Youth Lab Research Project in Collaboration with Häfele
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Häfele introduces the “Youth Lab” project featuring intelligent room solutions for the youth hostels of tomorrow.
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The bed folds down in the blink of an eye.
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The bed folds down in the blink of an eye.

A specialist provider of hardware and fittings, Häfele is synonymous with multifunctional furniture, intelligent solutions for spaces, and expert advice. At interzum 2013 the company with headquarters in Nagold showcased its expertise with a forward-looking pilot project: the “Youth Lab”, which aims to design the youth hostel accommodations of the future. Intelligent room solutions and versatile furniture combine to divide the hostel room into several functional areas and allow it to adapt flexibly to changing needs.

This project is an excellent example of Häfele’s core competency in supporting customers from the initial project concept through to final professional realization. The company has a strong reputation for technical planning and development of individualized and intelligent solutions for rooms, relying on sliding walls, partitions, doors and innovative hardware fittings. This approach is supported by the new products and system solutions exhibited by Häfele at interzum.

“Youth Lab”: Optimum functionality for every guest

Häfele is making the travel accommodations of the future more comfortable. The “Youth Lab” is a joint project in cooperation with the Bavarian Association of German Youth Hostels (DJH) and students of the University of Applied Sciences Munich, headed by Prof. Ruth Berktold. Youths, adolescents and the young at heart form the target group for the project. The challenge for Häfele was to design a room able to flexibly accommodate two to six guests, while offering room for group activities as well as private areas. The result is a multifunctional room able to comfortably accommodate students in a six-bed room – but which can easily be transformed into a room for families featuring a sleeping area for two children and a separate double bed for the parents.

Versatile solutions for furniture as well as hardware and fittings complement this concept, allowing a single room to fulfil a range of needs and promoting optimal use of the space. For example, the bathroom door is designed such that it can open inwards at 90 degrees; in this position, it effectively separates the shower area and sink from one another like a mobile wall. This means the bathroom can be used simultaneously even by two individuals who don’t know each other. Häfele offers another way to save space in a single room in the form of a double bed and table that can be compactly folded up against the wall.

Professional advice and extraordinary ideas

Häfele is not only a renowned specialist provider of hardware and fittings; they are also a source of inspiration for creating new furniture and versatile spaces. “Temporary living”: from development of multifunctional living concepts through to individualized room solutions, the company offers modern, practical solutions for hotels and the travel sector. Häfele also offers its partners access to its innovative approach and comprehensive project expertise, from initial planning stages through to project completion.

Source: Häfele

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