.Wonder Book | Projects & Hospitality | International | Spring Summer 2023

EUR 35.00 | USD 45.00 | wonder.ifdm.design

Projects & Hospitality | Spring Summer 2023

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

Spring | Summer 2023

SAINT-GERMAIN SOFA, DESIGN JM MASSAUD

POLIFORM.IT

Create, innovate.

Design.

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PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

FEATURES

24

Color stories Where earth and water meet

Interviews

PEOPLE Mario Cucinella

28

The architect as explorer

PEOPLE Charlie North

86

42

To the core of lifestyle brands

PEOPLE CaberlonCaroppi

144 What’s visible and what’s not.

Hospitality design according to CaberlonCaroppi

WONDER

Projects review

18 Rokytnice Nad Jizerou, Czech Republic

Aman New York

The Guard Patrol | Mjölk Architekti

34

20 Montréal | Amphithéâtre Pierre-Péladeau 22 Hyundai Motorstudio Seoul | Tree One

An enchanting oasis

Dream La Miro Jiangsu, China

Ecologicstudio

42

80 Doha | Shadows travelling on the sea

A fairy tale comes true

Jaspis Villa and Nefrit Villa

of the day, 2022 | Olafur Eliasson

82 Montréal | Biodôme Migration

50

Kanva Architecture | Neuf Architect(e)s

84 Singapore | Capitaspring | BIG-Bjarke Ingels

Group | CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati

Artchimboldi Sant Lluís Menorca

56

Working, sharing, and living together

60

Downtown L.A. Proper Los Angeles Where Mexico and old Hollywood meet

138 The Mirrors of Zlín, Czech Republic Loom on the Moon

140 Corviale, Rome | Street Art for Rights Forum Festival | Icarus | JDL ( Judith de Leeuw)

142 Kodla, India | Studios 90 | Sanjay Puri Architects

El Achiote, Costa Rica The twin villas

Poetizer Prague

headquarters | Atelier 38

Deputy Editor

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Editors

Alessandro Bignami, Manuela Di Mari, Elena Franzoia, Francesca Gugliotta, Elena Luraghi, Antonella Mazzola

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Quarries Lishui, China

Miriam Hurley, Stephen Piccolo

Emptied space

Bibliothèque Nationale de France Paris

92

When permanence and change meet: a restoration project from A to Z

Cantina Montelliana e dei Colli Asolani Montebelluna, Italy

100 Street architecture and prosecco The Editory Boulevard Aliados Hotel Porto, Portugal

104 Memory meets modernity Fendi Factory Bagno a Ripoli, Italy

110 The new Fendi Factory’s natural landscape Tropical Hotel St. Barth Caribbean

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Editor-in-Chief

Ruben Modigliani | ruben@ifdm.it

A front row seat on the Seine

Studio Jean Verville Architectes

110

Publisher

Paolo Bleve | bleve@ifdm.it

70 76

194 Laurentides, Canada | MEV House

Spring | Summer

Design for social poetry

SO/Paris

192 Olomouc, Czech Republic | Czech Radio

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66

190 Brixen Public Library

Carlana Mezzalira Pentimalli

YEAR VIII

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PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

Let’s keep in touch!

FEATURES

     ifdmdesign Grand Wuji Hotel Nanjing, China

118

A Zen oasis in the heart of Nanjing

STEP FuturAbility District Milan

124 The future is now Powerlong Ideas Lab Shanghai

128 A factory of ideas Banyan Tree AlUla Al Ula, Saudi Arabia

132 The bearable lightness of luxury Cortile della Seta Milan

150 Contemporary heritage Mandarin Oriental Palace Lucerne, Switzerland

158 Art Deco reimagined Antares Barcelona

162 Catalan red The Standard Bangkok

168 Far from “standard” Pas Normal Studios Copenhagen

174 Cycling at work Farouche Tremblant Lac-Supérieur, Canada

178 In tune with nature Renilde Rotterdam

182 Inner transformation

124

Private residence Castelfranco Veneto, Italy

168

186 The timeless appeal of Veneto’s luxury

Short Stories

197 A wide view on major international projects

Design inspirations

219 A selection of the most innovative products

for the contract sector by international brands

Next

229 A preview of the upcoming global projects NEXT IN THE WORLD

240 New top hotels: investments in the US grow

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SISTEMA DI SEDUTE TWIGGY | DESIGN RODOLFO DORDONI DISCOVER MORE AT MINOTTI.COM/TWIGGY

Suspension lamp design Studiopepe

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STICK

EDITORIAL

ALESSANDRA BERGAMINI Deputy Editor

The Craft of Complexity

A

ccording to the sociologist Edgar Morin, “There is complexity only when the different components that make a whole are inseparable (such as the economic, political, sociological, psychological, affective, mythological) and when there is a interdependent, interactive. and inter-retroactive link between the parts and the whole and between the whole and the part, and the parts among themselves. Complexity is, as such, the link between unity and multiplicity.” This theory of complexity lends itself to being a a metaphor for the architectural or urban and landscape redevelopment projects. This is precisely the concept that Mario Cucinella uses in the interview published here. And it is also fitting to the configuration of the Italian natural and urban landscape with its historical and architectural layers. Among the guiding themes of this Spring Summer 2023 edition of the Wonder Book is Italy and its potentials – from the work of Mario Cucinella Architects and CaberlonCaroppi to the contributions of our guests on the White Box page, Carlo Masseroli of Nhood, Cristina Paini of LHM and Giovanni de Niederhausern of Pininfarina Architecture, as well the redevelopment and redesign projects in the Veneto and the Milan area and the new projects in Tuscany. Keeping to the theory of complexity, all the projects chosen, whether in Italian or international contexts, show a multidimensional and heterogeneous approach to the world in their different types design approaches or lifestyles envisioned, interweaving a plurality of interconnected components.

Enjoy the read!

IFDM | 13

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

B

orn with the car, Pininfarina has always had more than an eye for new trends in mobility, especially when it comes to architecture and urban planning. After decades in which urban planners designed cities based on the two principles of density and mass transportation, we are currently moving toward a multimodal approach in which the user is king, as we can begin to see in some Italian cities, such as Milan. The mobility aspect in Italian cities is even more complex and important, because having an established historical fabric they require more attention in retrofitting new mobility strategies. This vision in which the user is at the center considers mobility as a complex and distributed model of various forms of transit, including pedestrians, bicycles, electric scooters, and public means, as well as car sharing, car pooling, and self-driving vehicles. The car, however, must be considered at the margins of the model and eventually out of the picture, as is happening in Barcelona’s car-free superblocks. In addition, we must consider that transportation infrastructure will also have to change, adapting in real time to the needs of users. Why does a driveway always have to be a driveway? It could transform at once into a pedestrian area or a mixed surface, depending on the contingent needs of the city. Within this framework, data will play an active role: cities are turning into open-air computers, in which sensors and actuators are becoming increasingly relevant in predicting user behavior, to offer the best mobility service at the right time, with the most efficient and environmentally sustainable means of transportation.

GIOVANNI DE NIEDERHÄUSERN Senior Vice President at Pininfarina Architecture 14 | IFDM

WHITE BOX

CRISTINA PAINI CEO and founder of LHM

I

L

HM, a white-label hotel management company, is a leader in Italy in the development of condohotels and mixed-use hotels. Since its start, it has managed over 800 rooms and apartments, working jointly with international hotel chains (Marriott, Wyndham, Hilton). Among the partnerships it has launched are the administration of Ramada Lake Garda, the start-up of the Hilton Garden Inn Milano Nord, and a development agreement with Wyndham Hotel Group International which led to managing the Ramada Plaza Hotel in Milan with its 167 rooms and 96 apartments. Right now, in the heart of Rome inside the Imperial Forums, we are opening Palazzo Velabro with the Design Hotels™ brand of Marriott. Palazzo Velabro is an early 18th-century building, transformed in the 1960s by the rationalist architect Luigi Moretti, and now brought back to life with 27 design suites and 6 rooms. The property was enhanced with a custom design with an eye to contemporary art and design, the interior design work of Studio Garibaldi. Guests can enjoy a mixed-use hotel experience with the exclusivity of a stay in a private residence combined with the comfort of hotel amenities, such as a restaurant with outdoor dining, a fitness area, a small movie room, a bookstore, and a cafe. What’s next? Asset selection is continuing in central or high-potential areas. Right now we are closing a major deal in the northeast of Italy and one also in the central area of Rome, and we have set ourselves the goal by 2026 to manage over 1,000 rooms in Italy for target revenues of €25 million.

taly is definitely among the countries where Nhood is active. The real estate development company of AFM (Association Familiale Mulliez) is in 10 countries, a new international player, committed to urban redevelopment projects. Two innovative Milanese projects are ample proof: LOC-Loreto Open Community, winner of the C40 Reinventing Cities call for bids for the renewal of Piazzale Loreto (which was the first public square designed, built, and managed by a developer), and a public-private partnership to cover the railway tracks around Cadorna Station, the first case of a public-private partnership used for urban redevelopment.

The big challenge is to successfully transform city sections by focusing on public and collective interest while generating economically sustainable projects for the investor market.

CARLO MASSEROLI Head of Strategy & Development Nhood Italy

MILANO PIAZZA VELASCA 6 BERGAMO VIA SUARDI 7 BRESCIA VIALE VENEZIA 1

ROMA VIA PO 1H PESCARA VIA G. MAZZINI 133 TORINO C.SO TURATI 82

NAPOLI VIALE KENNEDY 415/419 BARI P.ZZA GARIBALDI 75/A REGGIO CALABRIA C.SO GARIBALDI 545

TAVOLO SHANGAI LIMITED EDITION / SEDIA VITTORIA MADIA OLA / SPECCHIO OMEGA / LAMPADA TWIST

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WONDER. ROKYTNICE NAD JIZEROU, CZECH REPUBLIC | THE GUARD PATROL | MJÖLK ARCHITEKTI The Stráž mountain was one of the places where once fires burned to signal enemy’s invasions. Today the town is watched over by light steel structures sheathed in wood, four new patrons inspired

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© BoysPlayNice

by the figures on the town’s coat of arms. They symbolize the four villages that combined to form the town of Rokytnice in ancient times, the Fox, the Bear, the Sheep and the Miner.

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WONDER. MONTRÉAL | AMPHITHÉÂTRE PIERRE-PÉLADEAU

© Adrien Williams, Olivier L. Gariépy

Final phase of the Centre hospitalier de l’Université de Montréal (CHUM) includes a copper-clad multipurpose conference center which sits at the heart of the Plaza around which the complex is organized.

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WONDER. HYUNDAI MOTORSTUDIO SEOUL | TREE ONE | ECOLOGICSTUDIO © Yoon, Joonhwan

A 10-metre-tall ‘tree’ designed by artificial intelligence and bio-digitally grown. Tree One re-metabolises and stores the carbon molecules into its trunk and canopy while releasing oxygen in the atmosphere.

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Showroom m i l a n / Pa r i S rome / london / CanneS / Cologne

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PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

COLOR STORIES

Where earth and water meet Water emergency, deforestation, and technology as a solution. This is where the color trends of 2024 start: reassuring, comfortable, natural colors where we can take refuge

T

he relationship between society and color trends develops in a direction of mutual complicity. Each influences the other.

This virtuous cycle produces always different color palettes that conceptually represent a specific moment in history that is still unfolding, serving as a snapshot of its main nuances. The starting point for ColorWorks™ is also capturing emerging trends, global movements that give the first powerful signs of coming change, the first step for defining which colors will determine future paths. It creates an authoritative guide of color forecasts for the coming year, ColorForward™: These four stories of global trends and the emotions related to them could influence consumers’ response to color in the coming years. The result is a palette of 20 colors, pure inspiration. So what can we expect in 2024? The current moment in history, with its uncertainties, wars, economic insecurity, and climate crisis, has complex repercussions on our emotions, leading us to seek out “comforting colors,” colors that warm us and make us feel safe, such as browns, oranges, and natural hues: they will dominate the trends next year along with “positive” colors “to energize” the present and future. ColorForward™ 2024 paints a palette of harmonious colors with sporadic spurts of exuberance, divided into four stories. They are meant to reflect: ongoing crises that are changing our behaviors (and letting us discover the power of sharing), the growing problem of water scarcity (which is, on the other hand, a primary driver of the use of biotechnology); agri-technology as a solution to combat deforestation; and, finally, the importance of taking care of ourselves by fostering collective well-being, not giving into selfishness.

Roberto Romanin, senior designer at ColorWorks, tells us about its first two stories putting the spotlight on biotechnology and agri-technology, interrelated themes of growing importance for the future of human beings and the planet alike.

Author: Veronica Orsi

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Trend

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

COLOR STORIES

Trend

FIRST STORY. 70.2,5.0,4

Aesthetics

Anastatica

Petrifood

Aurinkoruokaa

Genome Boost

Water Shuto Uchi

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The three numbers of this story’s title suffice to give a snapshot of the global water shortage emergency. These are the trends focused on here: the percentage of the earth’s surface covered by water (70%), the share of fresh water out of the planet’s total water (2.5%), and that of freshwater that is not contaminated and therefore usable and drinkable (0.4%). It doesn’t end there. It is estimated that around two-thirds of the world’s population is experiencing at least one month of severe drought per year, around half could be at risk of having no water resources in their region by 2025, and around 700 million people could be displaced by intense drought from 2030 on.

In such a dire situation, there is a glimmer of hope in biotechnologies. For instance, Aquaporin, a water tech company, has made membranes to filter and purify water through aquaporins, proteins found in all living cells. Another strategy being tested is the use of CRISPR – genome editing that enables targeted correction of a DNA sequence – which would allow genetically modified harvests and produce, making foods more nutritious and resistant to climatic conditions. This idea has already been

implemented in Japan, which has sold the first CRISPR food (a tomato). In this vein, Solar Food has synthesized an edible, nutritious and sustainable protein (which could replace intensive farming, as well as agriculture) made from a process that requires only air and energy, meaning that it can be produced in extreme conditions. These concepts are the premise of earthy, toned-down color palettes that reflect the natural theme. There is a brown with a red dot (called Anastatica, like the Jericho rose that also grows in desert lands) that brings to mind droughtcracked earth, a symbol of the water crisis. There is gray with silver glitter by Petrifood, named for the Petri dish where bacterial cultures grow: the color refers to the mixture between technology and nutrition; the desaturated, natural green of Aurinkoruokaa (the Finnish word for solar food) and the gray-blue of Genome Boost, an evocative color that suggests CRISPR technology.

Lastly, adding a bit of vibrancy to the palettes is the dark blue-light blue Water Shuto Uchi, with reflections of red, representing hydrogen energy which will be extremely important to the global energy future.

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

COLOR STORIES

Trend

SECOND STORY. LET IT GROW

From biotech to answers to the water emergency issues, agri-tech and using technology to produce fruits and vegetables. This theme of the second story is in line with the challenge of climate change, worsened by growing deforestation.

Consider that we lose about 20 billion trees every year, about 37% of which are lost to forest fires around the world, and consider that about 50% of the Amazon forest has been lost in the last 50 years. While reforestation is already being done, there are innovative methods to support it that can replace obsolete techniques such as shoveling and sowing by hand. We mean drones and robotics. Drones use technologies such as digital mapping and aerial viewing to transfer all the information about a terrain (humidity, weeds, etc.) to the screen or tablet of the farmer who then no longer needs to go to the field. Farmers will be able to use the drones to do any operation, such as cleaning, harvesting, and related tasks.

Alongside the drones, robots are already in the fields (such as the Autonomous LaserWeeder™

by Carbon Robotics™) for solutions to weeds on the lands through artificial intelligence, autonomous navigation, and lasers. According to a 2022 report, the global market for drones for the agriculture sector will reach $4.5 billion by 2024.

Flash Forest, a Canadian start-up, also draws on robotic technology for more efficient reforestation (ten times faster than the human approach and 80% cheaper than traditional methods); their drones can deposit self-sufficient pods (that the start-up makes itself ) in remote areas.

Their ambitious objective is to plant a billion trees by 2028. The project’s worthiness attracted many grants, including from the U.S. government. The story’s five colors are also tied to the natural environment, but with a higher technological component, reflected in transparencies and sparkles. The color of deforestation is Wasteland, an unsaturated brown; Fast & Forest is halfway between yellow and green and highly fluorescent, representing Flash Forest’s innovative work. The dark, metallic blue of Roboxen evokes the future of agriculture with high-tech machines and tractors. Tomorrow’s “smart farmer” is reflected in Couchfarming, a futuristic aqua green that adds a touch of lightness to the palette. Lastly, there’s Miranda (named for the Brazilian actress Carmen Miranda, known for her signature fruit hat), evoking the food supply chain through a warm yellow that is comfortable and soft rather than bright and synthetic.

It is almost like tropical fruit.

Wasteland

Aesthetics

Fast & Forest

Roboxen

Couchfarming

Miranda

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PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

PEOPLE

THE ARCHITECT AS EXPLORER A conversation with Mario Cucinella is an invitation to go on many journeys. Through time, through the history of design, through the fabric and life of cities, and the complexity of designing.

And being ready to walk through fog too

“I

n the profession of the architect, we see things that don’t exist yet and that need to be sought out, like explorers did in the past. I never start with an exact idea. It is about walking in the fog until it clears and you see the landscape. You need courage to stay within the uncertainty, be able to stay in the anxiety.” And we need courage to fill the word “sustainability” with substance, as it is used so often today devoid of real meaning, or we should replace it with a concept that entails a close relationship with nature and people.

“I would rather talk about creative empathy. This is the real concept of sustainability for me. Empathy is a way of relating to a person as well as to a landscape and helps increase creativity.”This is a tool that needs to be governed along with design complexity, cross-mingling with different disciplines, so that it doesn’t become extravagance or lead to architecture for as an end unto itself, or even hostile.

author: Alessandra Bergamini portrait photo: Giovanni De Sandre projects photo: Duccio Malagamba, Moreno Maggi, Engram Studio, courtesy of MCA

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Mario Cucinella

Why do you see the architect as an explorer?

Exploring in the sense that we navigate a bit as we go in a world that does not yet exist. In the craft of the architect, we see things that don’t exist yet and that need to be sought out, like explorers did in the past, and not always on the right routes. There’s a lot in common with the world of exploration. These are places to be found. I never start with an exact idea.

It is about walking in the fog until it clears and you see the landscape. You need courage to be within the uncertainty, to be able to stay in the anxiety. This is a definition I took from my teacher, who said that the major difference between more technological and engineering careers is that architects work within anxiety, which is a big driver. They are never in a comfort zone. Whenever we start something new, we always have a lot of anxiety as we are seeking out places that do not exist.

Is this an exploration of social behavior too?

We design for others and knowing what is happening around us matters. The disciplines have changed a lot. An architect has to also understand anthropology, be aware of social conflicts, have technological and scientific understanding, as well as see the world through the interpretation of philosophers. This is a profession with a major humanistic foundation, even though it is highly technical because buildings have an extremely high technological content. This is a profession on a frontier whose borders are always moving, creating situations in accord with Edgar Morin’s philosophy of complexity. Culture is like a fabric, a weave made of many threads, and complexity is the interpretation of this fabric. While architecture has made many self-referential works that can be dissociated from the real world, if architecture is made too much for social purposes, it ends up becoming impoverished. It is always a precarious balance. Perhaps the difficulty, or the point of maturity for an architect, is precisely in finding this balance. Space is also built for people who need to discover a feeling in it, something that they recognize themselves in. The failure of many buildings is due to the fact that they seem foreign or hostile, including physically.

