Meticulous, detail-oriented, and professionally driven—keywords typically associated with a well-written résumé—embody the essence that is Capri by Fraser Frankfurt, a serviced apartment and hotel in the city’s Europaviertel district from Frasers Hospitality. Selected from a competition to craft the brand’s first German offering, Hamburg-based JOI-Design looked to a 9-to-5 professional’s attire for inspiration.
“We visited the flagship Singapore location, along with Fraser Suites in London, to help us shape our concept, which was inspired by youthful business chic,” says JOI-Design’s co-managing director Peter Joehnk. “The serious color range typically associated with smart business suits was then translated into a contemporary design with soothing gray tones enlivened by bold citrus splashes.”
A merger of couture styling and art, the hotel’s lobby “feels like a modern living room, with stylish, yet playful touches that imbue a sense of warmth,” explains co-managing director Corinna Kretschmar-Joehnk. Black anthracite stone was paired with bright white accents for a formality that alludes to Frankfurt’s corporate culture, while contrasting yellow accents engender a friendly vibe geared toward younger guests.
The open space was compartmentalized with bookshelves, which subtly divide it into more intimate nooks. Meanwhile, a long communal table provides functional workstations for business travelers.
“Couture elements shape a design language that flows seamlessly from space-to-space,” says Joehnk, pointing to artwork in chunky black frames, curving mirrors, gold pendant lights, and spider-like sconces that “create harmonious visual links.”
For Caprilicious restaurant, the team zoned a range of seating options to accommodate intimate conversations and lively events. Its overall atmosphere is reminiscent of a quaint coffeehouse, with groupings of low- and high-backed chairs and a self-service bar for tableware.
The more fashion-conscious Drinx bar pops with a bespoke wallcovering in an abstract, monochromatic pattern. A palette of petrol blue, gray, and polished black saturates the space, where a monolithic, leather-lined bar glows from below. A double-sided sofa near the bar helps to break-up the room, which is punctuated by a constellation of pendant lights.
The German flagship’s 153 studio and one-bedroom apartments reinterpret buttoned-down business attire with delicate embroidery, houndstooth and pinstripe patterns, woolen upholstery, and finely seamed leatherwork—along with furniture and accessories, “suggestive of catwalk-worthy fashion,” adds Joehnk.
While high-style fashion photography imbues the rooms with polished glam, softer touches, such as a round area rug with abstract floral motifs, introduce residential comfort for long-stay visitors. Wallcoverings feature deconstructed houndstooth checks highlighted in gray and yellow detail, which Joehnk says is, “an encouragement to decompress and pursue unconventional, innovative perspectives.” An elongated, built-in fixture offers flexibility as a combination dining table, make-up station, bookshelf, and desk.
“Our aim was to deconstruct the hallmarks of classical taste,” explains Kretschmar-Joehnk, “and reweave these elements into contemporary forms that could inspire dwellers to think in creative, unrestricted ways.”
