BWM Designers & Architects

The sound of the city.

The concept of the first Jaz in the City in the “city of music” is a revolutionary one. BWM Architekten have created the design for a hotel that is a house of music at the same time. It is a place for both local and guest musicians and music lovers to get together for a shared experience of the sound of the city.

Through the record store into the hotel.
The extraordinary concept already begins at the entrance. Guests enter the new lifestyle hotel in Vienna’s Mariahillf district via a record store, where the sales counter doubles as the check-in desk. “Our goal was to design a hotel where musicians and music lovers will immediately feel at home. Accordingly, our concept draws a lot of inspiration from the world of music,” explains Erich Bernard of BWM Architekten, himself a keen amateur musician.

Live from the lobby.
This concept permeates virtually all areas of the hotel. For instance, the soundproof glass cube in the middle of the lobby, to the left of the entrance, calls to mind a recording studio. It can be used either for meetings or, should the occasion arise, for live broadcasts. The lobby is divided into various seating islands. Some of these are surrounded by trellis-like structures reminiscent of open cages, which create a sense of intimacy without cutting these zones off from the rest of the room. The elongated niche along the wall in various shades of red resembles an oversized amplifier, hence its name: the “Red Amplifier”.

Ready for concerts.
A tunnel-like passage leads along the lobby and past the square-shaped bar through to the conference room. The conference room is divided into three separate areas that can be used separately or joined together to create one continuous concert or event space that is equipped with all the necessary technical fixtures. “The Jaz in the City Vienna is chic, modern and carries the local DNA in each and every detail – whether in the design, the food and drink, or in the entertainment offers. The hotel transforms into a stage for the local music and culture scene, from spontaneous DJ sessions and regular gigs to turntables in the hotel lobby. Jaz brings the artists and their work into the hotel,” says general manager aka The Band Leader Michael Fritz.

The sound of the street.
The large cased openings between the hallway and the lobby on the one side and the bar and breakfast area on the opposite side are fitted with industrial-looking roller shutters that can be opened or closed as needed. Their urban, garage-door look is yet another studio reference. The hallway also leads past an open kitchen boasting a neon sign that reads “Würstelstand” (hot-dog stand) which serves breakfast dishes in the mornings and street food in the evenings. “The Jaz in the City,” architect Bernard continues, “is a place with a strong connection with the city and is intended as a meeting place for the local scene as well as for musicians and music lovers from around the world. It is our hope that music enthusiasts will feel at home here and experience Vienna on familiar, musical territory.” And this experience may also include the expansive view across Vienna from the rooftop terrace with its shiny, golden bar.

Guest room = rehearsal room.
The passages leading to the 163 guest rooms are inspired by nightclub entrances and visually draw on the amplifier motif. And the music theme is also unmistakeable inside the rooms.“Musicians can relate to the ambience in the rooms,” Erich Bernard explains. “It’s the kind of setting they will enjoy practising their (unplugged) instruments in and picturing themselves performing onstage.” On top of that, there is a turntable in each room that guests can use to listen to records from the well-stocked in-house record store.