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

PEOPLE

Mario Cucinella

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PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

Who have you met, or which architects, have been most important for your profession as an architect?

Having worked with Renzo [Piano] was a significant part of my life, more in terms of intensity than in amount of time. I always think of architecture as a profession to be “stolen” from the good ones. You are born an architect through passion but to become one you have to learn from others, working with a teacher you learn to understand the system of complexity. It was a great lesson for me to see that there are professionals that take on complexity fearlessly because architects can ultimately be very dangerous because they have to meddle with the space. Coming out of university, this was a discovery for me. There are some teachers you never meet, but you study them. They attracted me for their eclecticism. For example, Eero Saarinen was a legend to me because of his heterogeneity, his ability to take on projects that had a clear common basis while being very different from each other. This is an important point for me. We almost never do the same things. We do not have a specific 30 | IFDM

PEOPLE

Mario Cucinella

Roma Tre University Rectorate

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

dictionary that we keep on repeating. The methods are the same but the results are different because the contexts are different. Other legends for me are Charles and Ray Eames, who were more designers than architects, because of the eclecticism of their work. they went from designing an exhibition to collecting all the possible screws, directing films, and photography to design objects, with a complexity in creativity that touches so many points, and to which I feel affinity. The lesson was to never be closed inside a perimeter. Except for some indisputable masters, in Italy in the 1990s and 2000s, the perimeter was rather limited. To avoid being an end unto itself, architecture needs complexity, cross-mingling with other arts, the ability to take on completely different themes through creativity.

PEOPLE

MIND, the masterplan designed with LAND, follows the footsteps of the history of cities with Italian foundations. Why will it work in social and environmental terms?

We have given it a high level of success because it started as an innovation district with many tech and bio-tech companies linked by trains and subways.

It is a completely unique city because it does not have a significant residential part; only in the part of the West Gate there is a large residential building serving companies and the hospital center. But the concentration of knowledge is an interesting, attractive formula. The scale is very large, but the science campus of the State University and GaleazziSant’Ambrogio take up a considerable part of it.

Mario Cucinella

MIND Milano Innovation District Masterplan

In the field of environmental protection, will it be key to use the built world and the city as a reusable resource, similar to a mine?

In our cities, all of which are already very built up, I think that’s a difficult process to implement. The process to turn a city into a “mine” is difficult. In theory, the materials of the built world would all be recyclable, but they are not actually designed to be recyclable so they become waste. It seems to me that with new projects there is a positive attitude, including because of the scarcity of resources, the situation will become drastic. There are also policies though still theoretical.

The fact that buildings can be disassembled instead of demolished adds value to what you build. If this understanding becomes dominant, it would become economically interesting since construction is a world of economies. In Italy, it is right to talk about land consumption and new building but it doesn’t mean that we can’t demolish to then build back something better using the same areas without consuming land.

But it takes a plan that has a technological aspect to see how to improve and replace. There is still a lack of courage on this. Avoiding land consumption is a perfect excuse for doing nothing, when there is, in fact, a lot to be done. Material recycling is a big business, and in the medium and long term a large part of the building materials will have to be recovered in the right way, which includes not only iron and wood, but also plasterboard, which is now thrown away.

These are emerging industries because they are compelling for public opinion, and they need design and creativity to rehabilitate materials in everyday life.

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PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

The ambition is to create a green city, a model that has been much talked about, and it does have huge open and landscaped spaces. The Decumano Linear Park is a kilometer and a half on its own, one of the largest in Europe. It is a garden-city in an embryonic form that seeks to also be “smart.” We try to govern the “common ground,” the collective urban spaces. It is an age-old aspiration to found cities from scratch.

The hard part isn’t the hardware, the buildings, but it’s integrating people so that they become places of life.

It is a mid- and long-term challenge, but the premise of MIND, which is an area open to the city and not an exclusive place, is to combine innovation with the more humanistic aspects of green spaces and social relations. A hybrid model is made with people who work in high tech, in healthcare, and universities, which is an interesting mix. It would nice if it were a contemporary art museum, and places for regular life, such as shops, schools, and cultural places.

In addition to using heights in cities to save and recover land use, is it also an important step to make use of the architectural surfaces themselves for green space in a vertical landscape?

Green space is indeed a major point, but it cannot be the only issue because the capacity to absorb

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PEOPLE

CO2 still has a limit, and it cannot compensate for all our emissions. There are two important aspects: quality and quantity. Planting trees in the city does nothing but good: it makes everyone’s life better, it lowers temperatures creating shade.

This is obviously not something that is new this century. But when it comes to quantity, we have to be careful not to imagine that planting trees is our salvation. There are an estimated 3.5 trillion trees on earth and to compensate for what we emit today we would need to plant 1.5 trillion, i.e. a third of the existing trees, which is a very difficult goal. The real issue is that we cannot delegate to nature, which we have been destroying to this point, because now nature can’t compensate for it anymore. The real thing to ask ourselves is what we are willing to give up, not to compensate anymore, but to reduce. If we can’t reduce, we can’t compensate with green space. In the cities, it is also impossible to compensate only with green spaces. You can create green strips around the cities but detracting from agricultural areas. The balance is very difficult. The fastest way is now a dramatic reduction of global emissions while reforesting free areas, though that has a natural growth cycle of about 30 years.

Mario Cucinella

IRCCS Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

PEOPLE

Mario Cucinella

The Unipol Group Headquarters is close to completion. Why has it been called sensory architecture?

The tower has a double skin, a mitigation filter area between inside and outside that has benefits for the building systems. It takes less heat and less cooling, with a higher initial cost but benefits in terms of the systems and comfort for the users. There is an empty space 17 floors high in the south-facing part, which serves as climate moderation, and holds lounges and meeting rooms instead of offices. The heat created in this area is recovered and rerouted inside the building, a strategy connected to the architecture’s shape. It is not enough to make it a building with zero energy consumption. Too low or too high temperatures are avoided, which saves many kilowatts a year. This is just through the shape of the architecture, a building with a very high, complex technological content, which will be ready to operate by the summer; 17 of 24 floors are finished now.

Building has been, and still is, a necessary action.

How can we reconcile the near future with the need to find solutions to the environmental crisis?

Another topic that is important to me that I recently talked about in a book [Il futuro e’ un viaggio nel passato: Dieci storie di architettura, Quodlibet] that it is a journey to the past in the history of building before we had energy. Buildings always interacted with the environment, including in extreme conditions. In energy-saving strategies, we should learn from what people knew how to do in the past and add current technology, considering our different lifestyles now.

In one of your recent lectures, you said: “I am very fond of creativity with empathy.” What do you mean?

I wanted to replace the word sustainability, a word that I think is almost devoid of real meaning. It’s a bit like the oxymoron of “green gasoline,” which should be used sparingly. If we abuse it, it risks losing its deeper meaning. Especially for architecture, and for the humanities in general, I would rather talk about creative empathy. Empathy is a way of relating to a person as well as to a landscape, with climate data, while creativity is an important tool but that should not be on its own, because it risks becoming extravagance, and that is not what interests us. Empathy helps to increase creativity and together they create the right balance. I see this as the true idea of sustainability, which is too often used only as a ‘narrative’ without actually entailing any substance because we don’t want to truly change our way of life because of the inherent inertia of systems.

Gruppo Unipol Headquarters, Milan

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PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

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HOTEL

New York

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

HOTEL

New York

An enchanting oasis in New York The name, Aman, means peace, in Sanskrit and the hotel embodies the essence of hospitality infused with elegance, ease, and well-being. An often impalpable magnificence has turned the renowned Crown Building into a new high-end destination: Aman New York

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he East meets the West in the exclusive “urban sanctuary” which has opened between 57th Street and Fifth Ave., inside the Crown Building, an emblem of the American Gilded Age designed in the 1920s by Warren & Wetmore with French Renaissance details, a grand neoclassical façade and tower suggesting the architecture of castles. As the first home to the Museum of Modern Art, its unique quality is a crownshaped pinnacle bathed in gold by lighting designer Douglas Leigh in 1983; since then it was known to all New Yorkers as the Crown Building. This historical heritage has been expertly preserved and now transformed into one of the finest New York hotels. President and CEO Vlad Doronin says, “The opening of Aman New York is a milestone moment in the evolution and growth of the Aman brand, cementing our strategy to bring the coveted Aman lifestyle to the world’s greatest urban locations. The hotel, Aman Club and Aman Branded Residences, bring an entirely new proposition to Manhattan. Generous amenities and the unparalleled Aman service deliver a guest experience like no other, as we continue to push boundaries IFDM | 35

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and set new standards in luxury hospitality.”

The project is conceived as an aesthetic journey, created and conveyed working with Jean-Michel Gathy of Denniston Architects. the double-height atrium has wall panels in muted tones and multilayered ceiling that suggests the brand’s Asian heritage while celebrating New York’s never-ending bustle. It features places open to the community like a Jazz Club, two gourmet restaurants – Arva with Italian cuisine and the Japanese restaurant Nama – a garden terrace with water fountains and a large brazier, symbolically connecting heaven and earth.

The centerpiece is the grandiose Aman Spa spread over three floors, in addition to two spa houses, one of the most sought-after amenities for the 83 suites and the prestigious Aman Club only for members.

The 22 private residences, Aman Brand Residences, are magnificent, covering the hotel’s upper floors, imbued with the elegance and lifestyle that set the brand apart. The interior design seeks a perfect balance between history and the contemporary age,

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HOTEL

New York

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HOTEL

New York

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HOTEL

Client: Aman Interior design: Denniston Architects, Jean-Michel Gathy, David Schoonbroodt, Andreas Croitoru Author: Anna Casotti Photo credits: Courtesy of Aman

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Eastern and Western perceptions, and nature and artifice expressed in the concept of a sanctuary defined by materials and organic motifs tied to the natural world. From oak and walnut woods to bronze and blackened steel, the custom furnishings and the choice of components that balances the feminine yin – upholstery, carpets, and artworks – and the masculine yang of the Belgian Blue and Chocolates Brown marbles. Every detail becomes part of the story: natural stone and wood form a woven pattern that suggests traditional Asian rattan baskets; an ancient inlay technique burnishes the shelves of the fireplaces; the walls are clad in natural textiles; and its floral compositions are inspired by Japanese Ikebana art. There is a common thread connecting Asia to the United States, seen in subtle golden details that continue in each interior, reminiscent of the “crown” of the iconic building; minimalist interiors reflecting the spare elegance of the land of the Rising Sun and the craftsmanship of Indonesia; nature that suggests Central Park; and murals evoking the 15thcentury masterpiece Pine Trees (Shōrin-zu byōbu)

by Hasegawa Tōhaku, one of Japan’s most famous works. This creative dimension also spreads to the

New York

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

HOTEL

New York

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suites inspired by Japanese design, featuring flexible layouts and continuity between inside and outside.

They come with rotating Venetian blinds with backlit rice-paper panels to control the light (from The Flaming Beacon) to customize the interiors and the atmosphere. The goal is to give the city a new concept of hotel with suites and residences warmed by fireplaces, and a retractable glass roof that can turn a large terrace into a sophisticated winter garden. Exclusively for Aman New York, celebrations of art and craftsmanship include a work by Melissa Hart for the Nama restaurant, a painting by Joseph Borde for the 14th-floor lobby painted with natural Japanese pigments, ink, turmeric, ginger, and saffron; the reception counter that was hand-shaped by the Brazilian artist Domingos Totora; and a set of lights inspired by Asian lanterns was made by Peter Gentenaar. Here, guests are steeped in a creative culture that reflects the essence of Aman and that of New York.

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HOTEL

New York

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HOTEL

New York

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BOOKSTORE

Jiangsu, China

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

BOOKSTORE

A fairy tale comes true In China, a fantasy world is created in the children’s bookstore Dream La Miro, by an eternal “Peter Pan,” founder of Wutopia Lab, architect Yu Ting

Jiangsu, China

“I

want to always be a kid and have fun.”

This quote best describes the childlike spirit with which Yu Ting, owner of Wutopia Lab, approached one of his latest projects: The Dream La Miro bookshop by Duoyun Bookstore, in the Chinese city of Yancheng, for children and their parents to discover and read fairy tales together. This place fully expresses the architect’s intentions to “do our best to create beauty and keep our innocence.” It is a whimsical world created by Wutopia Lab to delve into a world of imagination. It was inspired specifically

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by three animated films by the Italian artist Cristina Làstrego (Mirò the Cat, The Circus, and The Creation), recreated through archetypes like the origin of life and the theme of the arc. Here it takes the form of a sailing ship that is yellow on the outside and red inside moored in the port of a sea of books. A striking openwork aluminum bow window becomes a balcony on the façade depicting the silhouette in the shape of the head of the Miro the Cat and that of a bird. Higher up the zigzags of golden “mountains” conceal a glass structure, the Aozora Lecture Hall, which can be used for exhibitions, presentations, dinners, and parties. Books are placed in varied locations. An octagonal tower distributes them along the perimeter walls, with a spectacular red spiral staircase in the center that connects two floors, completely inundated with natural light. Yu Ting says, 44 | IFDM

BOOKSTORE

Jiangsu, China

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

BOOKSTORE

Jiangsu, China

Client: Shanghai Century Duoyun Culture Development Operator & Development side: Jiangsu Spring Blossom Cultural and Creative Town Cultural Tourism Industry Development Architecture & Interior design: Wutopia Lab Design Consultant: Topos Design Graphic design: Meem Design (Xiu Zi, Chen Siyu) Lighting consultant: Zhang Chenlu, Wei Shiyu, Liu Xueyi Construction unit: Shanghai Lantian Building Decoration Engineering Terrazzo series: Holistic Opulent Terrazzo Aluminum panels: Shanghai Tengkuo Decoration Engineering Customized bookshelf: Zhejiang Meisen Wood Industry Micro cement: Shanghai Zhumeng International Art Wall Material Soft furnishings: Vondom, W-Casa, Ziinlife Author: Manuela Di Mari Photo credits: CreatAR Images

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“When I was a child I always thought that behind the bookshelves there was a world like Narnia.” The most significant part of the shop is made up of a series of alcoves of perforated aluminum.

Roomy hut-spaces create the peace needed for reading and are divided into four groups following the book themes and in different colors. The contour of four different animals makes up their entrances. The Cloud Terrace Cafe also seeks to create a peaceful, intimate atmosphere. An otherworldly feel is created by using steel and white that suggests clouds. There are also fascinating installations outside. Leaving the tower, we cross a “black forest” of black metal rods creating a porch. On the terrace, a red curtain made of perforated aluminum holds a carousel, a recurring symbol in Wutopia Lab’s projects and a reminder that “dreams do come true, if only we wish hard enough with the eyes of a child.”

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BOOKSTORE

Jiangsu, China

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PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

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RESIDENCES

El Achiote, Costa Rica

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

RESIDENCES

El Achiote, Costa Rica

The twin villas Formafatal designed these two houses for short-term stays, the Jaspis Villa and the Nefrit Villa, in the jungle of Costa Rica.

Their common denominators: walls made of clay from excavations and a spectacular ocean view

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aking earth and turning it into an architectural masterpiece. This is what Dagmar Štěpánová has done. She is the founder of the award-winning Studio Formafatal (based in Prague and Costa Rica) and creator of these two twin villas not far from the city of Uvita, in the south of Costa Rica. Made with clay from ground excavations, the two holiday homes (90 square meters each) are immersed in the green jungle, set 300 meters above the ocean.

They reflect the grandeur of the genius loci in an interplay of opposites: while the tropical plant life is lush, the houses contrast with minimalist contours, based on thin lines and simple shapes.

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“My intention was to design sustainable houses with biophilic interiors with no unnecessary extra element to best express the magic of the place,” says the architect. The two houses are identical, except for the detail of the choice of color: Jaspis Villa (luminous villa) is a reflection of yin energy, with a palette of sand hues oriented to brightness.

Nefrit Villa (dark villa) has more subdued tones, related to yang energy and a connection with the earth and the jungle. Another shared element is the projecting terraces with a platform following the natural slope of the land to afford constant powerful views. “All facades oriented to endless views of the ocean are designed from frameless glass. The profiles of sliding and solid parts of the glass facades are recessed into the grooves in the concrete ceiling slab. The concrete floor slab is covered with a non-slip structured cement screed. The remaining interior walls including concrete custom-designed solid furniture, are also in the surface of cement screeds, but here in a smooth matte finish. Rammed earth is used for the perimeter walls.

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RESIDENCES

El Achiote, Costa Rica

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

RESIDENCES

El Achiote, Costa Rica

I invited an experienced specialist from Brazil, the owner of Terra Compacta company, because in Costa Rica no one had any experience with this construction method.” The “building block” is made with durable materials, perfect for counteracting the jungle mist and ocean humidity, contrasts with interiors with softer textures: from the monumental teak roofs designed by Formafatal to pure linen fabrics chosen for curtains, mosquito nets, and bedding. The lighting is a tribute to high design with reading lamps by Ingo Maurer, wall and table lamps by Artemide (in the Jaspis Villa) and Louis Poulsen (in the second house). Scattered throughout are Muuto stools, Moooi desks, 101CPH outdoor chairs, and the iconic green Moustache chair. Space is given to several artworks, and there is the must-have infinity plunge pool that, on the side of each villa, lets guests enjoy a relaxing, poetic pool, face to face with nature.

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RESIDENCES

Client: Dagmar Štěpánová & Karel Vančura Architecture & Interior design: Formafatal, Dagmar Štěpánová Realization: Willy Jeferson Céspedes Vargas & Local workers Rammed earth walls: Terra Compacta (Daniel Mantovani) Statics: Ch. Vargas Garden: Dagmar Štěpánová Realization of screed surfaces: Different Design (Pavel Trousil) Furnishings: 101CPH, Axoque, Moooi, Moustache, Muuto Lightings: Arq-Deco Iluminación, Artemide, Ingo Maurer, Louis Poulsen, Modular Lighting Instruments Large objects, vases and table decoration: 101CPH Sliding door hardware: Extralum Ceiling fans: Minka Group Wicker baskets and hand fans: Baba Tree Storage ladder/hanger: Axoque Faucets: KTH Infinite Electro /switches, outlets: Eagle T&J Kitchen appliances: Kitchen Aid, Samsung Artworks: Studio Geometr Graphic design: Zuzana Vemeová Author: Elena Luraghi Photo credits: BoysPlayNice

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PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

WORKSPACE

Working, sharing, and living together Artchimboldi Menorca: a design-focused work refuge where the total quality (also) incorporates architectural concepts and new design intentions

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Sant Lluís, Menorca

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

WORKSPACE

Sant Lluís, Menorca

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his collective concept of a workspace was designed to improve relationships and coexistence. The environment is special and inspiring, both for creativity – for spurring it and more – and for wellbeing. This is how Artchimboldi situates itself. After fifteen years in Barcelona, transferring its concept to Minorca, investing in the restoration of an abandoned school built in 1900.

