Jan Wehner

Frederik Fuchs, Niclas Gebhardt, Jan Wehner

Prof. Dipl.-Des. Dipl.-Ing. Bernd Rudolf, Prof. Gerrit Babtist

Winter semester 2012/13

Faculty:
Architecture and Urbanism,
Art and Design

Degree programme:
Architecture (Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.)),
Product Design (Bachelor of Arts (B.A.))

http://www.dashinterzimmer.de

Contributors:
Universitätskommunikation (Finanzierung Clip)

On entering the brightly lit »Hinterzimmer« (Back Room), there are few reminders of what these premises had been used for until recently. Not so long ago, it was the back room of a bakery where patrons sipped their coffee, and the saleswoman sold breakfast rolls and served slices of meatloaf for lunch. In the meantime, the charm of the bakery has been replaced by a pleasant, simple, handmade atmosphere by graduates of the Bauhaus-Universität Weimar.
Fred, Jan and Niclas had wanted to open their own café for a long time. The reason was quite pragmatic really. »We simply felt there was a need for a comfortable place where you could spend the whole day,« Niclas says, explaining what motivated the three of them to embark on an adventure into the restaurant business. The Bauhaus-Universität Weimar offered them a suitable springboard for their endeavour. Fred and Niclas, both graduates of the Faculty of Architecture, began their bachelor's theses in summer 2013 on the topic, »Creative Design Concept for an Experimental Space (Café, Bar)«. Jan, a Product Design student, designated the café as an independent study project. Combining their abilities, all three pursued the goal of implementing a project which would continue beyond their studies. Following the start-up phase as a café/bar, the three decided to open only in the evenings.
The team put a lot of work into renovating the former bakery, plastering walls and relaying the parquet floor. They exposed a wall of natural stone, and in other places, they left the old brickwork showing. »It wasimportant to us to create a mixture of old and new,« Niclas says. Even the furniture inside required a great deal of craftsmanship. Jan spent countless hours in the metal workshop at the university. »As soon we had all the material, we got to it – grinding, flexing, soldering, flexing again, adjusting, greasing, sealing – and that several times for every piece of furniture,« until all the tables and chairs for the »Hinterzimmer« were finished. The effort paid off – not only is the craftsmanship impressive, but every piece is one of a kind.
Even the porcelain cups, from which customers enjoy their warm beverages, are handmade. If you want, you can take home the entire collection, because the »Hinterzimmer« is also a place of experimentation. »We wanted to create a place where others could showcase their products,« Fred says. In this way, friends, acquaintances and others could try out their products and purchase them if they wished.
In the future, the team plans to expand the product range. And as far as the restaurant business goes, they're not worried. As Fred explains, »everything we learned at the university is helping us tremendously to adjust to new situations.« Well then, let's go into the »Hinterzimmer«!