Pigeon Post Bar & Eatery, Hilton Cologne

THDP designed the new Pigeon Post Bar & Eatery at Hilton Cologne, with a design concept inspired by the history of the hotel and its building – once being a Post Office. A brand new bar and kitchen offers a combination of local dishes and beverages mixed with Mediterranean ingredients and infused with international influences.

The hotel was once home to Cologne’s postal savings bank, a landmark building on the famous Marzellenstrasse. The building’s heritage is the inspiration for the interior design – expressing this vintage vibe, considered, contemporary with fun quirky details. A feature central bar with prominent overhead gantry in wood and copper colours, Table tops are in faux marble effects from Dekton and Neolith – expressing the previous functionality of the building and updating the effect to offer a more intimate but contemporary vibe.

Seating options in the bar are either at the bar on new Stellar Works bar stools, and custom made half moon cozy booths fabricated by Hagenauer, providing private dining in a more intimate space. Dining/lounge sets of 4 and 2 are for more casual occasions. The interior uses a simple earthy colour palette of blue greens, greys drizzled with mustard, and has a unique balance between industrial, vintage and modern styling. Visually attractive textures and materials were chose as guest touchpoints, visual appeal and durability.

Curating the artwork and accessory package sprang from the narrative of the F&B concept, an early choice was to re-use obsolete German 70’s office equipment and furnishings and to re-appropriate them in a relevant contemporary way. The overall effect was to convey a sense of heritage with a real 1970’s vibe. Vintage mechanical typewriters, light fittings and objet d’art were curated to give an aesthetic appeal and to be a curio or an ornamental talking point for “Pigeon Post” guests.

Artworks were inspired by the buildings history as a post office and represented using various mediums, including mixed media painting, stamp collages , ceramics, wood and digital prints created by local and international artists. Fun, colourful decorative objects, books and curiosities were incorporated for the dressing of the social working area Library.

Artworks inspired by collages, typography recalling the graphics of old German post offices, with perching wooden pigeons, screening inspired by typewriter keys were all incorporated to layer the interior.

The cool relaxed dining area uses dark faux stone for the table tops, seating is framed by rear glass privacy screening with bespoke lighting which is retro illuminated and visible front street. Signage is taken from Post Office Graphics mimicking postal or travel signage – using post marks and postage stamps.