Anna Truyol, founder of Artchimboldi and the project organizer, explains how she has witnessed the “evolution of the business world, from a rigid and hierarchical structure to more transversal systems whose managers are closer and promote values and team spirit.” This exclusive work refuge was designed

by Emma Martí, an architect from Minorca. Its connections move through a poetic and symbolic study of the past and present, presenting beauty, function, and creativity in a harmonious relationship with the surrounding nature. The design action was intended to be minimal and non-invasive in order to preserve the history and spirit of this building that had been in complete ruin and is under protection constraints, originally the site of the first girls’ school in Sant Lluís, in the southeast of the island. Additions that were not part of the original building have been eliminated whereas elements like its marés stone walls, naturally imperfect and genuine in having been worn by time, were simply painted white in order to preserve the wall textures. Likewise, the ceilings were preserved – creating spaces up to six meters high – with a framework of wooden beams and slats, reinforced by a Owner: Artchimboldi Architectural & Interior design: Anna Truyol (Artchimboldi) and Emma Martí Arquitectura Technical architecture: Manel Alzina Sintes Furnishings: Santa&Cole Lighting: Flos, Santa&Cole Carpentry: Biniarroca Author: Antonella Mazzola Photo credits: Pol Viladoms

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WORKSPACE

dark steel bar and cable system that works parallel to the existing structure, including in its visual lines.

The first design action created two open spaces, distributed on two floors, which are very spacious and brightly lit through the many original openings on the facade. The ground floor is conceived as a living room and kitchen with access to an outside patio with a small swimming pool clad in white microcement, which Emma Martí designed. The interiors feature custom-made kitchen cabinets in lacquered wood with a combination of tables in different sizes.

On the upper floor, there is an area for resting. The furnishings reflect Artchimboldi’s creative philosophy: cubic structures in Flanders pine wood hold a sequence of two double beds and six single beds, furnished with organic cotton and wool futons, linen sheets and curtains. A stairway accesses the roof with its cubes, where sleeping is also an option. A space under the bed can be used to store suitcases, shoes, and personal effects. This storage space and a bookcase, custom-designed by Anna Truyol, render the use of the space simpler and more flexible.

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Sant Lluís, Menorca

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

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HOTEL

Los Angeles

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

HOTEL

Los Angeles

Where Mexico and old Hollywood meet In the old downtown of Los Angeles Kelly Wearstler designed the Downtown L.A. Proper hotel, blending the legendary atmospheres of the Roaring Twenties with a colorful international vocabulary. Plenty of space for contemporary creativity too

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he Fashion District of Los Angeles has a new, vibrant hospitality destination.

Proper Hospitality, a leader in boutique hotels and luxury residences, commissioned Kelly Wearstler to re-imagine the Downtown Los Angeles hotel located in a historic building the heart of the city, as part of the revival of the central and key Broadway Corridor started in 2008 with an extensive renewal and development plan. Wearstler took on the iconic 1920s building, adjacent to the Fashion District and not far from prominent cultural destinations like the Walt Disney IFDM | 61

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Concert Hall, the Music Center, the MOCA and the Broad Museum, designed by the famous architects Curlett and Beelman who brought Art Deco and the Modern Movement to the West Coast, profoundly changing the face of the city.

In the “Roaring Twenties,” the building held a private club whose members included the great director Cecil B. DeMille. In the 1960s, it was home to the famous international women’s association, YWCA. In order to render the new hotel a hub for Los Angeles’ diverse, vibrant artistic community, Wearstler adopted vintage pieces,

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HOTEL

Los Angeles

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

HOTEL

Los Angeles

such as furnishings, carpets, and stained-glass windows from the renowned Judson Studios, in a profusion of color inspired by the visual and decorative cultures of Spain, Portugal, Mexico, and Morocco. For instance, there are 100 different types of hand-painted tiles made just for the project. The creative project also involves works of contemporary art, including murals and sitespecific installations and the famous ceramics of Morgan Peck. In addition to 148 rooms and suites, the Downtown Los Angeles also features three restaurants managed by Suzanne Goin and Caroline Styne, serving fusion cuisine. Caldo Verde has a Mexican atmosphere and is on the same floor as the brightly colored lobby. The “sky restaurant” Cara Cara affords a breathtaking view of the city from a large terrace with a swimming pool, adorned with a mural by the Los Angeles artist Ben Medansky. A classic cocktail lounge and bar, the sophisticated Dalia is on the

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HOTEL

Owner & Hotel operator: KOR Group and Alma Development, Proper Hospitality Architect on record, restoration of the building: Omgivning Interior design: Kelly Wearstler Furnishings: AFM, Composition, Jay Edward, Mirror Image, Spike Lightening Tiled reception desk: ceramicist Morgan Peck Custom mural: Abel Marcias Artwork in guest rooms: Jason Trotter Stained-glass windows and doors: Judson Studios Bespoke mirrors: Matthew Morgan Author: Elena Franzoia Photo credits: The Ingalls

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Los Angeles

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

HOTEL

Los Angeles

ground floor. “The design of the hotel was greatly inspired by the community – early California, Spanish missions and the Los Angeles Herald Examiner building across the street,” Wearstler explains. “The building is also a Historic-Cultural Monument, so we maintained some of the original integrity and fabric, like the window casing and brickwork, while elevating it with contemporary jewel tones, patterns and plasterwork.” The rooms and suites are designed with a warm, welcoming, home-like atmosphere. Deep, restful tones of mauve and anthracite dominate.

Its various facilities include a 24-hour fitness center and extensive spaces for events, meetings and weddings.

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Design for social poetry The offices of Poetizer, a social network for poetry lovers, encourage artistic expression and connection. Specific color choices and the emblematic presence of plants define each space’s function

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OFFICE

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he technological revolution has led to a dramatic paradigm shift, introducing a new interface for communicating and sharing. Poetizer is an emerging digital start-up and the largest social network for poetry lovers in the world. The all-in-one sustainable publishing platform democratizes the entire publishing process, making it possible for anyone to write, publish, share, and sell poems to anyone. Poetizer’s headquarters covers 150 square meters

Prague

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

OFFICE

Prague

on the fourth floor of a historic building in the vibrant Narodni Street in Prague. The spaces’ expressive styles are identifying markers and a powerful tool to communicate poetry’s expressive and connective ambition as well as its worth for us in personal and intellectual terms. The interior design concept was devised by architect Tomáš Císař and designer Johana Sedláčková Vamberská, based on Poetizer’s identity, as a minimalist platform that emphasizes environmental protection. The headquarters’ physical and conceptual heart is a greenhouse like a wild jungle, a lush ecosystem to stimulate thoughts that are not domesticated but run free and “wild” in the terms of Claude Lévi-Strauss. The greenhouse is centrally placed, an informal gathering place to relax or stream poetry live. The structure has 171 plants growing freely and lushly, including more than IFDM | 67

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OFFICE

Prague

100 species. The main room also has individual workstations, arranged in two islands, places for daily work and immediate communication. The spaces of the Poetizer headquarters develop like a book, complete with stories, plot lines and chapters. The main story/room connects to the kitchen and a balcony overlooking Narodni Street. Its “preface” is an entrance hallway, followed by other “chapters”: two meeting rooms and a focus room with individual workstations. Colors and materials were chosen to reflect the function of each space. White is a metaphor for a blank sheet of paper and is predominant in the work areas that require the most focus, where the pages of the books are written. Dark blue and green are predominant in the areas for group communication, both in person and online. Orange accents make a major contribution to creating the atmosphere, sprinkled throughout the interior, which includes wood, red furniture, lush velvet fabrics, and soft lights, as well additional potted plants scattered here and there.

Interior design: Tomáš Císař, Johana Sedláčková Vamberská Florist: Lucie Pluhařová Greenhouse: Vitavia Realization: design&build Furnishings & Lighting: Ikea, KARE Design, LD Seating, LoveLedNeon Bathrooms: Vitra Tiles: Del Conca Author: Antonella Mazzola Photo credits: BoysPlayNice

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DROP

ARIHIRO MIYAKE

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

HOTEL

A front row seat on the Seine Denis Montel and Julia Capp of RDAI were inspired by art, fashion, and the river running through Paris to create the interior of the SO/Paris hotel, located on the lovely Île Louviers. This is first flag planted by the luxury hotel collection of the Ennismore group in the French capital

“M

aking its stylish debut on the banks of the Seine, between Notre-Dame Cathedral, Bastille and the Marais, SO/Paris brings a taste of the avant-garde to the fourth district with ultra-chic bedrooms, unique dining experiences and breathtaking views of Paris.” Stefan Viard, Ennismore’s

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director, presents the new flagship of its hotel collection with no small amount of pride. The group’s first hotel in the French capital, it is on the delightful Louviers island, the object of recent urban renovation, the Morland Mixité Capitale project

by Emerige Groupe, David Chipperfield Architects and CALQ Architecture, which involves

Paris

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

HOTEL

Paris

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the redevelopment of the former Prefecture de Paris police headquarters, located on the site of a former wood storage area for river trade. The imposing monumental stone and concrete building dates from the mid-1960s and was built by architects Albert Laprade, Pierre-Victoire Fournier and René Fontaine. For almost 50 years, its minimalist appearance, sporting clean and smooth lines, have been home to the Cité’s administrative and the urban planning department of Paris.

RDAI designed the interior architecture taking inspiration from the ripples of the river waters, art (which imbues the entire area), and fashion. Fashion is especially deeply rooted in the Ennismore Group’s ethos. It has forged an exclusive partnership with leading local and international fashion designers and brands for each of its hotels around the world. The collaboration involves creating collections of specially designed apparel, accessories, and decorative items and opening the hotels to major fashion events. For SO/Paris, the staff ’s entire wardrobe was designed by Guillaume Henry,

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HOTEL

Paris

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

HOTEL

Paris

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artistic director of Patou with Marcy Paris studio.

As for contemporary art, 122 artworks are placed throughout the hotel (even in the spa treatment rooms), chosen from the artistic selection of the Emerige Group, and we are invited to discover them just like at a museum by scanning a QR code. Art and fashion flow freely in these interiors that RDAI decorated with a timeless style that harmoniously blends noble and natural materials, savoir-faire, and technology. There are recurring references to the element of water. In the brightly lit lounge, for instance, there are cylinders of large tulip-shaped columns in memory of the major flood of 1910. In the rooms, lamps bear the concentric circles like that made by a sinking drop. In the 162 rooms and suites, the atmosphere is joyous and colorful with the peaceful nuances of brick and terracotta, the warm tones of parquet wood and wood paneling. This makes the perfect background for custom-made sofas, the Fritz Hansen armchairs and padded headboards that hew to the same color themes. Some furnishing pieces relate to nomadism and mobility, such as the long metal rods on which reading lamps are hung and leather cases and bags that hold newspapers, tablets or 74 | IFDM

HOTEL

Paris

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

smartphones. And then there’s the storage unit like a carry-on suitcase in perforated wood clad in leather with an unusual table that turns into a tray. The extraordinary panoramic view of the city is its finest quality and can already be enjoyed directly from the rooms, or better still from the restaurant on the 15th floor. The restaurant, named Bonnie, includes a bar and a club, imbued with a true 1960s style by the architect Jordane Arrivetz, making use of soft, rounded forms. In the club, the clay-colored leather of the sofas stand out along with its bubble lamps, chromed tables and backlit bar. The bar features a mirrored bookcase, one black stone counter and one marble counter.

The restaurant is rendered hypnotically enchanting with the immersive artwork “The Seeing City” by the artists Olafur Eliasson and Sebastian Behmann of Studio Other Spaces. This kaleidoscope of mirrors envelops the space and reflects a sweeping view of the Seine, the Ile de la Cité and the Ile de Saint-Louis, the roofs and skyline of Paris.

HOTEL

Paris

Owner: Ennismore Group Hotel operator: SO/hotels, Paris Society (restaurant) Architecture: In collaboration with CALQ Architecture for Emerige + David Chipperfield Interior design: RDAI (140 rooms, 22 suites, lobby, spa, business center) Bonnie bar restaurant interior design: NOTOIRE Artworks: Olafur Eliasson and Sebastian Behmann of Studio Other Spaces, Emerige Group Fashion outfit crew: Guillaume Henry with Marcy Paris Furnishings: Custom made & various prescriptions Furnishing development collaborations: Kvadrat, Viabizzuno, S2G Design, Coedition, Fritz Hansen, custom made Author: Manuela Di Mari Photo credits: Guillaume Grasset, Gaëlle Le Boulicaut, Romain Ricard

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QUARRIES

Lishui, China

Emptied space DnA_Design and Architecture designed a unique form of renewal and redevelopment for a decommissioned mining site in rural China. It combined the legacy left by mining with rethinking the setting from a tourism, cultural, and social perspective

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inyun, in the province of Zhejiang, is a rugged, not easily accessed region. The natural lay of the land prevents it from being used for agriculture leading the local economy to be based mainly on manual stone extraction. The landscape of the site is visually dramatic with the “empty spaces” from its industrial past and bizarre volcanic rock formations. Today it is the site of a fascinating largescale rehabilitation project that entails restoring and converting 9 of the over 3,000 small quarries, now no longer in use, into facilities for residents and tourists to serve social and cultural functions. The Chinese

studio DnA_Design and Architecture was hired for the project. In spring 2022, it completed three of the nine quarries, combining landscape design, planning, interior design, artistic installations, and social planning. The other sections are still under construction. The architects’ goal was to reconnect the local community and the cultural heritage in this area that has been marked by a haphazard process that has, by its very nature, transformed the landscape. The approach taken by Xu Tiantian, the studio’s founder, is translated into an original kind of “architectural acupuncture.” These minimal, precise strokes contrast Client: Jinyun County Culture Tourism Development Investment Architecture design: Xu Tiantian/DnA_Design and Architecture Lighting design: X Studio, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University Acoustic design: Yanxiang, Tsinghua University Acoustic Lab Sustainable ecological environment design: Borong Lin, Key Laboratory of Eco Planning & Green Building (Tsinghua University), Ministry of Education Safety evaluation: South Zhejiang Comprehensive Engineering Institute of Investigation and Mapping Strengthening engineering: The Architectural Design & Research Institute of Zhejiang University Author: Antonella Mazzola Photo credits: Wang Ziling

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QUARRIES

Lishui, China

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with the design excess of the rural areas, tending to kitsch romanticism and Disneyfication now commonplace in many parts of China. The project seeks to give value to the concept of emptiness, which is typical of Asian culture. within a scope that complements the material, tangible dimension, which is supported by the great acoustic and spatial potential of theatrical “stages” that invite visitors to rest their minds, explore, contemplate, and interact with the

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QUARRIES

surroundings. The nine former stone quarries each have their own unique, random forms dug into the rock and connected by pedestrian paths and aerial walkways. Quarry no. 8 offers a place for reading outdoors spread over multiple platforms. The space extends for about 50 meters into the mountain and comes to a height of almost 40 meters. Cement has made these natural terraces into places to sit. Made of steel and pressed bamboo, they hold bookshelves

Lishui, China

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

QUARRIES

Lishui, China

and studies, where visitors can immerse themselves in the world of calligraphy and stone inscriptions.

The expressive value of Quarry no. 9 works through the combination of the landscape and architecture.

The lower part of it has a vertical wall structure created by the use of machines and the upper part has a conical shape that was created manually. This cathedral space has excellent natural acoustics, enhanced through the new flooring, panels in the side railings, and sound absorption measures. Its pre-existing condition, paired with technical optimization, have made the place well-suited to conferences, performances, and theatrical performances of traditional opera. On the eastern side of the access road to the other facilities, 80 meters north of Quarry no. 9, Quarry n.10 was turned into an area for local stonemasons to show visitors the stone extraction process.

A ramp leads to an observation platform almost three meters above it, from which circular seating for viewers extends to the quarry. A small room for workers’ tools is under the platform.

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WONDER. DOHA | SHADOWS TRAVELLING ON THE SEA OF THE DAY, 2022 | OLAFUR ELIASSON The site-specific artwork was commissioned for the desert outside of Al Zubarah and Ain Mohammed heritage sites. “It is an invitation to resync with the planet. It is a celebration of everything being

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© Iwan Baan. Courtesy of the artist; neugerriemschneider, Berlin; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, New York / Los Angeles. © 2022 Olafur Eliasson

in and moving through the desert site north of Doha – animals, plants, and human beings; stories, traditions, and cultural artefacts; wind, sunlight, air, and shimmering heat”, Olafur Eliasson.

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WONDER. MONTRÉAL | BIODÔME MIGRATION | KANVA ARCHITECTURE | NEUF ARCHITECT(E)S

© Marc Cramer, James Brittain

Set in the spacious velodrome built for the Montréal 1976 Olympic Games and recently redesigned, the science museum immerses visitors in the authentic environs of multiple natural ecosystems.

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Collection I Massivi Table Monti, By Matteo Bianchi

Oak Online industriale Borgo Plus.

Itlas – v i a d e l l a v o r o – n°35, 31016 C o r d i g n a n o, Tr e v is o – I t a li a p h. +39 04 3 8 36 8 04 0 — itlas.com AD – S t u d i o M a lis a n

I m a g e – N u d e si g n / Ric c a r d o M u n a r in

Ecos – sustainable circular economy The virtuous use of the wood.

WONDER. SINGAPORE | CAPITASPRING | BIG-BJARKE INGELS GROUP | CRA-CARLO RATTI ASSOCIATI © Finbarr Fallon

Mixed-use high-rise defined by a dynamic interplay of orthogonal lines, lush greenery in the sky-gardens and the rooftop park with over 80,000 plants, and contrasting textures.

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PEOPLE

TO THE CORE OF LIFESTYLE BRANDS Part of the world of Ennismore hotellerie and lifestyle company, Aime Studios is in charge of interior design, graphic design, and branding.

As Charlie North tells us, the goal is to “bring brands to life and touch every guest touchpoint”

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hospitality brands, 190 bars and restaurants, 103 operating hotels with 144 openings slated around the world in coming years, 16 for 2023 alone. These are the numbers behind Ennismore, a hotellerie and lifestyle company founded in 2011 by Sharan Pasricha. In 2021 it entered into a joint venture with Accor to join into a new business entity the Hoxton, Gleneagles, Delano, SLS, Mondrian, Morgans Originals, SO/, Hyde, Mama Shelter, 25hours, 21c Museum Hotels, TRIBE, JO&JOE, and the recently launched coworking brand Working From_. In December 2022, the latest shift led to the creation of AIME Studios, formerly known as Ennismore Design Studio, the division in charge of interior design and graphic & identity Design led by Charlie North, Global VP of Interior Design, and Alex Prior, Design Director, Graphics. Recently, for Gleneagles, The Hoxton, SO/, TRIBE and Working From_ Aime Studios took on the development and creation of brand identities and places for travelers and the resident community alike.

As Charlie North describes for us in this interview, “As well as understanding the brand in detail from the brand brief, we have the pleasure of visiting the city and the local area so we understand not only the building, its quirks, charms and limitations but also the local culture, history and aesthetic palette.”

author: Alessandra Bergamini photo: courtesy of Ennismore - Aime Studios

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Charlie North

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

PEOPLE

Charlie North

What would you tell us about your professional life before Ennismore?

I started my career by interning at David Collins Studio as an undergraduate, and I returned as a junior designer after finishing University. I worked on luxury restaurants, and then on the FF&E team on high end residential projects. After a few years, I went on to work for Martin Brudnizki where I ran a number of projects ranging from five star hotels, to a manor house in Oxfordshire, and a tiny deli in Mayfair. Overall I gained a great range of experience on a nice variety of projects. My next adventure was joining a startup called Alexander Waterworth Interiors. I was Design Director there, and we built a team of 15-20 designers with a great range of midscale to luxury projects, and it was five years later I met Sharan [Sharan Pasricha, Founder & Co-CEO of Ennismore] and started my journey with Ennismore and today I am Global VP of Interior Design.

