The atrium of the five-star Hotel Bayerischer Hof, run by the Volkhardt family for four generations since 1897, is a very special place: at the heart of the Hotel Bayerischer Hof, the imposing glass dome rises to a height of over eight metres, bathing the room in a very special light and giving it a stately ambience. It has always been a meeting place where many people gather for various occasions and events. In the past, the splendour of this room was emphasised by the glass dome and marble columns as well as the mirrored folding doors. Now it has undergone a makeover – once again, the internationally renowned interior designer, art collector and antique dealer Axel Vervoordt from Belgium was at work. With him, hotel director Innegrit Volkhart has now realised her eighth construction project, following the Garden and Atelier restaurants, the Cinema Lounge, the Palais Hall, the entire "south and north wing" section with 28 rooms and the luxurious 350 m² Penthouse Garden Suite, as well as the Palais Keller restaurant and, most recently, the newly designed event rooms in the historic Palais Montgelas.  

Axel Vervoordt decided to give this room a fresh look by visually integrating the glass dome into the cornices. He wanted to create uniformity in the colour scheme of the ceiling and floor, all in shades of vibrant green, light blue and yellow. He commissioned Spanish-Belgian artist Angel Vergara to paint a total of 16 panels for the folding doors to give the room an additional artistic dimension. The idea was to design the sliding doors in the same spirit as his series "J'efface et cela apparaît" – in which overwhelming, abstract-looking cloud skies seem to emerge from the many layers of colour. Although the colours in his paintings do not directly refer to natural phenomena, the connection to William Turner or even Claude Monet seems obvious. Given the various functions of the room, it was important in the concept that it could be easily rearranged by opening the sliding doors and removing the furniture. A large, curved sofa upholstered in a similar green fabric was added as a centrepiece. Around the sofa are various lightweight club chairs on castors, designed by Axel Vervoordt especially for the Hotel Bayerischer Hof, with matching tables made in Vervoordt's workshop. 

 "The task with the atrium was to give the space a new dimension without betraying its history and to design it in such a way that people in the 21st century would feel comfortable in it. Everything that can be changed and influenced – the colours, the fabrics, the furniture – must be designed to match the 19th-century glass dome and blend into the house," says Axel Vervoordt about the current project. Innegrit Volkhardt emphasises: "For me, no other architect came into question, because for Axel Vervoordt, as for me, the present is a mixture of the past and the future, but preservation is much more than just a duty. Axel Vervoordt has a talent for skilfully combining the two, and here, too, in this historic location, he has brought the new and the old together. Vervoordt's sensitivity to historic building materials and his intuition for colours and materials have once again led to a wonderful result. We are very happy to be able to present these beautiful rooms to our guests in their new splendour."

Munich-based interior designer Gregor Baur, who had already worked with Axel Vervoordt on numerous renovation projects at the Hotel Bayerischer Hof, was commissioned to manage the project and oversee local planning. Together with Axel Vervoordt and Innegrit Volkhardt, Gregor Baur implemented the concept for the new atrium in such a way that it blends perfectly into the existing structures of the historic building. 

www.axel-vervoordt.com

www.bayerischerhof.de