Michaelsberg Abbey

Founded as a monastery in 1096, Michaelsberg Abbey has been converted into a hotel, conference and residence for the Catholic Social Institute. The furniture in the rooms, retreats and lounge areas, is upholstered with Grid, Memory 2 and Tokyo 2.

Kvadrat Soft Cells panels, covered in Memory 2, are used in the conference and lounge areas, as well as for headboards in the rooms. Curtains made from Prince by Kinnasand feature in all the guest rooms and in the conference space.

“The Kvadrat textiles blend into the building concept in both a simple and highly innovative manner. By working with the Kvadrat collection, we have been able to establish a finely-tuned synergy with the interior, in terms of colour, structure and surface. For instance, through flexibly adapting the Soft Cells acoustic panels to the room geometry, we have achieved the almost-invisible integration of required elements, such as doors – thereby turning a technically required acoustic element into a design module," Caspar Schmitz-Morkramer, architect and founder of meyerschmitzmorkramer.

Michaelsberg Abbey opened in May 2017 and is situated on a hilltop overlooking the Rhine Valley in Siegburg, Germany. Initially, the Archdiocese of Cologne developed a sustainable economic concept for the preservation of the buildings on the Michaelsberg hill. The objective was to accommodate the Catholic Social Institute in the complex and revitalise the abbey as a spiritual centre with a conference venue and a hotel.

Cologne-based meyerschmitzmorkramer realised this goal by adding a new building: the Forum. This hosts a restaurant, a level for conferences and rooms occupied by the KSI. The hotel rooms, the reception and several seminar rooms are accommodated in the abbey.

An interior concept focused on colour and materials unites the two buildings. The floors are mainly made from natural stone while warm oak is used for the windows, doors, floors, handrails and furnishings. The colour-scale comprises contrasting hues of mustard yellow, ox-blood red and midnight blue.