And what about your last years at Ennismore and AIME Studios.

I originally joined Ennismore to oversee interior design of The Hoxton hotel as we expanded internationally and to oversee the complete refurbishment of Gleneagles. A few years in, we had opened 6 new Hoxtons in Europe and the US. We had extensively refurbished the majority of Gleneagles, started work on the Gleneagles Townhouse in Edinburgh and launched a coworking brand called Working From_ with outposts in Chicago and Southwark.

Fast forward another four years and with the help of my counterpart, Mark Eacott [VP of Design], we oversee external design partners across multiple brands across the globe for Ennismore, and I co-run AIME Studios with Alex Prior [Design Director], a 30-person interior and graphic design studio focused on hospitality design.

Ennismore Design Studio has recently become AIME Studios, which is not simply a change of name. Which are the reasons behind this new identity?

AIME Studios is a fully integrated creative studio which tells authentic stories throughout every guest touch point. We wanted to showcase our design services across interior design, graphic design and branding to be able to develop and bring brands to life across the collective.

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PEOPLE

Speaking of identities, Ennismore owns 14 brands, from Gleneagles to TRIBE to Working From_. How do you manage to differentiate the hospitality concepts and identities you are involved in designing?

Ennismore’s Chief Brand & Culture Officer, Martina Luger, plays a huge part in defining and differentiating the brands. The brands each have their own key language and identity. When it comes to briefing in the design team, the foundations are set and our designers are responding to a specific brief, making sure everything is fully tailored and customized for the relevant brand. Working across different brands comes with its own unique challenges and is more exciting for me than having a single signature style and look.

city and the local area so we understand not only the building, its quirks, charms and limitations, but also the local culture, history and aesthetic palette.

We make sure that our concepts are founded on our research and our own photographic references to make sure our design is not only on brand, but relevant to the surroundings.

Furthermore, you have to take into consideration the identity of places and destinations, not to speak of your personality as interior designer. How do you reconcile all this?

This is the part of the process we’re most inspired by.

As well as understanding the brand in detail from the brand brief, we have the pleasure of visiting the

As in-house design studio dealing with so many projects do you collaborate in some cases with external design firms?

Given the number of pipeline projects across all the brands, in some cases AIME Studios will partner with exceptional external design specialists, when needed, to further enhance the results and delivery of our work.

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2022 has been a year full of openings for Ennismore, was AIME Studios involved in all of them?

In 2022 AIME Studios was involved in interiors and graphics for Gleneagles Townhouse, The Hoxton Shepherds Bush, The Hoxton Poblenou, TRIBE Canary Wharf, and new brand identities for a host of brands including SO/. We have many new exciting opportunities with other brands coming up in 2023 and beyond!

Charlie North

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

PEOPLE

Charlie North

Along with identity, another key word/key concept seems to be quite important in hospitality design: ‘touchpoint’. It is a marketing concept, but can we say it is also a concept related to creating a place which is a real ‘point of reference’? For both guest communities and local communities?

We use the phrase touchpoint to describe anything that hotel guests come into physical contact with, or anything they engage with during their experience.

This could be an app on a mobile phone, a chair in a lobby, a beautiful marble on a bar, or marketing collateral in the hotel.

As stated in your website, you ‘sample, procure, build’. How do you choose and build your network of makers, suppliers and partners?

We’ve built a great list of suppliers over the years who understand our intentions, and deliver high quality products with sustainable credentials, on time and on budget. It’s not easy to find manufacturers you’d go back to time and time again, but when we find someone who meets all these criteria, and importantly people who we enjoy working with, we build a relationship and we return to them time and time again.

This allows us to focus on experimenting with design details, because the fundamentals of what we’re looking to achieve are already understood.

Working From_Chigago Below: Gleneagle, Ochil House, Perthshire, Scotland.

Opposite page: Above, Working From_London.

Below, Tribe Canary Wharf, Feels like June

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You’ve been changing the concept and functions of hotel lobbies and common areas creating sort of ‘space’ communities. How much innovation is possible in hotel design?

A lifestyle brand is a brand that engages with the local community, so all the projects we work on have a similar philosophy at heart - we encourage a diverse community of guests, from locals to international travellers. Ennismore’s different brands will appeal to different people, so it’s not necessarily easier, but we do have more opportunity to experiment with design in different ways.

How do you match brand standards and creativity?

For me, brand standards allow for more creativity, within certain parameters. When boundaries are set, it allows us to focus more on details, and make sure we’re evolving design in a way that still represents the brands’ core identities.

Finally, what about new openings in 2023?

Ennismore has a whopping pipeline of over 30 hotel openings slated for 2023! AIME Studios are currently working on three Hoxton hotels and a Working From_ which are due to open this year - in Brussels, Berlin and Edinburgh.

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PEOPLE

Charlie North

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

PEOPLE

Charlie North

The Hoxton Holborn Below: The Hoxton Poblenou Opposite page: Gleneagles Townhouse

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LIBRARY

Paris

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

LIBRARY

Paris

When permanence and change meet: a restoration project from A to Z Atelier Bruno Gaudin Architectes has completed the vast restructuring and transformation project of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (BNF), making the Richelieu Quadrangle once again a strategic center of education and national culture

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he Bibliothèque Nationale de France’s historic site was recently reopened after a long, thorough renovation by Atelier Bruno Gaudin Architectes, which took on the challenge of handling a book heritage of great complexity and balancing it with the rich heritage of these spaces. The Parisian agence won the competition put on in 2007, and its undertaking is divided into two phases to allow it to prepare the enormous – and particularly delicate – building site. A first phase, from 2011 to 2016 involved the famous Salle Labrouste and the store rooms designed by the same architect, and the second, from 2017 to 2022, involved the huge oval room, its two stacked 17th-century galleries, and the Cabinet des Médailles. Although the site’s visibly distinct building envelopes are divided into wellordered units – vast reading rooms, courtyards, gardens, loggias and corridors – the gradual expansion of the complex since the 17th century IFDM | 93

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has meant infinite transformations, extensions, and demolitions. Behind its seemingly unified facade of Richelieu Quadrangle are different buildings with their own distribution principles and expressive qualities. Starting from a faithful, in-depth structural interpretation through which the architects succeeded in respecting historical material while making modernizations to the building, compatible with today’s building codes and regulations, giving overall coherence to the complex architectural layers. Bruno Gaudin and

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LIBRARY

Paris

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LIBRARY

Paris

Client: Ministry of Culture, Ministry of National Education – Higher Learning – research and innovation Delegated project management: OPPIC Commissioned architects: Atelier Bruno Gaudin & Virginie Brégal PHASE 1 Lighting engineer/designer: 8’18’’ (Georges Berne and Emmanuelle Sebie) Architect in chief of Historic buildings: Jean-François Lagneau Lighting engineer for the Labrouste Room: Cabinet Cizel Exterior joinery: Carpenters of Paris Interior joinery: Bonnardel Shelving: Bruynzeel Lifts: Thyssen PHASE 2 Lighting engineer/designer: 8’18’’ (Georges Berne and Emmanuelle Sebie) Chief architect of Historic buildings: Michel Trubert: Mazarin gallery, Mazarin room and decors of the Mansart gallery; J.F. Lagneau: restoration of the decors in the Salle Ovale, the Salon Louis XV and the Salle de Luynes Author: Antonella Mazzola Photo credits: Marchand Meffre, Takuji Shimmura

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Virginie Brégal worked on these 58,000 square meters, 30,000 of which were already renovated and opened at the end of 2016, by redesigning its spaces, the internal and external routes, and its systems. The project focused on improving the flow of movement, eliminating its tangle of stairs, elevators and hallways that had gradually crept into the site’s architecture during the work done on it over the years. Its vertical distribution has been simplified and focused on strategic points, connecting different parts of the complex’s quadrangle without sacrificing the original compositional balance and building a unified architectural trajectory. Two entrances give access to a single entrance, designed as a space crossing and connecting the two sides of the quadrangle.

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LIBRARY

Paris

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

LIBRARY

Paris

The project involved restoring many historic parts of the site. This included the majestic Salle Labrouste, with its large metal structure inspired by the Byzantine East, the nine domes that bring in natural lighting, the 19th-century decor by the landscape painter Alexandre Desgoffe, and later work after 2016, now holding the new museum: This includes the Galerie Mansart, the Galerie Mazarin, with the Baroque ceiling vault painted

by Giovanni Romanelli, and the Louis XV salon,

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an architectural gem from the late 19th century

by Jean-Louis Pascal, returned to its original purpose as a free space for consulting books open to all. The feather in the cap of this immense site is without question the entrance to the Salle Ovale – designed at the end of the 19th century by the architect Jean-Louis Pascal and completed in 1932 by Alfred Recoura – featuring an impressive oval dome of 43.70 meters x 32.80 meters, studded by sixteen oeils-de-boeuf windows in Parisian style, which fully lights the room. The designers decided to remove the grandiose stairwell made of bulky masonry and replace it with a more modern, self-supporting metal stairway that hovers in the empty space, forming a large loop edging the walkways. The steps are set at a distance and the light penetrates them, revealing the lightweight elements towards the extrados. This dialogue between the stone masonry container and the metal structure is a nod both to the library’s history and Labrouste’s genius.

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LIBRARY

Paris

icona Nickel PVD Matt Copper PVD Matt British Gold PVD Matt Gun Metal PVD

Fratelli Fantini SpA Via M. Buonarroti, 4 28010 Pella (NO) Ph. + 39 0322 918411 fantini@fantini.it Fantini Milano Via Solferino, 18 20121 Milano Ph. +39 02 89952201 fantinimilano@fantini.it

Ph. Santi Caleca

A.D. Graph.x

Icona Design V. Van Duysen

www.fantini.it

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HEADQUARTERS

Montebelluna, Italy

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

HEADQUARTERS

Montebelluna, Italy

Street architecture and prosecco In Montebelluna, michielizanatta.net translates the setting of a shabby industrial area on the Schiavonesca road into a new administrative building for the Cantina Montelliana e dei Colli Asolani winery

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rosecco has become a popular drink the world over and is produced in ever-increasing quantities, especially in the province of Treviso in Veneto. To meet the demand, well-established wineries like Cantina Montelliana e dei Colli Asolani, among the largest in Italy, employing 60 people. Now it needs larger spaces with higher performances. Located near a roundabout of the Schiavonesca state road not far from Montebelluna, the winery is set in an industrial area of scant architectural quality. Here, despite the landscape regulations

dictated by the proximity to the Montello and Piave rivers, buildings in different styles and materials were crowded haphazardly in the years of the economic boom in Veneto. This context was inspiring for the design approach of Tommaso Michieli and Christian Zanatta, who applied one of their guiding principles to building the administrative center: “drawing on the contemporary situation taken as a layering of elements part of the ‘cheap’ vocabulary of recent urban landscape with the goal of obtaining a sort of ‘street architecture.’” The new building is the key part Client: Cantina Montelliana e dei Colli Asolani Project and works management: michielizanatta.net architects, Tommaso Michieli, Christian Zanatta Main Contractor: Costruzioni Bordignon Structures: Massimo Gallonetto, engineer Mechanical design: Studio Nord-Est Exterior cement: Pellizzari Building Landscaping: Gaffo Giancarlo, Fabio Vivaio Metal framework: Gobbato Serramenti Exterior and interior doors and windows: IALC Serramenti Elevator: Carraro Ascensori Painting and plasterwork: Pittori Sartor, RudyService Finishes: JVP, Liuni, Metope False ceilings: Atena Spa Furnishings: Faram, TH Arredamenti Author: Elena Franzoia Photo credits: Massimo Crivellari

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of the production area, a long, narrow rectangular building (about 50x10 meters) spread over three floors above ground and one basement (currently used as a storeroom but likely to be a barrel room in the future), with a total area of 1,800 square meters.

The ground floor holds administrative and management areas and a wine analysis laboratory, and the commercial offices are on the first floor, connected to a large meeting room. The top floor is for meetings, including in-house ones with the board of directors, and those with buyers, for which it includes a tasting room and kitchen. “The levels are held together by a stairway that is a place, space, and an opportunity to meet,” the architects say. “The stairway brings the outside vocabulary inside and organizes relaxation areas for those who work here. It helps us keep in mind that everything we do, we ultimately do for people.”

The defining exterior feature is the special solution used for the facade. The architects say, “We immediately realized that we needed to take on the entire building front and try give it a unified feel through a process of cleaning, removal, simplifying, and connecting in a system of frames and horizontal bands.

The Superintendency agreed with our approach.

The materials are local ones from the immediate area and wider vicinity. The road itself became a source of vocabulary and material. Everything is made industrially, including stamped concrete using molds, WPC (a refurbished material made from extruding PVC and wood scraps), and punched and corrugated metal sheet. The intent was to weave together a texture because with a flat, monolithic building like the original building, the only option is to work with solids and voids, staggering and forming a texture, seeking varying levels of depth. Its components create a repetition of dense vertical grooves, expressed in every material, as a kind of counterpoint to the horizontality of the facade.” The design process was also unique to this era, stemming from the unusual circumstances of recent years. The architects say, “We conceived new the administrative center of Cantina Montelliana in a protracted, protected time.”

At home during the lockdown, one of us in Udine and the other in Giavera del Montello, we planned and developed it at a distance. Then it all took off quickly, sped up, ahead of the normal times for building, driven by our excitement to start back up, to act, because creating and building are sources of joy and hope. The crisis notwithstanding.”

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Montebelluna, Italy

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

HEADQUARTERS

Montebelluna, Italy

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Memory meets modernity in Portugal Emerging from the intersection of two buildings, located in the heart of the lively city of Porto, the architecture and interior design project of the Ding Dong studio has turned The Editory Boulevard Aliados Hotel into a fresh, contemporary place to meet

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HOTEL

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efore taking on merging two different buildings in Porto, one on Rua do Almada and the other on Avenida dos Aliados, the design studio Ding Dong chose to spend a lot of time in this area, which is one of Porto’s most important, and observe how people interacted with the place to be able to create an urban oasis respecting memory and integration. This was the origin of the Editory Boulevard Aliados Hotel and its total 4,120 square meters of sophisticated and eclectic use, which manages to make tourists feel at home while simultaneously strengthening the locals’ sense of belonging.

“It is as if the hotel had always been there,” says the team of creatives, intersecting the two architectural structures, to which new floors were added to fill in the gap in the area and number of rooms, of which

Porto, Portugal

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

HOTEL

Porto, Portugal

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there are 70 with sizes between 18 and 28 square meters. The main difference between the two sections is in their function. One is intended for guests, with its main entrance on the Avenida dos Aliados.

The other section is intended as an invitation to the city, with a bar and restaurant on Rua do Almada.

Both entrance floors hold most of the common areas – inside and outside – while the basement is used for the meeting room, a gym, technical areas, and staff areas. For the interior design, Ding Dong made a fresh interpretation of the past by using beautiful, natural materials, such as wood and stone, but giving them an urban feel. Historical pieces are mixed with custom furnishings (about 80%) combined with the consistent use of color, some of which the studio created itself, such as “Neon Lobster”, for unique, warm and vibrant atmospheres, to the extent that many of the rooms are defined by their particular color expression: green, orange or vintage, They all maintain common traits of glossy light green (wainscoting, 106 | IFDM

HOTEL

Porto, Portugal

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HOTEL

Porto, Portugal

Hotel operator: The Editory Hotels Architecture & Interior design: Ding Dong Lighting: Galerie MCDE Furnishings: custom made on design by the architects Ceramics: FAM Carpets: customized by Fabricaal (Fábrica Alentejana de Lanifícios) Fabrics: Dedar, Designs of Time, Lizzo, Pierre Frey Author: Manuela Di Mari Photo credits: Montse Garriga Grau

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walls, and ceiling) and ox-blood red (frames), as well as the pigments in the drawings by a Portuguese artist and Monsaraz carpets made specifically for this project. In the hotel, there are also interplays of black and white, such as in the floor of the lounge on the terrace made up of square pieces of slate and stone, and in the bar, which features oak wood slats with black and white enamel, as well as in the marbles and finishes of the bathrooms. There is no lack of especially original touches, such as from the Pierre Frey wallpaper, the Dedar fabrics, Designs of Time and Lizzo. The wallpaper covers the bar’s domed ceiling with a linear pattern of human figures while one with animal patterns covers the restaurant’s walls. Its brightly colored spaces are beautifully lit by the natural light of the large windows and skylights, enhanced by a well-balanced study of artificial lighting to create comfortable, peaceful settings.

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HOTEL

Porto, Portugal

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

HOTEL

Porto, Portugal

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FACTORY

Bagno a Ripoli, Italy

The new Fendi Factory’s natural landscape Piuarch designed the production building of the famed luxury brand Fendi as an ecological system, fitting seamlessly into the Tuscan countryside, in symbiosis with the landscape and the new headquarters’ multiple functions

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he excellence of the brand’s production deserves an architectural landmark its equal. This was what Maison Fendi asked for its new production hub in Bagno a Ripoli near Florence. It specifically requested that the couture creations’ aesthetic value be paired with equal environmental quality. The Milanese studio Piuarch succeeded in the undertaking with a project en-

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visioned and developed to seem to disappear in the landscape, which was then built and coordinated by Fendi’s Architecture Department. For a start, the complex, which is approximately 14,000 sq. m., blends completely with the Tuscan countryside through a single-level horizontal layout.

The site plan fits the needs of the production process and very fluidly supports different functions

Architecture and interior design: Piuarch with Antonio Perazzi, Fendi Architecture Department Systems design: Ramtech Engineering Structure design & Site management: GPA Partners Main Contractor: Raggi Costruzioni and Restauri Landscape design: Marsigli Lab Author: Manuela Di Mari Photo credits: Andrea Ferrari

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FACTORY

Bagno a Ripoli, Italy

with spaces that are each unique. Inside the complex are management and administrative offices, a restaurant, a production warehouse, laboratories, and a school of fine leather goods. All are connected through a framework of transparent walls.

In the words of the architects: “People and goods move on a single level while the required functions define the building’s plan with their size and shape. We envisioned a ‘backbone’ connecting the spaces made of glass elements in order to also visually connect the different functions and encourage people to circulate and socialize. The succession of spaces is completed by green courtyards and patios that bring in light and forge a relationship with the surrounding landscape.”

The landscape takes on crucial importance in the design concept, which was planned in the preliminary phase with the landscape architect Antonio Perazzi. “The idea was to reconstruct the hilly contour of the site through the architecture itself, seemingly underground,” they continue.

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Building a new building in a setting such as Chianti necessarily took a bioclimatic approach.

Respecting the setting and studying the intrinsic possibilities of the site led to creating an almost camouflaged building that does not disturb the land’s harmony and indeed amplifies it. The building’s roof is formed of a continuous, intensive plant cover intended to recreate the lie of the land and “restore” the original hill. The choice is also tied to a land repair project for the site, which has been marked by the brick and quarry industries that were previously located here. This was taken as an opportunity to institute virtual dynamics of land management.

“This is an extensive roof garden that not only has an environmental function but also a social and collective function, becoming a usable space and a place for employees to socialize,” Piuarch says. The green roof also has the advantage 112 | IFDM

FACTORY

Bagno a Ripoli, Italy

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

FACTORY

Bagno a Ripoli, Italy

of effectively counteracting the “heat island effect” caused by a new construction on such a large area.

