THE LYTE - Creators of the Most Beautiful Living Dreams - Interview with Randi Mara Schumacher and Armin Panahi

Their inspiration comes from art exhibitions, fashion, and even everyday life: The Düsseldorf-based creative duo PASCH Design designs and visualizes apartments in buildings parallel to their development. Just like for THE LYTE. Randi Mara Schumacher and Armin Panahi constantly explore tradition and innovation, minimalism and opulence. The result is the most beautiful living dreams.

THE LYTE: Do you remember your first impression when the THE LYTE project was presented to you?

RS: We were thrilled. I find it particularly special that the building, despite its imposing size, is very delicately proportioned, almost feminine.

AP: We immediately liked the brightness of THE LYTE, its shell, the white. Since buildings in HafenCity often take on the red tones of the Speicherstadt, a white tower stands out prominently. Thus, our basic idea of how to approach the interior and the building itself became clear quickly. It was about continuing to support the light, mixing sophistication with classic elements. We wanted warmth instead of minimalism.

THE LYTE: How do you start the design process?

RS: Often, Armin introduces a metaphorical image as the initial idea. We then delve into it and develop a story around it. This happens in an intense interplay, a bit like ping-pong.

AP: Initially, we are primarily interested in the structures of the apartments. We put ourselves in the future residents' shoes and play through various scenarios. We mentally experience the rooms, for example, going into the kitchen in the morning.

RS: Additionally, we try to capture the character of the house. We then formulate expectations regarding the quality and appearance of both the furnishings and the floor plans. The latter already determine modernity. For instance, closed dark kitchen units in small apartments are now obsolete. We then conceptualize the entire interior, from the bathroom to the built-in elements and the kitchen. In our 3D visualizations, we can represent rooms down to the last joint as we envision them. We can also digitally recreate realistic sight lines, such as the view from THE LYTE to the Elbphilharmonie – which is unique!

THE LYTE: What is the basis of your interior concept? Which image served as the "plaything"?

AP: We found that people generally tend toward either cooler or warmer tones. Therefore, we started to explore various color schemes and examine light in its different facets. Since we both love the whole cosmos of design, we found inspiration in fashion. The brand Burberry, famous for its iconic beige trench coat, works a lot with these sand tones.

RS: In one of their past collections, the colors of the checkered coat linings had their saturation completely removed. The result: soft beige; in contrast to gray tones. We found that very modern. From this, we developed the foundation for our first interior style, "SAND." The second, "SALT," caters to the previously mentioned preference for cooler nuances and is strongly related to the white facade.

THE LYTE: Where in the building or with which area did you start?

RS: With THE LYTE, we found it sensible to start with the bathroom and develop our design idea from that space into the living areas.

AP: The classic trench coat is beige on the outside and checkered on the inside. The pattern only occasionally reveals itself. We work with this accent in the bathrooms. They are tiled in sand colors, but the niches of the washbasins are highlighted with darker, ribbed accent tiles. This highlight is our interpretation of the open coat.

RS: And the black fittings are the buttons.

THE LYTE: Sounds like "Contemporary meets Classic"...

RS: That's right, our gentle colors are rather classic. In contrast, especially in the bathrooms, which are tiled up to the ceiling, we aim for a modern, monolithic character. In the smaller apartments, we extend the large-format tiles from the bathroom into the hallway. There, built-in furniture of the same color seamlessly blends into the picture. This monochrome concept creates a room-within-a-room effect, bringing the classical into the present. The matte, natural tactile quality of the materials also caters to a modern zeitgeist.

THE LYTE: It's unusual to offer small apartments of around 43 square meters in such a spectacular new build. How do you define luxury in such a reduced space?

AP: The living quality of these apartments is significantly enhanced by the integration of a kind of living wall, which in a compressed form offers everything needed – including a fully equipped kitchen, storage space, and open shelving elements. The individual design of this element for each apartment creates smart solutions for different spatial situations. In studio apartments, for example, the kitchen can disappear into a cupboard. The idea of looking at possible remnants from the night before in the morning disturbed us. Additionally, it's very comfortable to plan for a large bed instead of a sofa bed.

THE LYTE: Do you also design the furniture?

AP: Correct, there is an option to purchase all built-in elements such as kitchens and cabinets. Here too, the play with the Burberry effect continues. Wherever you look at surfaces or into niches, the colors of the respective style appear, in the kitchen, behind shelves.

THE LYTE: THE LYTE is not your first project for DCD. Do you ever use the opportunity for copy-and-paste?

AP: That would be too simple! Our design standards remain constant across projects. However, each project challenges us to reinvent ourselves to create something unique.

RS: As a team, we share a perfectionist approach. Every stage of a project undergoes a thorough review. In the end, there are many details to consider – and that can be really time-consuming…

AP: …and creative. In one of the bedrooms, for example, there is a small recess due to a support, about 10 cm deep. It is now invisible because we specifically designed a bed wall that fills the gap with design.

THE LYTE: From the small to the large: You are also responsible for all common areas, hallways, and the entrance. What can residents of THE LYTE expect there?

RS: In the public areas, we can realize our style in more extreme variants. These include artistic ceiling designs, very high baseboards instead of narrow skirting boards, brushed brass in various applications.

AP: By the way, the entrance area is also inspired by classical architecture. The linear light ceiling is an interpretation of traditional columns. It responds to the light from outside, which seems to be drawn into the building and extends in luminous bands from the extremely high ceiling to the floor. Additionally, we did not simply paint the hallways but lined them with wallpaper. It is very nice that we were able to design the entire path from the entrance area to every piece of furniture in the apartments in THE LYTE. This makes everything cohesive.

MEDIUM:
Überseequartier „The LYTE" Magazin - 2023

LOCATION:
Hamburg

LINK:
www.the-lyte.com/objektbroschuere

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