setting can guests expect that you produce with your layout at Nyx Hotels?
Nyx stands for urbanity, meaning that the concept must not only attract and inspire visitors from overseas but also taxpayers of the town. Along with overnight accommodation, we additionally offer regional lifestyle in the resort, which is reflected in the pub, restaurant and an open reception – a meeting location. In particular, the open reception is a room with flowing pits and bounds, a marketplace for visiting and being seen, together with “Cozy Corner”, where guests can draw for professional discussions and then toast straight at the pub. We may not have reinvented the hotel, but we’ve devised the ambience and atmosphere.

In summary: what’s the USP of your design to Nyx?
Layout & Art. Fashion & Lighting. Leisure & Unique.

What would the Nyx houses have in common with their design concept – and how do they differ from each other again?
All of Nyx hotels are at destinations that offer something unique. Figuring out what they can expect from that new – a single inside design that is timeless and high quality. As distinct as the houses are in fashion, they all offer the safety of a living area and also the comfort of the upscale resort business. The inside is different, however, the criteria are exactly the same.

Developing a whole design resort notion: Is it feasible to go farther in your career when you have previously achieved, and if so, the best way to go?
I think that the hotel sector will continue to develop and, in some instances, be more technologically advanced. So long as my business is moving, there’ll remain exciting fresh challenges for me, because I would like to practice my career and my enthusiasm for a few more years.

Andreas Neudahm, created 1968, was a successful interior designer for more than 25 years. Using its innovative room concepts, it gives the perfect atmosphere in public buildings like congress centres and famous hotels all around the world. The charming designer is now able to look back to a lengthy list of testimonials from high-ranking houses and customers: his clients include Westfalenhallen Dortmund GmbH, Leonardo Hotels, Ascott, Marriott, Starwood, InterContinental Hotels Group along with Accor – that his know-how is currently in demand worldwide. Andreas Neudahm’s spatial concepts welcome the guest: he also combines sensual spatial encounter with practical homeliness and creates rooms with personality, charm and soul.