The roof ’s imposing size is offset by the use of large glass surfaces and patios that make use of natural light.” This creates an original system of balance between ventilation and natural light, artificial and natural environments, and inside and outside. The overall effect enhances the quality of the workspaces, in complete accord with the client’s desire to strengthen its commitment to environmental and social responsibility. With its high energy efficiency criteria, Fendi Factory will be the first factory to obtain the prestigious LEED Platinum certification in 2023.

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HOTEL

St. Barth, Caribbean

Transoceanic Amarcord On an exclusive Caribbean island, a short way from the beaches of Saint-Jean, the Tropical Hotel St. Barth proves to be an elegant, relaxing oasis, suggesting both the Cote d’Azur and mid-20th-century Palm Springs. Lush plant life, tropical motifs, and pastel colors

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he Caribbean Sea glitters pristinely around the island of St. Barth, the most elegant island of the French Antilles, the one immune to the winds of passing fads. Just a few steps from the white beaches of Saint-Jean, the iconic Tropical Hotel St. Barth stands, embodying the tenets of Caribbean aesthetics paired with the chic style of the French Riviera and 1950s Palm Springs. Here we can read between the lines – including literal lines of striped motifs – the designer’s “free” tastes. The French designer Oscar Lucien Ono, founder of Maison Numéro 20, imported his style, color universe, and meticulous attention to detail – plus the ocean and sea view – designing engaging spaces that deftly play with color and nature. He intertwines Art Deco atmospheres with the decor that looks like it’s from a Wes Anderson film, resplendent with the appeal of the ‘good old days,’ and always unbelievably cool. This five-star hotel fits beautifully in its natural surroundings, inviting nature to express its presence in a multitude of ways. Nature is living here as a connection between inside and outside, and it is decorative too, with plant motifs ultra-present in the furnishings and upholstery.

The motifs do not follow a simple style but affirm the desire to preserve a symbolic world through a purely aesthetic act. The result is a colorful oasis of plant life, fresh and bright spaces that include 114 | IFDM

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HOTEL

St. Barth, Caribbean

a restaurant, cafe, 24 rooms distributed over two levels and a patio-garden, which is the lush heart of the hotel around which everything else unfolds.

The landscape architect Denys Ridrimont was inspired here by the painter Henri Rousseau and his wild, mysterious nature. Rousseau — whose nickname was the Custom’s Officer — with wonderful imagination painted spaces overrun by orchids and ferns, focusing on the vertical quality of palms and bamboo and the magnificent chromatic bloom of flowers dotting the foliage of bougainvilleas and frangipanis. Long benches and chairs in pink-hued wrought iron are on the patio in front of the restaurant, and sun chairs and loungers with colorful striped motifs create a bohemian-style area for relaxation. The restaurant also has an informal atmosphere, inviting guests to dine under the huge colonial-style wooden frame, where tables of different sizes con accommodate couples or groups. In the interiors, Oscar Lucien Ono continues to give an interpretation of IFDM | 115

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the Garden of Eden through a selection of fabrics and wallpaper with exotic motifs, including the famous Salengro model by designer Manuel Canovas and the Mauritius fabric by Pierre Frey in a custom color. The mural painted by Raphaël Schmitt also depicts a profusion of plant species, adding to the blurred boundary between interior and exterior. The armchairs were made by Maison Numéro 20, upholstered with Mauritius fabrics

by Pierre Frey and embellished with trimmings.

The transition between the patio and rooms is made gradual through paths and verandas that effectively expand the space for each room, giving them double exposure. In the guestrooms wood, rattan, rope and bamboo combine with originality with fabrics and walls in shades of green, pink, yellow, and blue. The bathrooms feature a boudoir style with fluted wooden washbasins and rounded mirrors, along with a lighter beach feel with glazed ceramic fish on the walls.

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HOTEL

St. Barth, Caribbean

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

HOTEL

St. Barth, Caribbean

Hotel operator: Tropical Hotel & Beach Architectural design: Bruneau Ghezzi Architectes Landscape design: Denys Ridrimont Interior design: Oscar Lucien Ono – Maison Numéro 20 Furnishings: custom made, Maison Numéro 20 Fabrics: Manuel Canovas, Pierre Frey Author: Antonella Mazzola Photo credits: Francis Amiand, Didier Demas, courtesy of Tropical St. Barth

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A Zen oasis in the heart of Nanjing Near the Tianlong temple, the Grand Wuji Hotel is an Eden for taking refuge and finding inner peace in an atmosphere steeped in spirituality. The CCD/Cheng Chung Design studio designed the interiors

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he city is known as the capital of the six ancient dynasties. This is Nanjing, the capital of the Jiangsu province in eastern China, about 300 kilometers from Shanghai. It is washed and fed by the Qinhuai River that crosses the south of the city. Nanjing was once China’s capital, before being replaced by Beijing. Now it seems to have forgotten its dramatic history and is experiencing fresh cultural vibrancy. Here, in a context of calm, all-encompassing peace, stands the Grand Wuji Hotel, which was designed by the RSAA and Buzz studios, with interiors by CCD/Cheng Chung, the Hong Kong-based studio founded by Joe Cheng. Like a garden nestled in the center of Nanjing, this 272-room hotel consists of four C-shaped buildings that open onto the Tianlong Temple, like a courtyard.

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horizontal and vertical layout, creating the spatial hierarchy by differentiating the structure of each area. The circulation routes are also organized based on this logic to guide and spur guest behaviors. The result is a place with a Zen feel for taking refuge far from the hustle and bustle of daily life. This spiritual atmosphere has an innate tranquility that permeates the place and inspired the design choices. These spaces have inherited the simplicity, tranquility, and natural elegance of their landscape and surroundings. The lush trees at the entrance create undulating shadows and water and stone usher visitors into a natural Zen

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landscape where even the most restless souls can find peace. Zen philosophy pervades the entire design, using a mix of traditional and Chinese styles, Asian art and modern minimalism. This hotel invites you to forget all your responsibilities, leave behind the frenzy of daily life, and let yourself go into a new dimension, where you can savor the true essence of life. The design reminds hotel guests to give themselves a break from the noisiness of life and take a deep breath to calm their minds. A Zen approach is also taken in the hotel’s vegetarian restaurant, Jia Shu, which is a celebration of nature and a health-giving

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connection with it. Here, the key player is wood used in lattices that blend into the space. Natural elements help create an atmosphere of quiet and purity, fostered by soft lights and an allure that is sophisticated yet austere, with soft nuances, never “shouted.” The furnishing has simple, soft and round lines, and there is ample use of plant 122 | IFDM

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life, forging connection and continuity between inside and outside. Standing out in the banquet hall is an artistic wall installation made of wooden pieces evoking the image of a large bird’s nest, a symbol of union, (re)birth and a protective place to take refuge, embodying the very essence of the Grand Wuji Hotel.

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Client: Fullshare Group Architectural design: RSAA, BUZZ Interior design: CCD / Cheng Chung Design Furnishings: on design Art consulting: CCD · WOWU Art Consultancy Author: Francesca Gugliotta Photo credits: Qiu Xin, Su Shengliang, courtesy of CCD

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Urban works and architectural design: ACPV Architects Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel Exhibit design: Gio’ Forma Integrated technical design: Black Engineering Interaction, app concept design and visual identity: Limiteazero Content and interaction development: Clonwerk Educational design: Civita Exhibitions and Museums Project advisor: Andrea Baccuini Content curator: Andrea Celi FuturAbility scientific design: Marco Gui, Professor of the Department of Sociology and Social Research at the University of Milan-Bicocca Static design: Marco Omini Author: Veronica Orsi Photo credits: courtesy of STEP; Giovanni Nardi Photography, courtesy of ACPV

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The future is now Fastweb’s headquarters in Milan is home to the new STEP FuturAbility District, an experiential space for connecting with the future, in direct relationship to Symbiosis, the broader urban renewal project surrounding it

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u sei futuro” [You are future]: these are the monolithic words soaring over Piazza Adriano Olivetti in Milan. Like a mantra to be unavoidably impressed on the minds of those passing through this expansive public area with a succession of gardens and pools arranged to the design of the landscape architect Carlo Masera. With its

13,000 square meters, bordering the Prada Foundation, the square is only a small piece of a larger urban renewal project called Symbiosis by the real estate company Covivio. Its aim is to create a business district and a new mixed-use urban center within 130,000 square meter area south of Porta Romana. The buildings and public spaces have a powerful fluid, continuous, integrated

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quality that defines the masterplan by the architectural firm ACPV Architects – Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel, who also designed Piazza Olivetti and the Fastweb headquarters, Building D (the office building for companies like Boehringer Ingelheim, LVMH P&C Italia, Amplifon and the Mars groups), both already completed, and Moncler’s headquarters, under construction.

These projects are joined by the ICS Campus (a project of the Barreca & La Varra studio, already opened), the HQ of Snam and the mixed-use Vitae building, designed by Piuarch and CRA – Carlo Ratti Associati, respectively, which will be completed by 2024. In this urban scope of change and connection, the artistic installation “Tu sei futuro,” created by the Studio of Artists Giò Forma, reflects its spirit and purpose, making the person central while evoking the dimension of community. It also anticipates the themes and mission driving STEP FuturAbility District, the new technological, informative and experiential hub created within the Fastweb headquarters.

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the concept is heightened by the large glass surfaces of the facade that reflect the square. Cristina Paciello, Head of STEP, says, “STEP was made to ‘connect’ visitors to the future and inspire them to reflect and develop their awareness about the digital transformation underway that is changing how we work, study, and live.” The trajectory has ten stages, made up of dynamics installations, immersive spaces, multimedia walls and even an app to continuously interact with the route and its contents. It guides visitors to explore topics related to the digital future - from artificial intelligence to the internet of things, cloud computing and 5G - through Giò Forma’s exhibit design. “The idea is to give visitors the chance to be stimulated and give feedback in real-time to find out their FuturAbility profile, i.e., a personalized profile of their attitude to the future and their level of digital skills.” There are five main areas in its 1,200 square feet, all customizable and available for events: the Theatre, the Outdoor Terrace, the Square Space, the Teaching Room, and the Meeting Room on the mezzanine floor. The future takes shape within STEP, but only as a starting point for new paths towards innovation and the next digital developments.

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A factory of ideas The X+Living design studio uses a groundbreaking design concept for the Powerlong Ideas Lab in Shanghai

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hat do two very different, distant eras have in common like the Industrial Revolution and the current Information Age? According to Li Xiang, founder and creative director of the design studio X+Living, their underlying processes follow the same pattern. In other words, the same revolutionary thinking led to technological development, very tangible in the former case, and impalpable in the latter, but no less groundbreaking.

Not to mention the enormous contribution both

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Interior design: X+Living Author: Manuela Di Mari Photo credits: SFAP, v2com

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eras made to the development of global business.

Powerlong Ideas Lab in Shanghai has embodied these parallels in its multi-functional, absolutely unconventional lab that combines retail areas and offices. In its aesthetic expression, it is envisioned

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as a literal generator of ideas. The studio recreates reaction tanks in the space for retail sales.

Energy pipelines are used to hide the wires and cables of the air conditioning system; there are platforms and suspended metal walkways where

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the research and development team works and moves about. The demolition of the original twostorey building’s ceiling slabs turned it into a single space about 9 meters high, making room for powerful, imposing elements. The interaction between customers on the ground floor and information technology creators on the raised floor is key to X+Living. The customers will enjoy the retail experiences provided by the new technology and information systems by the staff above them. The tubular forms convey energy in both a physical and metaphorical sense and are used as an integral part of the furniture, such as in a series of tables and chairs on the ground floors.

In other points, tubes are used to mark out the floor plan. A minimalist approach is predominant throughout with the use of white, black, and gray cement. There are also some forays of color, which Li Xiang often uses to focus an atmosphere, including hints of pastel pink, golden finishes, and desaturated reds.

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Al Ula, Saudi Arabia

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Al Ula, Saudi Arabia

The bearable lightness of luxury For the Banyan Tree AlUla resort, the Parisian studio AW² took inspiration from the nomadic nature of Nabataean architecture with a design adapted and adaptable to the specific cultural, historical and natural qualities of Ashar

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his is a desert as pristine as it is mysterious in a changing country. The region of AlUla, northwest of Saudi Arabia, is a place of extraordinary natural and human heritage. Though it had been a geographical and cultural crossroads for centuries it had been long closed to visitors. Its beauties today, including landscapes, lush oases, finds from ancient pre-Islamic civilizations and tombs carved in sandstone rock reminiscent of Petra, have become among the priorities of the Saudi Vision 2030 development plan. This entails large-scale social and economic investments, aimed at making the country a preferred destination for luxury tourism, attracting foreign investors, creating new jobs and improving the living standards of the people. The Banyan Tree brand is opening its first property 15 km from Hegra, the main southern city of the Nabataean kingdom – and a Roman outpost – as well as the Kingdom’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site. In support of the nation’s long-term tourism, cultural and economic goals for the region, AW² architects designed the Banyan Tree AlUla resort, prioritizing conserving the area’s rich heritage, taking a lightweight, eco-friendly approach that aims to blend the resort perfectly in the natural scenery of the Ashar Valley.

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The resort has 47 new tented suites ranging in size from one to three bedrooms. Two gourmet restaurants and a luxury spa are in its public areas.

Each suite consists of a simple platform and solid structure with terracotta plasterwork that echoes the nearby rocks. Sand-colored canvases of varying types were used to create natural ventilation between the roof and the tents, as well as provide sun protection. This three-floor layout creates a roof with soft lines and greatly limits the impact on the surrounding landscape, softening it and making it not at all invasive. The interiors are in perfect color harmony with the desert palette, combining motifs inspired by the Nabataean nomadic Arab tribes and traditional decorations with the highest international design standards in luxury hospitality. To prevent guests from feeling overwhelmed by the large scale of the site while still taking advantage of the objectively spectacular views, the design favored privacy IFDM | 135

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and shelter in intimate settings where the breathtaking views are individually framed. The facades of the hot springs were made with compacted sand, whose color variations in horizontal bands match the rocky formations in the background. The impressive pool is set in a natural crevice in the rock, reminiscent of the wadis that form at the base of cliffs during periods of rain. The paths and walkways were designed like trails in the sand, and the entire area was beautified with original plants native to the desert climate. Reda Amalou and Stéphanie Ledoux, AW²’s founders, commented: “Our architecture responds to the fragility of the Ashar site and aims not only to restore but also to protect it from future harm by consciously addressing the balance of man and nature.” To support the site’s plant life, the architects used rainwater harvesting techniques to make it micro hydrographic gardens, which also serve to protect the site from flooding during months of heavy rain.

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Client: Royal Commission for AlUla (RCU) in partnership with AFALULA, French Agency for AlUla Development Operator: Banyan Tree - Accor Masterplan, Architecture & Interior design: AW² architecture & interiors, Stéphanie Ledoux & Reda Amalou Structural and Civil engineering: Egis Consultants / Project management: AECOM, GAJ Infrastructures: NESMA Main contractors: GCS, NESMA, DEEPA Tent supplier: FIOBCO Furniture suppliers: Accor Procurement – AH2; custom designed by AW² Author: Antonella Mazzola Photo credits: courtesy of AW2, Reda Amalou & Stéphanie Ledoux; courtesy of Banyan Tree

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WONDER. THE MIRRORS OF ZLÍN, CZECH REPUBLIC | LOOM ON THE MOON Set in the chateau park, the outdoor permanent installation marks 700 years of Zlín City’s history. A constellation of fluid shapes, poetically placed among the most beautiful trees of Zlín‘s park, whose treetops,

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© BoysPlayNice

flowing sky, and curious visitors they reflect. The soul of this installation is a sound composition that celebrates the cycle of time, the seasons, the lengthening and shortening of the days.

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WONDER. CORVIALE, ROME | STREET ART FOR RIGHTS FORUM FESTIVAL | ICARUS | JDL (JUDITH DE LEEUW) © Emidio Vallorani

The 40-meter-high mural gives a fresh interpretation to the myth of Icarus, who challenges nature. It depicts two women: one is oil-soaked and falls into the emptiness, and the other manages to free herself and fly away.

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WONDER. KODLA, INDIA | STUDIOS 90 | SANJAY PURI ARCHITECTS © Ricken Desai

A composition of coloured cuboids defines this residential project. Three primary colours, red, blue, yellow, highlight the cantilevered balconies, creating an identity and enhancing the sculptural look of the buildings.

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PEOPLE

CaberlonCaroppi

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CaberlonCaroppi

WHAT’S VISIBLE AND WHAT’S NOT. HOSPITALITY DESIGN ACCORDING TO CABERLONCAROPPI Knowing how to listen and interpret, sensitivity to everything that has to do with hospitality, aesthetic taste and – adding significant value – powerful interest in understanding the dynamics of hospitality, those that are visible and especially those that are not

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s the studio founded by Chiara Caberlon and Ermanno Caroppi turns 18, now officially grown up, it has reached the target of 200 hotels. These numbers earn the designer duo a place on the pantheon of those who know hospitality through and through, down to its invisible nuances. Friends since the first day of university, these last 18 years together have been marked by constant growth on a path impervious to passing fads. Though their personalities are quite different from one another and they live geographically far apart, as a duo, they have created a single entity, an organized machine that gives certainty to owners, developers, and suppliers alike.

Its American-style organization stems partly from the 5 years that Chiara Caberlon spent at Genius Loci. Tried-and-true procedures are the backbone supporting this pair of professionals working together despite the 500 km separating them.

author: Matteo De Bartolomeis portrait photo: Ermanno Ivone projects photo: courtesy of CaberlonCaroppi

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200 projects in 18 years: what are your thoughts about this milestone and what will change in the future?

First of all, what makes us proud is not so much the number of hotels designed but the different types of hotels we have worked with. At first, we focused only on business hotels, and that was an important training ground that made us decide to stay in the area with: modern style, square structures, and spaces that are often similar to one another. At a certain point, however, we felt the need for a change because to become specialists in hotels – which was our ambition – we needed to directly work on quite very different projects. Over time, boutique hotels and other kinds of hotels came along too.

How have clients changed over the last 18 years?

Once there were almost no developers.

There are definitely new figures how have come in. Investment funds used to not be interested in hospitality. There are a lot more operators who rely on international brands who are interested in investing in Italy.

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about safety tied to Italy. The south wasn’t taken into consideration, or hardly, by investors. There was (and still is) a problem related to international regulations especially having to do with safety.

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Umiltà 36, Rome

Let’s talk about color being added or taken away...

Everything is closely tied to the kind of project we’re working on. For example, there is L’Umiltà in Rome and the new hotel in Puglia whose management will be taken over by Borgo Ignazia. The former doesn’t have an inch free, while the latter grows out of the “total white” axiom. We’re not the ones who choose the color or the lavishness of the finishes and accessories. The clients choose the style.

At Borgo Ignazia, it doesn’t matter that the room has to be cleaned in 8 minutes. For the hotel’s storytelling, it matters that there are signs of Puglia’s history everywhere and that the decor is full and intentional. We took on the theme of color with Best Stay, which bought the former Holiday Inn. We designed a hospitality concept for them that brings in freshness, closely tied to food, for a simple hotel with basic services, but all in very colorful interiors.

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Toscana Resort Castelfalfi, Montaione, Florence

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...and about client relationships We really feel like we listen across the board, which does not mean that “the client asks and the architect does,” but we are quite free to think and design.

