Fortuna Irgendwo, Frankfurt, Germany
A white toilet doesn't usually instigate a discussion: Bespoke pink toilets from LAUFEN in Fortuna Irgendwo.
07/02/2023
The “Fortuna Irgendwo” is not just any ordinary club in the middle of Frankfurt’s Ostend District, but a bold project by the real estate entrepreneur and “architectural artist” Ardi Goldman. Under the roof of the boiler house built in 1908 on the Union site – home to the legendary King Kamehameha Club between 1999 and 2013 – Goldman, together with a team of artists and the architect Ivo Nikolov, have created the «sanatorium for the nervous and mentally ill» with exuberant imagination, bright colours and great attention to detail. The dazzling concept continues into the club’s sanitary facilities, which have been fitted with ceramic toilets from the Swiss bathroom brand LAUFEN in a bespoke pink colour.
For Ardi Goldman, “Fortuna Irgendwo” is not a club in the classic sense, he calls his latest work a “sanatorium for mentally and nervously ill people”, who can fight melancholy with joie de vivre. There is a great deal of personal commitment and more than 50 years of life experience in the concept: “Fortuna Irgendwo is like Neverland, the dream realm of Peter Pan, where nobody has to grow up and there is always something to discover,” enthuses Goldman, “a place to meet people, dance, drink, celebrate and flirt – and talk to each other, experience art, concerts, parties and performances.” For the club operator, this expresses an attitude of live and let live, cultivated whilst casual and, with a certain “sprezzatura”, effortlessly cool.
In the design process, the planning team went in search of special, unique decorative pieces and furniture that were either collected, designed or custom-made while travelling. The colour scheme is inspired by the sea and Mediterranean landscapes and is reflected in the blues and greens of the walls, which also feature artworks, graffiti and aphorisms from Charles Bukowski to the Scholl siblings. Everywhere in the club, countless playful details surprise. Wild, colourful and seemingly thrown together: “Every piece tells a story here, yet is part of a multi-sensory experience, which wants to ask questions and stimulate thought,” as Mr. Goldman explains his concept.
The dream world continues in the washrooms
The same joie de vivre and upscale holiday atmosphere characterize the club’s sanitary facilities, an area that is often neglected during planning. “At Fortuna Irgendwo this has been solved in a sensational way where the theme of the club continues into the washrooms. Even when going to the bathroom, the guest never leaves the dream world for a second and stays in the party mood,” says Lukas Turkiewicz, Head of Sales Project Business at LAUFEN Germany who contributed Bespoke WC ceramics from the Kartell • LAUFEN collection in the special colour pink for the washrooms.
The Swiss bathroom brand LAUFEN is known for its tailor-made bespoke projects and has prepared numerous solutions for individually planned bathrooms: These include, for example, made-to-measure washbasins, ceramic shelves, mirrors and bathroom furniture, but also customised colour options like at Fortuna Irgendwo. Even fittings can be customised with special handles, logos, colours and surfaces incorporated on request.
A pink toilet makes the atmosphere special
For Ardi Goldman, the pink-coloured toilets are one of those small but fine details that make the Fortuna unmistakable: “A pink toilet is like a syncopation in music – that makes the atmosphere special and stimulates thought. A white toilet simply doesn’t raise any questions, but a pink one does…”
The toilets are embedded in a pleasant maritime ambience: the ceilings of the sanitary areas are reminiscent of seabeds on which the play of light and waves is reflected while small and large starfish in red and blue tones are interspersed. The toilet cubicles are designed like vintage beach changing rooms; the mirrors above the colourful vanities are framed with lifebuoys, the lights are stormproof and the walls are decorated with anchors and images of beach life.
“As a rule, our toilets are chosen for semi-public and public building projects primarily because of their high functional and architectural quality. The fact that they are also in demand as mood enhancers and discussion topics is an unusual but encouraging aspect that we are happy to pursue,” says Lukas Turkiewicz with a wink.