Whether young or old, big or small, in a village or a big city: sports clubs bring people together. The Freiburger Turnerschaft (FT) has recently been doing this not only in terms of sport, but also in terms of cuisine.
Together with its partner, HOKK GmbH, the Turnerschaft has revitalised its former club restaurant. In future, it will also operate under the name HOKK. Incidentally, this is based on the word ‘Hock’, which in the Alemannic and Swabian language area refers to a cosy, convivial get-together.
As specialists in design, shopfitting and interior design, we were commissioned to turn the plans and ideas of the two partners and the new chef Fabian Fiedler into reality. The focus was not to be purely on social gatherings for athletes after tournaments or training, but to appeal to as wide a range of guests as possible.
The building on the FT grounds is picturesquely located directly on the Dreisam river and is easily accessible for athletes as well as cyclists, families, hikers and all fans of fine cuisine. Around 100 seats on 160 square metres indoors and the same number of seats on the terrace with a view of the playing fields and nature invite you to enjoy, relax and chat.
There are additional seats at smaller tables in front of the restaurant – perfect for a short stay. ‘Ideal for parents who bring their children to training and want to have a coffee here,’ says our interior designer Sophia Tölle, who planned the project. Both HOKK and Turnerschaft and Fabian Fiedler had thrown their suggestions into the ring, Sophia recalls.
So, at the beginning, we first had to clarify the question: where to put all these ideas? Sophia invited everyone involved to a workshop in our in-house materials warehouse. Here, we worked together on ideas and colours, identified what was important to everyone and developed the design based on this.
The result is impressive: guests are welcomed into a modern yet cosy restaurant dominated by warm terracotta and rose tones. We have added fresh accents in the complementary colour green, for example in the upholstery for the benches. Oak was used for the floors and tables: timeless and elegant, natural and warm.
However, the heart of HOKK is the spacious counter that nestles around the kitchen and has an oven built into its outer side. Fabian Fiedler will bake his own bread in it in future, its tempting aroma welcoming guests as soon as they enter.
Here, we fulfilled a special request from our customer: the counter front was plastered with perforated bricks. To realise this idea in a material-saving way, we reached into our bag of tricks: ‘We cut the bricks into smooth slices in our production facility – like bread,’ says Sophia. The holes were then filled with light-coloured filler, which echoes the friendly, warm atmosphere of the interior.
Another request was to create lots of opportunities for decoration. ‘Here we planned open shelves, which were built by us,’ explains Sophia. The shelves serve as a stage for seasonal decorative treasures. And one or two trophies from the Freiburg gymnastics club will certainly find their place here too.