Everything is done with a calculator in hand because we have to always keep in mind the return that the investor needs to have. One aspect we have developed over the years and is an important part of what we study is that which is not visible in a hotel.

We have gradually delved into the matter of flows as well as connections, including technical ones, and logistics. Now we don’t stop at decorating a space, we also go into its architecture. This is an added value. This is something we always stress when we present the studio.

Do you occasionally take a break or look around to consider or do things differently from usual?

Caberlon: I consider the observation of everyday life essential. Being curious to talk to different generations, curious to see places we have never seen before, driving on a different route to observe a street and a building. All of this is fuel for the mind to get out of routines.

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CaberlonCaroppi

Left: Eterea collection

by Zambaiti at NotoCaffé, Milan Right: Tree of Life by Tooy at Sheraton Milan San Siro Caroppi: I feel like I’m a sponge, I look and listen to everything. I have traveled a lot and seen places and architecture far from my world. Among the many places I’ve been, Dubai and San Francisco were definitely the most inspiring. During Covid, we went back to school to take a masters in the luxury hotel business with Sole24Ore, taking lessons from top managers of large hotel companies. It was fascinating to hear what they had to say from a perspective different than ours.

What’s your relationship with sustainability?

It is an essential aspect, a prerequisite for design.

But we can choose fabrics and materials, but the one who more significantly affects the issue is the designer of the building systems. Our choices support them, but they do not determine the ultimate environmental impact. “Green” products have reached high standards and their costs – unlike a few years ago – are in line with those of unsustainable options. But ultimately this contribution is always scant compared to how much a building system makes a difference.

Architects at heart, but also still designers?

We like design and we still believe in it. We created a wallpaper collection with Zambaiti. We’re working on a lamp for Tooy and designing products for Contardi. We say that inspiration comes from everyday problems.

Looking back quickly over the studio’s past 18 years, what products made you think, “Yes, here we really reached a new quality level”?

We noticed a nice growth in quality when our credibility increased, which can sometimes happen a little at a time. It’s a perception. We work in a niche sector where everyone knows each other and word travels fast. We’d say that when we completed the four hotels made at the same time for Best Stay, we felt good about that.

The hotel you have yet to design, how is it different from the others?

There is no dream hotel. There is the dream job, which is ours.

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MIXED USE

Contemporary heritage Asti Architetti has helped bring a piece of Milan back to its former glory through a redevelopment project called “Cortile della Seta”. A historic location of trade and financial business is now an office and retail center for fashion and design brands

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string of shop windows on the ground floor sets the pace of the two sides of the building at the corner of Via Moscova and Via Solferino. Defining the building’s perimeter, it determines its character while creating a powerful connection between inside and outside. Those who know this landmark on Milan’s city map understand that it is something new that brings a contemporary touch to the city’s historical heritage. The Moscow 33 complex, better known as the “Cortile della Seta,”

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(Courtyard of Silk) was recently redeveloped by Asti Architetti, with the support of the London studio Buckley Gray Yeoman, turning the 19th-century building with its classic courtyard shape into a modern office and retail building, using a sustainable approach. The building has gone through several functions and uses in its history, all closely connected to Milan’s flourishing businesses. First, it was the barracks of Napoleon’s calvary, then the military bakery of the Austrian government. Around the mid-19th

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Developer Manager: Savills Investment Management SGR with Eurotekna’s contribution as Development Advisor and Project & Construction Manager Renovation project: Asti Architetti Main Contractor: Carron Cav. Angelo Author: Veronica Orsi Photo credits: Stefano Gusmeroli, De Pasquale+Maffini, Andrea Martiradonna, A. Saletta, M. Dalle Grave, courtesy of Loro Piana

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century it was turned into the Courtyard of Silk by a silk industry, which served as the hub of trade agreements and a gathering point for silk traders and craftspeople, known as “bigattèe” or silk makers.

Interesting detail: the inner courtyard was also used for storing and preserving silkworm cocoons. From the silk industry company came Banca Popolare that took over ownership of the property, which had been half-destroyed during World War II. It was then rebuilt and expanded by the architect Luigi Caccia Dominioni, partly maintaining the original model, and then was re-opened in 1954. The pursuit of a bal-

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ance between old and new shaped the new redevelopment project by Asti Architetti, which redesigned the street front, the large covered courtyard, and a new glazed roof. The clear intention to enhance the relationship between the building and its urban context can be seen from the expansion of the existing windows on the retail level which have been made into display windows in line with the openings on the upper floors. Natural lighting has been considerably increased, especially through the new glazed roof of the central courtyard, made up of a series of sheds of different sizes, which improves the filtering IFDM | 153

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Milan

of light inside – redefined through a multi-functional “covered square” layout. The roof is equipped with a mechanized opening to control air exchange. The continuity between inside and outside through the glass surfaces comes up to the top two floors, which were added to the four existing levels (plus a basement). They feature a full-height continuous glazed covering with partially inclined metal ribs that mark out the contour. In its newly renovated condition, considering its earthquake proofing and energy efficiency improvements, the Cortile della Seta has been LEED Gold-certified, and meets NZEB standards (Nearly Zero Energy Building). With more than 50% of its energy from renewable sources (including photovoltaic panels and a geothermal system for heating and cooling), it obtained WELL Core Platinum certification, the highest recognition for buildings designed for the health and well-being of people.

This architectural setting covers almost 26,000 square

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Milan

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meters and is now home to luxury brands of fashion and design brands. One floor has been leased by the Kering group for the Pomellato brand’s offices, 75% of the office space (and internal courtyard) have been rented to Loro Piana, which brings together diverse functions, services, and spaces, which had been spread across several locations. Its new headquarters, part of the LVMH group, was designed by the Vincent Van Duysen Architects studio which merged the label’s defining sophisticated elegance with the aesthetics of historic Milanese buildings. The studio designed the spaces as well as the furnishings, almost entirely made by UniFor, customized to be in close accord with the building. A new Loro Piana Interiors store was also opened within the HQ. On the ground floor, retail businesses also include the new showrooms of Flexform (800 square meters, on two levels, designed by ACPV Architects Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel), Calligaris Group (its 713 square meters making it the group’s largest showroom in the world, bringing together the brands Calligaris, Ditre Italia and Luceplan, based on Marco Piva’s design) and Lodes (with its three display windows making it the brand’s first showroom).

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Lucerne, Switzerland

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Lucerne, Switzerland

Lucerne, Art Deco reimagined London-based design studio Jestico + Whiles has given new luster to the grand-dame Mandarin Oriental Palace hotel built in 1906 for the eccentric hotelier Franz Josef Bucher

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arking 116 years since it first opened, the magnificent, historic hotel built at the behest of the eccentric Swiss hotelier Franz Josef Bucher has been given new luster. The London-based studio Jestico + Whiles took on the task of reimagining this venerable place in Switzerland, now the Mandarin Oriental Palace Luzern.

“At the turn of the 19th century, Lake Lucerne had become one of the largest tourist attractions in Switzerland, with over a hundred hotels lining the lake shore or perched high on the slopes above the city,” the English architects say. “In 1903, Swiss hotelier Franz Josef Bucher purchased a 3285 m2 plot of

land on the north shore of Lake Lucerne, to build an extravagant grand-dame palace hotel that would be substantially larger than the city’s existing grand hotels.” Construction began in July 1904 with designs by Lucerne architect Heinrich Meili-Wapf.

Less than two years later, on May 7, 1906, the Palace Hotel Luzern opened, “becoming a popular destination for the European elite, and was considered one of the most elegant hotels in the world. Costing the then astronomical sum of 3.4 million francs, the hotel was completely unrivaled in grandeur and luxury, with 120 guestrooms each with private en-suites and magnificent views across the lake or towards the city.”

Client: Mandarin Oriental Architect & Heritage specialist: Iwan Buhler Architekten General planner: Itten + Brechbuel Interior design: Jestico + Whiles Engineering: PZM, WPE, TIB Kitchen consultant: Simeta Landscape design: SKK Landschaftsarchitekten FF&E procurement: Invita Graphic design, Branding & Visual Identity: WBG Lighting design: Lichtteam Art consultant: VISTO Furnishings: Andreu World, Caneline, Emu, Janus et Cie, Molteni&C., Tuuci, Varaschin Lighting: Apparatus Studio, Articolo, Astro Lighting, Bert | Frank, Catellani & Smith, David Szarka, FontanaArte, Heathfield, Kaia Lighting, Kelly Wearstler, Lee Broom, Neoz, Viabizzuno Bathroom: Axor, Hansgrohe, Geberit, Schmidlin, Villeroy & Boch Fabrics and soft furnishings: Abbott & Boyd, Altfield, Casa Tessuti, Fameed Khalique, Jab, Lindwood, Rubelli, Sanderson, Sekers, Studiotex, Sunbury, Whistler Wallcoverings: Phillip Jeffries, Seltex Carpets and floorcoverings: Alarwool, Kramis, Tai Ping, Tisca Artwork: Rachel Dein, Iris Hutegger-Zürcher, Douglas Mandry, Aja von Loeper, Jennifer Wagner, Christina Watka Author: Francesca Gugliotta Photo credits: James McDonald

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The English studio has brought Franz Josef Bucher’s vision into the contemporary age, mingling the grandeur of Art Deco with fresh, vibrant interior design elements: “As designers, we were excited by the inherent tension between modernization and preservation that is found in historic renovations. It was important for us to create an atmosphere of understated opulence for a modern age; to design a series of spaces that feel distinctly modern, whilst anchored by a strong sense of the building’s history. We rebalanced the old with the new, preserving heritage features but steering away from pastiche. A carefully curated mix of fabrics, materials and furniture were chosen from across multiple eras and places, reinstating a sense of timelessness. The result is a welcoming and relaxed environment, where guests are invited to unwind against the backdrop of the lake’s shimmering waters.

“Many features were restored and repaired in keeping with the era’s original exotic spirit: “Across the ground floor public spaces, the original chequerboard flooring has been polished and preserved, as well as the rediscovery of a lily motif terrazzo found by the lift lobbies. In the guestrooms, where new flooring was required, we selected a characterful oak parquet with a lived in texture. Nothing is overtly new; we intentionally blurred the lines between the past and present, introducing elements that are sympathetic to the past. One of the key new additions is an elliptical reeded bronze bar in the restaurant MOZern, precisely engineered to fit between two original scagliola

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Lucerne, Switzerland

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HOTEL

Lucerne, Switzerland

columns, without interfering with the existing structure.”The color palette also paid tribute to Franz Josef Bucher: “Just as Bucher was inspired by his Mediterranean travels, we embraced the extravagance and warmth of Italian glamour. We adopted Bucher’s exuberant color palette, remixing it with loud patterns, expressive materials and the opulence of marbles.” Each of the 136 unique guestrooms has been designed to complement the extraordinary landscape outside, composing a serene interior palette of muted pistachio, natural oak and dusky coral. Heritage details are contrasted with a sleek furniture collection crafted by business Molteni. It is full of dream-like corners: “Our favorite space to design was the spa and wellness spaces. We wanted to emphasize the tactile experience of the spaces, contrasting the warm and earthy timber lined sauna and treatment rooms against the cool touch of the cipollino marble, Carrara and dark gray granite. The marbles were sculpted by local stonemason, who took great care to smooth and soften the edges of the stone.”

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RESIDENCES

Catalan red In Barcelona, Odile Decq refurbishes an abandoned tower in the luxury residential skyscraper Antares, named in tribute to the brightest star in the eighth constellation as well as to the city’s irrepressible energy

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ith Antares, I have looked for a design that breathes dynamism in every place and every moment. A dynamism that emanates from the city itself and that has always fascinated me. That gives the building a strong identity and an enriching perception of time and space that shows a holistic approach to design from the outside to the inside by relaying the idea that each part of the build-

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ing is a whole, with its components in relation and constant interactions between them and the whole.” This is how French architect Odile Decq explains the design approach she took after winning a competition held in 2015 to turn a building in Barcelona, abandoned after the great recession of 2008, into a luxury residential tower. Its strategic location is at the start of that Avenida Diagonal whose very name evokes the legendary

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Barcelona

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Client: Shaftesbury Asset Management Architectural concept and design: Odile Decq Local executive architect on site: Fitarq Furniture: on design by Odile Decq Lighting: Studio Odile Decq Author: Elena Franzoia Photo credits: Odile Decq, Fernando Guerra

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aesthetic richness of Catalan Modernism. Not far from the sea, the tower has 30 floors, positing itself as a new visual landmark on the urban scale, despite strict building regulations, evincing the local governments’ aversion to skyscrapers.

This series of constraints did not block Decq’s creativity and, in fact, motivated her. The project she designed was ultimately almost identical to the initial sketches. With the goal of reaching the allowed limit of 100 meters in height, 10 floors were added to the existing tower for a total of 88 luxury apartments of varying types, including a 100 sq. m. duplex (and a height reaching six meters) and penthouses up to 400 sq.m. each of which is dedicated to great contemporary Spanish artists like Chillida, Miró and Tapiés. Each floor of the existing building was “wrapped” by a con-

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tinuous balcony with a high white slab. Its curving irregular lines give the building its distinctive visual identity, creating an optical illusion like that in the Parthenon to make its height soar. The infinity pool on the Sky Terrace of Antares is breathtaking with views sweeping from the sea to the mountain peaks of Montserrat. On the ground floor, there is a garden, an outdoor hall and numerous additional facilities continuing to the basement, such as underground parking, staff accommodations, and a 1000-square-meter wellness area including a spa, a pool, a hammam, a sauna, a gym, and a yoga area. The relationship to the urban and landscape setting is underscored in its interiors, especially the residential ones through the use of enormous, full-height windows. Everything, including furnishings and accessories, was designed

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by the Decq herself. “This is what I call Global Design,” Decq says. “I have always tried, since the very beginning of my career, to do more than just architecture. I want to have a hand in all aspects of the life of a building.” A special role is played by color, which is, of course, red which identifies Spanish energy and sensibility more than any other. “When I was selected they told me that they thought my proposal best captured the spirit of Barcelona in my project. When I asked “why?” they replied, “because of this red touch at the top. It’s a building that is joyful.” “It’s one of my favorite colors. Black is too but I don’t like to impose my dress sense on my client’s architecture.

Red is the color of Barcelona. It’s passion. It’s life.”

The red also suggested the name of the building, Antares, a homage to the bright blood star in the heart of the Scorpio constellation.

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Far from “standard” The Standard Bangkok joins the growing portfolio of the global hospitality brand of the same name, drawing on Jaime Hayon’s creative, cross-discipline freedom to impress with special effects

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he strategy is exactly right, aiming to achieve new standards – in name and deed here – in hospitality design. It also seeks to win over the city with an open destination where an uncommon mix of culture, entertainment, relaxation, and comfort is available to travelers and the local community alike. The Standard chain has opened its first site in Bangkok, inside one of the city’s major architectural attractions, the King Power Mahanakhon, in the Silom/Sathon area. This enormous skyscraper was designed by German architect Ole Scheeren and is made entirely of glass and steel, a unique

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HOTEL

Bangkok

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Every space at the Standard has a very powerful identity. A balance of polychrome and monochrome, contemporary art, “rugs and about thirty furnishing pieces designed especially for the hotel, local crafts discovered by sifting through the stalls of Chatuchak Market or found in Changmai and Changrai,” says Hayon. It all merges into a calculated profusion of form and functions.

References to the city’s artistic history start in the ground floor lobby which custom rattan pendant lamps made by local artisans infuse with a sense of place, and Hayon’s nature-inspired designs adorn the terrazzo tile floors. There are four distinct restaurants, the original Tease tea room enlivened by a profusion of black and white graphic motifs, a bar on one of the highest rooftops in Bangkok, and a luxurious pool overlooking the city. All display the Spanish designer’s compositional and design dexterity as he leaps effortlessly from art deco to glam retro. His bold, deft use of

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and prominent landmark: The peak and the central section feature irregular cube-shaped recesses representing three-dimensional pixels. Its interiors fit in with the powerful contrasts that keep Bangkok forever in the balance between its ageold traditions and striving towards the future.

They dispense wonder and amazement through the distinctive design energy of the Spanish designer Jaime Hayon. He translates and conveys Bangkok’s cultural melting pot and energy, making each interior – from public areas to 155 rooms and suites – abound with a profusion of color, material, decoration, and ‘roundness’. “When I design a space, I try not to envision it only as a complete picture, but in each individual square meter too,” Hayon says. The details are what makes the difference: “How you feel when you sit down to eat, the kind of light that comes to you, the art that fuels every corner... I imagine each project as if it were a film, going from one scene to the next with high impact shots,” he explains.

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Owner: Standard International and King Power Group Hotel operator: The Standard Architectural design: Buro Ole Scheeren Interior design: Hayon Studio Furnishings: custom made on design

by Jaime Hayon, Thai artisans Author: Antonella Mazzola Photo credits: courtesy of The Standard

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strong hues punctuates the space of the common areas and the “Instagram-able” elevator. A palette of white, cream, and beige hues ties all the rooms together – from cozy studios to the 144-squaremeter penthouse – forming a ‘serene’ backdrop to luxurious furnishings upholstered in vibrant shades, spherical lighting pieces and mirrors with lacquered and rounded edges, rattan wall panels with integrated lighting, the sparkling metallic finish of arched niches, and wardrobe drawers incorporating orange glass panels.

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Bangkok

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HOTEL

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HEADQUARTERS

Cycling at work The new headquarters in Copenhagen for Danish brand for cycling apparel Pas Normal Studios was designed by OEO Studio to reflect the company’s ethos of dynamism and inclusion

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n the offices of the new Pas Normal Studios headquarters, getting together to socialize or perhaps train a little, is about much more than just a break for relaxing during the work day.

Keeping this well in mind, OEO Studio designed the entire complex in the Nordhavn area of Copenhagen. It tailored these spaces for the Danish technical cycling apparel brand to fit it like a glove.

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Its 1200 square meters cover two levels in two large red brick warehouses from 1897 in the area of the historic port of Århusgade. They were restored with great respect for the details of the original architecture, letting its qualities shine. In structural terms, only the roofs of both buildings were modified to fit a series of fully automated Velux skylights. These skylights were central to the project for bringing in

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HEADQUARTERS

Copenhagen

abundant natural light, filtering into and inundating the interiors, also naturally controlling the temperature of the spaces below. The design and spatial organization inside introduce a distinctively modern plan to create practical work environments that are a perfect fit for the brand’s needs. OEO Studio, which had already designed the development of PNS singlebrand stores throughout the world, is here extending this simple, dynamic style inspired by its strong company culture. The design team skillfully combines private and shared work spaces with recreational areas.

A bicycle storage area is placed in one building with a changing room for staff (on the ground floor), a wellequipped training area and a virtual bike for the staff to test new clothing (the studio-lab on the top floor).

