A private initiative is implementing a completely new concept in the state capital, which is intended to bring together the best of Berlin and Bregenz.
“We are thrilled that a crazy idea is now becoming reality,” says Roland Lang, who will run the Honolulu Hotel in Bregenz together with his partner Rahel Schoenthal. “Thanks to the broad support and many volunteers, we can now run the Honolulu Hotel in the Open in spring 2022 and create a place that benefits as many as possible.”
Roland Lang and Rachel Schoenthal
Private Initiative
The former Hotel Helvetia will become the Honolulu Hotel and this is to become a new, diverse meeting point in the Bregenz Weiherviertel. Since the future of the Weiherviertel has already been decided, the private initiative by Lang and Schoenthal will only be limited in time. Nevertheless, they have already put a lot of energy and heart and soul into the concept, which is new for Vorarlberg.
Honolulu Hotel
Even if it is limited in time, everyday life should meet culture, work life with leisure and young with old in the Honolulu Hotel. Incidentally, the operators are supported by the Prisma Group, which is responsible for the development of the district in the Weiherviertel. PRISMA CEO Bernhard Ölz also believes in the concept and says: “The former Hotel Helvetia will become a hot spot for the creative economy in Bregenz. We are happy about the collaborative temporary use project in the center of the state capital. As a creative hub, the Honolulu Hotel will provide exciting impulses and food for thought from April.”
© Prisma
“Come together”
The former guest garden is the central element of the Honolulu Hotel and, in its new guise, is to become a meeting place under the motto “come together”. Desks, offices and/or studios for companies of all kinds as well as room rental should round off the offer. A new place in the center of Bregenz, which does not yet exist and which we see as an addition to the existing offer.
Axis Berlin Bregenz
The initiators and managing directors of the Honolulu Hotel are Rahel Schoenthal and Roland Lang. Both lived in Berlin for a long time, Lang himself comes from Bregenz and so they know only too well about the advantages of the other city. The Honolulu Hotel should bring together what distinguishes the cosmopolitan city of Berlin and Bregenz. An attitude to life that is determined by the development of new spaces and local awareness.
Participation desired
Dealing with the existing is part of the Honolulu hotel. Lang and Schoenthal create the framework in the house and in the garden and want to appeal to people who want to be part of it. For example by using an office, selling your own products, playing on a stage or just being a guest. The more people appropriate this place, the greater the likelihood that it will continue to exist somewhere else after the time in the former Helvetia, if they are already thinking about the future.
Attractive interim use instead of vacancy
The cooperation between Honolulu OG and Prisma can be seen as a test laboratory, as the Vorarlberg location developer puts it. The idea behind it makes sense, of course. Before the building, which is in a very attractive location, is left empty during the development phase, an attempt is now being made to use it and to let prototypical potentials shine through. According to Prisma, the possibilities for district development and revitalization should be tangible. Both Prisma and the initiators are convinced that further project development can give rise to ideas and opportunities to develop new cooperation models. It could also be an additional impetus for strengthening community and identity for the location.
future of the Weiherviertel
In the future, the Weiherviertel in Bregenz is to be strengthened as a multifunctional residential, living, working and recreational area and designed with high-quality office addresses, diverse residential uses, “social ground floors” and gastronomic offers. At least that’s the plans of Prisma.