The Restrooms of Gundel Restaurant
Gundel is one of the most famous and luxurious restaurant of Budapest since 1910, located in the City Park, serving a traditional kitchen. The facility is undergoing several developments recently. The original building was built in 1894, and now LAB5 architects had the chance to design the refurbishment of its toilets.
Space
Since the given space is tight and the program needed even bigger number of toilets then the existing situation, we used bright surfaces, mirrors and glasses for compensation. Materials, colours and details are in accordance with the old styled interiors, but from a contemporary toolkit.
Window
To make the space feel bigger and provide a more natural atmosphere, we let the whole surfaces of the windows to be open. Providing intimacy we covered the windows by a new layer of opal glass and placed cut flowers in-between.
Mirrors
As a metaphor - we see the hand wash basins as a fountain of cleanness and freshness, the mirrors are following the shape and setting as if they were rising bubbles. The tiniest space is the common lobby, the short walls on both ends are covered by full mirror to create the impression of an infinite corridor.