The main building holds a professional training space, a gym, meeting areas, informal lounges, and state-ofthe-art offices. Most importantly, there is a flagship store of 450 sq. m. created with an eye to involving the local cycling community. It seeks to attract them not only with technically advanced apparel but with inviting, homey spaces as well. To these ends, right next to the store is a coffee shop with a large outdoor IFDM | 175

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area that welcomes customers in a soft, easy-going atmosphere. This is achieved by a warm, tactile color palette, natural materials like oak for the shared tables and a bold self-supporting wooden structure customdesigned by OEO Studio, contrasting subtly with the displayed clothing and tech accessories. The designers’ custom-designed pieces are part of a specific global retail sale concept for Pas Normal Studios, including furnishing and display pieces made to be combined in a multitude of ways and to work in varied retail settings. The style is always elegant, minimal and practical. In the offices, there are also custommade high tables in oak, combined with stools and Frama benches, and &Tradition sofas next to a set of smoked oak tables designed by OEO Studio for Brdr. Kruger. For the lighting, OEO Studio worked with lighting specialists Anker & Co on a soft lighting scheme combined with a set of paper pendant lamps designed by Barber Osgerby for Hotaru. This touch of softness brings a more human scale within the workspace.

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Copenhagen

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HEADQUARTERS

Copenhagen

Owner: Pas Normal Studios Architecture & Interior design: OEO Studio Lighting design: Anker & Co, OEO Studio Furnishings: &Tradition, Brdr. Kruger, Frama Lighting: Anker & Co, Hotaru Skylights: Velux Author: Manuela Di Mari Photo credits: courtesy of Pas Normal Studios and OEO Studio

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HOLIDAY FARM

Lac-Supérieur, Canada

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HOLIDAY FARM

Lac-Supérieur, Canada

In tune with nature The Farouche Tremblant holiday farm in Quebec offers recreational tourism made up of simple wellbeing, the pleasure of watching the landscape change with time and the light, seasonal garden foods, and eco-friendly building chosen by the Montreal architects, Atelier L’Abri

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unrise over the river, sunset behind the peaks of the Laurentian mountains, the huts shining in the moonlight. At the Farouche Tremblant farm, everything seems straight out of a fairy tale with a unique hospitality design in the valley of the Devil’s River next to the National Park of Mont-Tremblant in Quebec.

Those who come to stay know that here they can immerse themselves in the flow of time that follows the rhythm of nature. The Canadian group of architects Atelier L’Abri quickly appreciated the site’s human and social potential, and respectfully adopted healthy, sustainable architectural solutions. The complex covers about 40 hectares

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Lac-Supérieur, Canada

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HOLIDAY FARM

Lac-Supérieur, Canada

of land, including a small organic vegetable farm, with tunnel greenhouses near flower fields and uncultivated land, a café, four micro-cabins for accommodations, and an outdoor area. The café is the hub of everything, set in a simple building with a material quality, its roof in coal black and natural wood cladding in hemlock, a local conifer that is stable and durable, similar to fir. It is accessed through a small market that sells visitors seasonal produce from the garden with local specialties like cheese, beer, and wine. Inside, a warm, minimalist environment welcomes visitors with a dining room and lounge overlooking the river and large western windows for a special view of Mont Tremblant. Guests, both those passing through on the hiking trails and those who have decided to stop and stay, are inspired by the fire of a wood stove, inviting them to sit and contemplate the ever-changing nature around them. There is also a mezzanine space just above the counter for extra privacy. The four small huts are true refuges with sharply sloping roofs, connected by a winding path. Envisioned as compact huts, each holds a king-size bed, a sofa, and a gas stove. The architecture creates a feeling of retreat and being fully immersed in the wild beauty of the surroundings.

Client: Farouche Tremblant Architecture & Interior design: Atelier L’Abri Construction: Construction Pascal Rondeau Engineering: Alte Coop Furnishings and fittings: Entrepôt, Lepage Millwork, Vicwest, Scierie Armand Duhamel & Fils Author: Manuela Di Mari Photo credits: Raphaël Thibodeau

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RESTAURANT

Inner transformation The dynamic, innovative approach of the Dutch design studio Concrete leaves its mark on the chameleonic Renilde restaurant in Rotterdam. On the roof of Depot Boijmans van Beuningen, the city’s art storage facility

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restaurant, an auditorium, a café, an exhibition spaces. The Renilde restaurant in Rotterdam can be all of these things. The creative flair of the Concrete group makes this possible by means of a versatile, revolutionary concept that seems more like a game than a mere public space. Located on the 6th and upper level of Depot Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, the world’s first art storage facility open to the public, the space is a glass pavilion shaped as a cross in the ‘green forest’ of a roof garden. Inside, to provide the required flexibility, instead of a series of individual tables the studio has design a connection system. Each wooden wall at the ends of the space, pivoting on the floor, can be lowered to give rise to ten long communal tables that

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RESTAURANT

Rotterdam

Client: Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen with the municipality of Rotterdam and the De Verre Bergen Foundation Main Contractor: BAM Bouw en Techniek Structure: IMd Raadgevend Ingenieurs Cost engineering: BBN Installations: RHDHV Façade consultants: ABT Building physics: Peutz Landscape architect: MTD Landschap architecten Restaurant designer: Concrete Art collaborations: John Körmeling, Marieke van Diemen, Pipilotti Rist Author: Manuela Di Mari Photo credits: Ossip van Duivenbode, courtesy MVRDV; Wouter van der Sar, courtesy v2com

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encourage guests to meet and socialize. The bar and open kitchen reflect the principles of yin and yang, mutually fulfilling opposites that attract. They face each other with wooden volumes, both conveying the graphic identity of the museum with walls featuring black and white stripes. The bar is in black terrazzo, while the kitchen is in the same marble cement, but in white, with the word Renilde in pink neon just above. The restaurant is special due to the efforts of the chef Jim de Jong, twice a winner of the Gouden Pollepel and named as Young Chef of the Year in the Netherlands by the Gault&Millau guide. When necessary, the functional role of the restaurant can be modified, working perfectly with the multifunction character of the Coert events space, which Concrete has inserted in front of it. With large pivoting doors

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that act as wings, with a volume in stainless steel that functions as a bar, pantry and wardrobe during events, Coert can welcome up to 170 guests. The project has been an exciting challenge for Concrete, leading to solutions that adapt well to the progressive character of the Boijmans van Beuningen Museum. “The advantage of having a museum as a client – say Rob Wagemans and Bart de Beer of the studio – is openness to original ideas. We would never have been able to build this restaurant for a traditional client.

The Depot Boijmans Van Beuningen always left us plenty of room to achieve maximum quality of visitor experience and functional excellence. We are proud of the final result and of the contribution we have been able to make to the iconic world of museums here in Rotterdam.”

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The timeless appeal of Veneto’s luxury Pietro Bongiana and Silvia Codato give a fresh interpretation to an elegant apartment in Castelfranco, designed by Giuseppe Davanzo in 1968, with “pragmatic love,” adding to and reviving its original sophisticated atmosphere

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Castelfranco Veneto, Italy

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RESIDENCES

Castelfranco Veneto, Italy

Initial design: Giuseppe Davanzo, 1968 New design: Bongiana Architetture, 2020-2022 Garden design: Chiara Vendramin Kitchen and tatami: EsseGi Arredamenti Textile sliding panel: Dooors Furnishings: Cassina, Artemide, Orvett Space Lighting: From Lighting, Louis Poulsen, 24/7 LAB Glasses: Paolo Marcolongo Ceramic objects: Geologismi Carpets and poufs: Berber Rugs Afolki Prints: Zaven Author: Elena Franzoia Photo credits: Andrea Anoni

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n 1968, the architect from Veneto Giuseppe Davanzo, a student and collaborator of Carlo Scarpa, designed Le Torri condominium in Castelfranco Veneto, in the province of Treviso, as well as an elegant apartment within it. The beautiful three-floor penthouse had been clumsily modified between 2000 and 2005 and now has been returned to its original elegance by the Padua-based architects Pietro Bongiana and Silvia Codato to whom Davanzo’s daughter provided the original sketches. Bongiana explains, “I approached the project with a lot of affection because I knew the first owners. As a matter of fact, this apartment was the spark that inspired me to become an architect. Giuseppe Davanzo was a fascinating architect, an example of that approach to architecture in Veneto that achieved very sophisticated results in the 1960s and 1970s partly thanks to teachings at the IUAV university.

Davanzo also designed the studio for the sculptor Augusto Murer in Falcade, which I fell in love with too.” The new project did away with incongruous elements and focused on careful additions.

“We could consider it an elevated urban villa overlooking the surrounding environment, with a view of the Belluno Dolomites with a special, complex spatiality and detail in relationship to the inside and outside,” Bongiana explains. “Without being an actual garden, the plant life of the internal fenced patio has a powerful connection to the historic park of Villa Bolasco, which we reaffirmed by working with the landscape designer Chiara Vendramin.” Another key element is the Japanese influence, which was another defining feature of the design sensibility in Veneto in the IFDM | 187

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1960s and 1970s. “My client, who is a Buddhist, bought the apartment at an auction and fell in love with the layout, which reminded her of a mandala,” says Bongiana. “Later we found out that two Japanese architects worked in Davanzo’s studio. Significantly, we can appreciate the spatial approach especially well from the seats. This is the same point of view that Ozu used, Wim Wenders’ favorite director, who always put the video camera at 42-72 cm high.” The recently completed project got rid of ill-suited marble stairs that led from the living room outdoors and replaced them with an elegant platform-display case in light wood and black linoleum reminiscent of a tatami mat. The forms of the partition doors in opal glass are also in Japanese style, now defining the bedroom area. The same material recurs in its three wall-mounted bookcases. The partition between the living room and kitchen, which was not original, was replaced by a green textile sliding panel. Special attention was given to the 188 | IFDM

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Castelfranco Veneto, Italy

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

kitchen, creating custom-designed wooden and brass furnishings and steel tanks for hydroponic cultivation. Naturally, the magnificent roof garden is of prime importance, featuring an elegant original intrados in teak wood softened by the effect of two cherry trees, which now reach the tenth floor, having turned the top service space into a terrace, deliberately left in rough concrete.

The furnishings, which were already owned by the

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Castelfranco Veneto, Italy

current owner, come alive in a sophisticated contrast between antiques, contemporary pieces from companies and artists from Veneto, and major design classics like the Doge table by Carlo Scarpa for Gavina (now made by Cassina) and the PH 5 lamps by Poul Henningsen for Louis Poulsen.

The metal garden table and the large gold plastic planters were custom-made by the designers with recycled materials.

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WONDER. BRIXEN PUBLIC LIBRARY | CARLANA MEZZALIRA PENTIMALLI A contemporary space for learning and sharing, a welcoming urban living room that reinforces cultural identity and instills a strong sense of social cohesion. The new building behaves structurally like a “tree”

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© Marco Cappelletti

that leans its cement “branches” towards the existing buildings, establishing a relationship between new and old, and inspiring the architects to rename the project, “Kulturbaum, tree of culture”.

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WONDER. OLOMOUC, CZECH REPUBLIC | CZECH RADIO HEADQUARTERS | ATELIER 38

© BoysPlayNice

A former 1910s furniture house was converted into new headquarters. The redesign emphasizes two powerful existing features of the building, its visible supporting structure and the sculptural quality of the central space.

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MIPIM 2023 14-17 MARCH 2023 CANNES, FRANCE

Better Places.

Greater Impact.

Stronger Business.

Built by

ln the business of building businesses

www.mipim.com

WONDER. LAURENTIDES, CANADA | MEV HOUSE | STUDIO JEAN VERVILLE ARCHITECTES © Maxime Brouillet photographe

Two eccentrics, passionate about art and Italian design of the 80s, invited the architect to design their refuge in the forest to host their daily lives with a whimsical energy.

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Short stories

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SHORT STORIES TAORMINA, ITALY | SAN DOMENICO PALACE | POLIFORM

History, architecture, location. The San Domenico Palace in Taormina is made truly unique by a melange of factors that turn this Four Seasons hotel (owned by the Statuto Group) into a highly sought-after destination of boundless allure. It was even chosen as the set of the second season of the awardwinning HBO series “The White Lotus.” The San Domenico Palace is perched on a cliff over the Ionian Sea, in a Dominican convent dating to 1374, which was turned into a hotel in 1896 with the addition of an Art Nouveau-style building.

Long a destination for the Grand Tours in Italy of nobility and illustrious personalities in arts and entertainment, it has welcomed the likes of Oscar Wilde, King Edward VIII, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, and Sophia Loren. A recent renovation has made the hotel shine even brighter, with a joint design project with architect Valentina Pisani, who designed the indoor and outdoor spaces, Rosaria Catania Cucchiara, who oversaw the historical restoration, and landscape architect Marco Bay who redesigned the Italian gardens. The atmosphere of intimacy, lightness, and refinement (brought by the use of local materials and works of art) is expressed in its common areas and its culinary options alike. It has 111 rooms and suites, including the Royal Suite that opens onto a large terrace and a swimming pool overlooking Mount Etna, an ancient Greek theater, and the sea. Its uncommon ambiance is heightened by the furnishings and interiors designed

by Poliform Contract (to the design of the architect Valentina Pisani), which combines with an extensive array of loose furniture from its collection and custom-made designs for rooms, suites, and the roof bar.

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ALBUFEIRA, PORTUGAL | W ALGARVE | KETTAL

Owned by Marriott International and part of the W Hotels collection, the complex is composed of 134 rooms and 83 residences – not just a luxury destination, but also a reference point for local residents, open all year round. The angular profiles of the jagged rocky shoreline, the colors of crystal-clear water, the intense tones of a sunny climate have been blended by AB Concept with references to local crafts, creating an intimate, engaging image.

“Our projects explore the interaction of contrasting elements: crafts and industry, large scale and intimacy, overall impressions and small details. We like our interiors to express time and place, cultural nuances, local traditions. We use rich materials to engage people on a sensorial and emotional level. A language that goes beyond decoration and becomes function.” All the rooms offer balconies with breathtaking views of the gardens and the Atlantic, including the ten WOW suites with roof terraces. The outdoor furnishings by Kettal interpret the intentions of AB Concept perfectly, making use of the Cala woven chair by Doshi Levien, items by Patricia Urquiola (Maia, Vieques, Band, Mesh and Vimini), the large Bitta chair and Boma sofa by Rodolfo Dordoni, the iconic Basket designed by Nanna & Jørgen Ditzel, the Park Life series by Jasper Morrison. Other zones welcome the Meteo umbrellas by Konstantin Grcic, the Mia lamps by Michel Charlot, the Zigzag decorative objects by Emiliana Design Studio, and the classicism of Net and Landscape, by Kettal Studio.

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PUISSALICON, FRANCE | CHÂTEAU ST PIERRE DE SERJAC | SCAVOLINI

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Nestled among the infinite expanses of vineyards in the Languedoc, the Château St Pierre de Serjac estate consists of eight hotel rooms in perfect French style and 36 elegant private homes of varying sizes that were created out of the castle’s original outbuildings. All the buildings are independent, equipped with gardens and terraces, and some have private heated pools. Domaine & Demeure, which led the luxurious project, chose Scavolini kitchens with cosmopolitan flair to imbue the classic architecture with contemporary attitude. Diesel Social Kitchen is an ultra modern kitchen in its design and modular components while featuring a vintage spirit that comes out in the choice of materials and unusual finishes. The international appeal of Carattere is expressed in its essential lines and refined finishes. LiberaMente features a minimalist design that eschews handles, enhancing the spaces’ contemporary taste.

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LIMA | JW MARRIOTT LIMA | MINOTTI

The project by Raimundo Morales & Associates for the renovation of the public spaces drew inspiration from the geographic context of the Costa Verde. The texture of the cliffs, a mixture of rocks intertwined with green vines, was central to the material palette, as were the deserts of the north. The entire 14.000-square-foot public space on two floors was completely redesigned. The main challenge of the first floor was to reshape the lobby with a vertical stone wall on one side and a wooden screen on the other. The front desk area embraces a lounge area with the silhouette of the Tape family of seats by Nendo and the Close coffee tables by Rodolfo Dordoni. On the second floor there are three main design features: a custom-designed 22 x 140-foot geometric wall that reinterprets the Andes and dominates the space; a central bar designed as various loose elements, and a vertical fireplace. In the lounge bar the Leslie armchairs and the Seymour system, together with the Kirk Console, all by Rodolfo Dordoni, contribute to creating an intimate setting. As Lima is a coastal city, the material palette of the furniture is influenced by the colour of the sea, with touches of blue, green and grey. The lobby café welcomes the Angie armchairs by GamFratesi together with the Kirk Wood coffee table and the Ashley pouf by Rodolfo Dordoni. Next to them, the Aston Lounge little armchairs is the perfect match for all the lounge tables.

Photo © Juan Pablo Jaramillo

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SINGAPORE | OSTERIA BBR | PEDRALI

Established in 1896, the iconic Bar & Billiard Room (BBR) recently launched a new chapter of its legendary history in the Raffles Hotel in Singapore: the Osteria BBR. The vibrant, modern concept developed by Studio Jouin Manku is true to colonial architecture and maintains its distinctive tiled floor, while leading guests on a journey towards the sea, the light, and the flavors of the Mediterranean. Pedrali furnishings were chosen for the new spaces of the Osteria BBR whose kitchen will be headed by the illustrious chef Alain Ducasse. The welllit interiors are warmed by the vibrant, elegant tones of upholstered armchairs and stools from the Ester collection, designed

by Patrick Jouin, arranged around the open kitchen. The spectacular outdoor terrace is further enhanced by armchairs and lounge chairs from the Panarea collection, designed

by CMP Design. Lightweight, cheerful, and elegant pieces feature a handcrafted weave for a beautiful look as well as graphic precision and a three-dimensional appearance.

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SHORT STORIES

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

HEILBRONN, GERMANY | EXPERIMENTA SCIENCE CENTER | CASALGRANDE PADANA

Experimenta is an educational science museum for learning whose goal is to present natural sciences and technologies in an entertaining, easily accessible way. Its architecture underscores this mission with unconventional shapes that reflect an experimental approach to truly educating. The complex’s extension was designed by the architectural firm Sauerbruch Hutton and involved adding a new unit that coils around itself for five floors in a helical sequence of glass and steel spaces. The relationship between the interior and the surrounding landscape is achieved through the interplay of the facade’s transparencies, highlighted by well-matched interior flooring in porcelain stoneware from Casalgrande Padana, featuring a unique pentagonal shape.

The collection of interiors slabs, in the Cool Grey, Medium Gray and Dark Gray colors creates a sophisticated dynamic quality in the large and airy exhibition spaces as well, in keeping with the entire building’s outside structures.

Photo © Nicolò Lanfranchi

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MILAN | MUDEC RESTAURANT | BAXTER

Art, design, taste. No ingredient is lacking to make for a sensory stimulating, unforgettable experience in Enrico Bartolini’s three-star Michelin restaurant at MUDEC – Museum of Cultures in Milan. And now it is showing off a new renovated look designed by Baxter. Baxter gave expression to the desire for warm, classic, familiar spaces in an absolutely contemporary environment, creating an oasis whose convivial quality can be immediately perceived from the entrance lounge. A succession of bookcases, sofas, armchairs and coffee tables (including the Belt sofa and the modular solutions of Libelle) combine with materials like wood, leather, soft leathers in warm hues to create a home-like atmosphere of timeless elegance. The internal lounge has a more formal feel as translated in the design to a large wainscoting, color contrasts in cooler hues based on shades of navy and blueberry. This is also home to the ultra-lightweight Gemma chairs.

Artworks on the wall, two photos and one painting, serve to mitigate the austere style. Though Chef Bartolini likes for the table where we eat to have its “uniform,” with an ironed tablecloth and the right napkins, the important thing – according to him – is not to be a slave to etiquette: “We welcome sopping up the sauce with bread at the end, when it is done with gusto, because this creates a sense of trust between the guest and myself and the place.” The culinary and style experiences continue on the patio that seems to immerse us in a tropical forest, beautifully matched with Baxter’s outdoor collection, such as the iroko pieces, Himba and Hakuna Matata, with rough, natural textures in contrast to Dharma’s lacquers.

