Several years ago, the Textile Academy NRW opened its doors on the Niederrhein University of Applied Sciences campus in Mönchengladbach – a distinctive structure wrapped in an elegant, filigree textile façade that perfectly reflects its purpose. Now, slapa oberholz pszczulny | sop architects from Düsseldorf have designed a guest house directly across the way, offering accommodation and meeting spaces for students and continuing education participants. Where its neighbour commands attention with bold design gestures, this building speaks in a quieter voice: a restrained perforated façade in matte anthracite. Yet despite their contrasting expressions, the two structures – connected below ground – engage in a compelling visual conversation, forming a unified composition. The two cubic volumes mirror each other in proportion and proportion alone. Look closer, and you'll notice how the arrangement of solid and transparent surfaces, along with the ground-floor recesses framing the foyer and bistro, create an intricate echo – as if one building were a subtly rotated reflection of the other. The windows themselves dissolve into the façade with almost identical seamlessness, yet the guest house façade is constructed from textile-reinforced concrete, an entirely different material. This specialized composite material nods thematically to the academy's educational mission, though in a distinctly different register than the main building. The two structures, together with the outdoor spaces between them – which also serve the bistro – create an inviting "campus within the campus."

The guest house contains 59 rooms – some convertible – that welcome more than 100 guests. A bistro, bar, shared kitchens, flexible lounges outfitted with games, a fitness and quiet room, and additional study spaces foster countless opportunities for connection and collaboration. Like the Textile Academy itself, the interior showcases exposed concrete paired with striking furniture in oak or matte HPL, rendered in deep tones. Every built-in element was custom-designed by sop architekten's interior team – including a mobile, acoustically engineered seating system comprising five adaptable modules with integrated storage, removable cubic stools, pin boards, and whiteboards. These elements reconfigure freely: arrange them as tiered seating, room dividers, workstations, or storage – the possibilities shift with each need. The atrium's focal point is an 11-metre colour installation developed in collaboration with artist Heinz Mack – a true visual spectacle. Twelve panels span a vibrant palette from hot pink through bright greens to deep orange, all clad in the same fabrics used for Mack's colour tower, completed in 2017 and now positioned in front of the Textile Academy. Acoustically functional as they are, these panels are first and foremost a bold celebration of colour.

www.sop-architekten.de

Photography Credits:

Andreas Wiese
www.fotografie-wiese.de

(Featured in CUBE Düsseldorf)