This eclecticism seals the sense of affinity between the company and the chef.

Photo © Fabrizio Cicconi

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MIASINO, ITALY | HISTORIC VILLA | ANTOLINI

In the foothills of the Alps near Lake Orta, a historic villa from the late 1800s stands out as a protagonist in a renovation project by the Primatesta architecture firm and the interior designer Cristina Quirico. The renewal takes its cue from interpretation of existing architectural features, defining the indoor-outdoor connection in terms of the contrast between white and black. The choice has gone to two great classics and their decorative potential: the iconic Bianco Carrara and Nero Marquina marble varieties by Antolini, enhanced by a skillful dialogue with natural light that enters through large windows, reverberating from large terraces covered in an equally timeless material: Travertino. The external area of access to the villa features a checked pavement, where Bardiglio Imperiale marble in gray alternates with Bianco Carrara to accompany the gaze and the path towards the large glazing of the entrance door. The refined Lether Antolini matte finish gives the dark tones of black marble an unexpected modern boost, seen in the flooring of the kitchen, the dining area and the bathrooms, where the stone also rises to silkily cover the washstand and the vertical surfaces, in a harmonious dialogue with classic Bianco Carrara.

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KANALIA, GREECE | MYKONOS ESTI LUXURY VILLA | ETHIMO

Sophisticated and discreet luxury in the idyllic context of the Cyclades: the residential complex Mykonos Esti Luxury Villas, in Kanalia, overlooks the sparkling Aegean Sea from a magnificent hillside location, fitting into the natural setting in an extremely tactful way. The architecture convinces with its great simplicity and the honesty of stone, while the interior and outdoor design – by the studio Tsolakis Architects – offers moments of relaxation in the sun, for convivial gatherings or meditation, in three villas featuring different configurations and a relaxed mood enhanced by the furnishings of Ethimo. The protagonists of the spaces en plein air are the lounge furnishings of the new Calipso collection designed by Ilaria Marelli, the dining elements of the Ribot line by Marc Sadler, the Elle deck chairs and the Sand sun cots, along with the Free umbrellas, lounge chairs and coffee tables of the Allaperto collection designed by Matteo Thun and Antonio Rodriguez.

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SAINT HUBERT, BELGIUM | CHÂTEAU DE MIRWART | MOLTENI&C

Located deep in the forests, Château de Mirwart dates back to the Middle Ages. In 2015, after years of being abandoned, the once grandiose monument had become dilapidated and vacant. Today, the fortress includes a classy hotel, a gourmet restaurant, a banquet hall, several conference rooms and a luxury spa. As much as possible of the spirit of the old castle has been revived, infused with modern elements, but with respect for the past.

The castle building itself has 12 suites of varying sizes, ranging from 30 m2 for the smallest double room to 240 m2 for the ultra-luxurious Suite Impérial for 4 people. The former stables have been converted into 7 twostory lodges, each with two bedrooms. All suites are finished to perfection, oak floors, marble bathrooms, a fireplace in every room, authentic elements everywhere you look. No two suites are the same, but all have the same high level of comfort and finish. Molteni&C took part in this project furnishing different areas of the castle, such as the Salon blue reception bar, the Salle Polyvalente, the Petit Salon, the restaurant and the billiard room, as well as the castle suites and the stable suites and dépendance.

Interior spaces are enriched with pieces of the Molteni&C collection: the Lucas sofa, the Elain, the Walter and the Gillis armchairs, the Louisa coffee tables, the Hector library and the Adrien sideboard, all designed by Vincent Van Duysen. The interiors harmoniously integrate other iconic Molteni&C products: the D.859.1 table by Gio Ponti, the Surf sofa by Yabu Pushelberg, the Asterias table by Patricia Urquiola, the AVA table by Foster+Partners and the Devon chairs and armchairs by Rodolfo Dordoni.

Photo © Loïk Eyers, Max Zambelli

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MONTAGNA, ITALY | MANNA RESORT | TALENTI

Manna Resort is an exclusive 5-star resort in Montagna, on the slopes of the Monte Corno Natural Park. It was designed by the architect Klaus Gummerer for Studio Pichler Architects with the designer Enrico Moretti of Studio Moretti Interiors.

The minimalist architecture develops over several buildings with large windows that frame the mountain peaks and maintain a visual dialogue between inside and outside, and original rooms with geographic themes featuring a minimal-chic style, three chalets, two restaurants, a spa, and elegant relaxation areas combining Western and Eastern traditions in the details and furnishing pieces by Talenti. The iconic Breez sunbed by Karim Rashid with its cosmopolitan pizazz, is a perfect fit for the spa, interplaying with the water reflections through its steel base. While the outdoor spaces are beguiling with a magical, enveloping mix of powerful, contrasting reds, the Panama, Cliff chairs or the Tribal lamps are in the more neutral colors of Riviera, Frame and Casilda and the dove gray of Breez.

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PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

NEW YORK | RHEINGOLD-BUSHWICK CERAMICHE REFIN

Designed by Studio Durukan Design and awarded at the Tile Competition 2022 at Coverings, Rheingold-Bushwick is a social project before it is an architectural one. With its 35,000 square meters, 500 apartments and 6 amenity zones, the new residential complex is a place for socializing that encourages the active involvement of its residents while remaining true to the influences of the art scene and the industrial roots of northern Brooklyn in its atmosphere. Right over the threshold, the double-height atrium had a central hub with reused iron containers turned into gathering areas with brightly colored ottomans, and graffiti painted by local artists that evoke the colorful neighborhood alleys. Ceramiche Refin’s collections – chosen in different sizes both for the common space flooring and for the cladding of some walls – perfectly convey the underground style and emphasize the project’s eclectic feel. Design Industry, in an Oxyde finish selected in the two dark and light versions, suggests the patinated effect of oxidized metals; Plant appears as a woodcement with a shabby chic style also seen in the Ash color.

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SHORT STORIES

KHAWANEEJ, DUBAI | CROSS CAFÉ | NEMO LIGHTING

Under the guidance of Creative Director Vera Edith Dieckmann XO Atelier’s team brought to life the creative vision of the young Emerati owner whose deep strive was to realize a unique meeting place-to-be for the young generation in the spacious and iconic location, a former warehouse. The wide size of the 285 sqm open space and the 9 meter high ceiling stay intact connecting the new space to its tradition and surrounding. Connection and exchange are symbolized by the slant cross which became the underlying design concept that focuses on clear geometric lines overlapping and crossing each other. The white walls are building the frame for a high contrasting color concept of black and white furniture with strong accents in ultramarine blue, highlighting the warehouse’s supporting structure as well as selected furniture and the bespoke blue metallic artwork. The randomly arranged and intersecting linear light tubes by Nemo Lighting hover above the bar finding their shaky reflections in the mirrors behind. The additional huge airy space is given structure with rectangular black metal mesh screens which are hanging vertically filling the enormous room height in a lightweight and artful way. The screens are highlighted with perpendicular linear tube lights by Nemo Lighting, visualizing and connecting the ceiling to the coffee space.

Photo © Sergei Nekrasov

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ENGELBERG, SWITZERLAND | HOTEL KEMPINSKI PALACE | PRATIC

Recently undergoing conservative restoration by Iwan Bühler Arch.büro GmbH and Biscontin Arrimo AG, the Hotel Kempinski Palace Engelberg, in the Swiss Alps, once again emanates a total Belle Époque atmosphere. In this 5-star hotel built in 1904, every detail maintains its original charm, including the sun awnings that had long distinguished the architecture’s silhouette stretching over its three central floors and have now been brought back.

Selene Pratic awnings were chosen to protect the balconies of the 89 suites.

This 1960s invention of the Friuli-based Pratic still creates a sophisticated aesthetic. The rounded shape of the awnings in the technical fabric in white and green blend yarn shade the balconies, which are furnished with chair and tables, as well as the room interiors. Though the design has been unchanged over time, their performance is decidedly innovative. Fully automated and connected to the hotel’s automation system, the awnings have weather sensors and Flexcontrol patented devices that absorb the wind force, making use of a system of flexible bearings on the arm brackets.

Photo © Silvan Bucher

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COPENHAGEN | HAPI HOUSE | MERIDIANI

Located in a prestigious brick-building not far away from the royal palace, the apartment, a project by Christine Callsen, wholly develops the theme of colors: in every room, hints of pink and yellow convey a vibrant atmosphere. There’s no formula for interior decoration, and Hapi House is an invitation to individuality– a path to create meaningful and personal spaces. In the sitting room, the white Louis sofa plays in a scheme of colors with the Cecile and Keeton Fit armchairs and with the reflections of the Belt low tables with mirror tops; the Adrian and Hardy low tables boast an unprecedented pink-lacquered version. In a corner, the Bongo low table with bronzed top is set next to the Josephine armchair which plays the role of the protagonist, covered up in bubble-pink velvet, same as the Belmon small armchairs – suddenly smoothened in their rigorous shapes; in the same space, the Harold elements in white mark their space with their modularity. The Lenny Fit sofa in its pure elegance is made less serious by the colorful cushions.

Photo © Davide Lovatti

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VIENNA | CAFÉ BELLARIA | THONET

BÜRO KLK architects recently undertook on the challenging task of renovating the interiors of the legendary Viennese café Bellaria, the oldest in the city (1870) and a gathering point for writers, artists, and leading voices of the culture, economics and politics of the time. The thorough renovation brought a touch of modernity, while respecting its traditional identity, as evidenced in the new monolithic lava stone counter and in bright, sinuous sculpture. The iconic bent wood chairs of the 209 and 214 collection (formerly n.14) by Thonet were a must, in the modern bright coral red version combined with the evergreen Vienna straw.

Photo © David Schreyer

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MILAN | RESTAURANT 13.10 | HDSURFACE

The wit of the Milanese designer Serena Confalonieri meets the culinary philosophy of chef Marcello Passoni in the new boutique restaurant 13.10. Its intimate, inviting space stretches around a classic Brianza inner courtyard. Its spaces are deftly arranged through soft contrasts balancing patterns and colors with select furnishing pieces and custom-made items to create a home-like, convivial atmosphere. For the ceilings and most of the walls of 13.10, the designer chose products from the Argille collection from HDSurface, which specializes in producing continuous surfaces. A completely natural brushed cladding, with irregular appearance and depth, porous and velvety to the touch is achieved by combining clay, plant cell fibers, natural limestone, and micronized marble powder. A variety of colors embrace and infuse warmth into the interiors and are made from the mixture of colored earths and oxides favoring hues from pink to beige and green to gray as well as white.

Photo © Matteo Imbriani

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PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

TRONDHEIM, NORWAY | CLARION HOTEL LIVING ROOM BAR AND RESTAURANT | LUCEPLAN

The Clarion Hotel in Trondheim, Norway, is one of the largest conference hotels in Scandinavia, with a lively coming and going of people, especially in the Living Room bar and restaurant on the hotel’s first floor. An essential part of the furnishing of this high traffic place by the interior designer Christian Thanh Tran with ITAB Room Concept, are the 15 Trypta hanging lamps designed by Stephen Burks for Luceplan. Their innovative system creates high acoustic comfort through the sound-absorbing panels that reduce the reverberation of sound, as well as visual comfort through the LED light sources with separate switches that spread both direct and indirect light. The flame retardant knitted fabric that clads them combines with their shape for excellent performance in reducing the impact of sound waves and gives the option of playing with different color combinations.

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PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

SHORT STORIES TIVOLI TERME, ITALY | TIBI SPA, GRAND HOTEL DUCA D’ESTE | CAESAR

After a renovation project designed by 3C+t Capolei Cavalli Architetti, Tibi Spa has reopened its new wellness center in the Grand Hotel Duca d ‘Este in Tivoli Terme, one of the main spa resorts in Lazio. A short ways from the famous Acque Albule thermal baths, in the 1,600 square meter underground area of the hotel to which it is directly connected, the state-of-the-art facilities give guests regenerating experiences. Special features include Finnish saunas, Turkish baths, swimming pools, whirlpools, therapeutic showers, and a wall of Himalayan salt. Wellness and health, along with a significant sustainability factor, are all supported by Caesar’s technical ceramic materials. Customizable, 100% natural, and free of harmful substances, they combine ease of cleaning and installation, durability with resistance to chemical and atmospheric agents, humidity, temperature variations and UV rays.The collections chosen included: the stone effect of Anima, an expression of fine marble, the powerful material quality of Relate, the metal effect of Alchemy, and the warmth of wood recreated with Vibe porcelain stoneware.

Photo © Tibi Sensory Wellness & Spa, Benedetta Gaiani

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PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

PELLA, ITALY | CASA FANTINI/LAKE TIME | FANTINI

“Casa Fantini/lake time came out of my love for the place’s spirit, which is genuine and local, representing the culture of Lake Orta where my roots are. Here guests can have a wonderful experience in the spirit of “lake time” with the slow pace that the lake’s mystical aura and silence invite.” These are the words of Daniela Fantini (CEO of Fantini Rubinetti) talking about making her personal dream come true in an expression of her passion for the place and for hospitality. Piero Lissoni’s design touch helped create Casa Fantini/lake time, a 5-star boutique hotel in the small village of Pella, directly overlooking Lake Orta, right next to the Fantini headquarters (designed by the architect Lissoni). Two buildings – the first dating back to the 19th century, the other, new – connect to their environment with complete harmony through the use of natural materials such as wood and stone that define the architecture as well as large glass surfaces that create a constant dialogue with the outside world. Significantly, all 11 rooms (5 Superior rooms, 4 Prestige rooms and 2 Suites) enjoy a spectacular lake view.

The hotel is imbued with an essential, subtle, easy style, everywhere from the outside gardens merging into the lounge, the heart of the place, as well as in the restaurant led by chef Diego Bertona and in the Blue Lago Cafè, set in the historic house, open to the community. Casa Fantini is meant for architects, designers, journalists, friends, and customers as well as a sophisticated international public. It conveys the concept of beauty tied together with the theme of water, which is part of everything the Fantini does as a company, guiding it every day.

Photo © Giovanni Gastel

IFDM | 217

Tailored.

Business.

Concierge.

The professional link for the design industry that encourage the attendance and knowledge of international markets with the vocation of supporting companies in expanding their network and embracing new opportunities.

Thanks to its well-established presence in the Project&Hospitality field and deep experience in high-end furniture, IFDM Business Concierge department supports architects, interior designers, general contractors, buyers, developers and made-in-Italy producers in the different phases of their projects. concierge@ifdm.it

Design Inspirations

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DESIGN INSPIRATIONS

FLAMINGO | GIORGETTI

Designed by Giorgetti R&D, the gaming table has sculptural and harmonious shapes. It features a leather upholstered base in 5 colour variants, from light grey to almond, from dark grey to teal. The smoked glass top has an ergonomic solid ash edge, with a large radius designed to make it comfortable to rest one’s arms while playing. Four drawers, one for each gaming station, are designed to hold gaming equipment: pawns, cards, chips. Each drawer is also equipped with a small tray to hold a glass of wine or small objects, leaving the game table free. The edges, which are slightly higher than the top, leave room for a double-sided playing mat made of leather on one side and wool satin, treated to make it wear-resistant, on the other. Matching the base of the game table, the mat is available in five colour variants.

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PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

AFRICA COLLECTION EUGENI QUITLLET | VONDOM

An addition to the collection, the new lounger has simple forms with two large wheels, and a structure which is manufactured with polypropylene gas and reinforced with fiberglass.

With its robust and slightly elasticated Batyline polyester fabric, the sun lounger gains durability and comfort. It also dries very quickly and it is easily stackable. The backrest has four different positions to make it ever more comfortable.

FRENCH DOOR SKSFD3604P | SIGNATURE KITCHEN SUITE

Designed with a focus on aesthetics, smart features and cutting-edge technology to optimize food storage and reduce waste, the French Door features one of the most versatile interior spaces in its class. It is composed by three separate compartments with a total capacity of 486 liters: the double-door refrigerator, the freezer and the central convertible drawer. The double-door refrigerator (0° to 6°C) features glass and stainless-steel interiors to ensure optimal hygiene and storage. The cold water dispenser is integrated into the internal side wall. The convertible drawer is extremely versatile and can become a refrigerator, a freezer or a drawer automatically taking the same temperature set in the upper or lower compartments and thus increasing its capacity.

VLA26 VEGA CHAIR | VILHELM LAURITZEN | CARL HANSEN & SØN

Now part of the collection of Carl Hansen & Søn, the iconic VLA26 VEGA CHAIR is a light stackable model originally created for the concert halls of the Vega complex in Copenhagen. Also known as the Folkets Hus (“the people’s house), the Vega was designed by the architect Vilhelm Lauritzen as a gathering place for the labor movement; after extensive restoration, in 1996 the modernist building was transformed into a music center, and since then it has been a symbol of the city’s cultural life. The architect designed the building down to the smallest details – from the tables to the wooden panels, friezes, chandeliers, casements, doorknobs and power sockets – as well as the chairs.

The VLA26 Vega Chair, now in production thanks to Carl Hansen & Son in collaboration with Vilhelm Lauritzen Architects, is an elegant mixture of steel, wood and fabric or leather, with a slim, soft look.

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DESIGN INSPIRATIONS

SIESTA | VISIONNAIRE

An invitation to take a rest – also in the name. Siesta is the welcoming daybed designed by the studio m2atelier for the Dehors Collection of Visionnaire.

An island of comfort in the form of a round cot for outdoor use, though the piece also works perfectly in interiors. Ample proportions, curved lines and refined material details are the earmarks, an expression of elegance in the timeless style of Visionnaire, also for informal moments and socializing in the great outdoors.

The large padding of the base merges in continuity with the rounded back with its array of cushions. Siesta can be completed with a large built-in parasol, covered in fabric for outdoor use, giving the product exceptional sartorial charm.

ADL | MITICA | MASSIMO LUCA

Inside the residential project of Casa Antoni Segarra in Barcelona, designed by VIVE ESTUDIO, ADL presents the Mitica collection of glass doors. A rigorous image, based on an aluminium section that contains the glass at its center, and the geometry of the frame (made with posts 18 mm in width, and crossbars with a width of 36 mm). Different opening systems are available: sliding, built into the wall, hinged, pivoting or folding.

Photo © Raúl Candales

PLUSMINUS | DIEZ OFFICE | VIBIA

Based on a textile belt that weaves electricity in its wake, the lighting system allows for free placement of multiple luminaries and the customisation of lighting solutions on the spot. With outstanding adaptability to any interior and exploring original shapes and angles, this fabric belt performs different lighting effects by combining luminaire types such as spheres, cones and linear diffusers; creating the right scenario for concentrating, socialising or even relaxing. Defined by their flowing, continuous forms Plusminus pendants provide endless possibilities for illuminating a space. Suspended overhead in silhouettes, soft and draped or taut and precise, their graphic presence creates distinctive ambiances.

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DESIGN INSPIRATIONS LENA | EDILKAMIN

Essential, contemporary lines characterise this pellet stove, which features cast iron hearth, top in white ceramic or soapstone, sides in black steel or soapstone. The front hot air outlet, as well as ventilation via rear ducting, available in the Plus version, can be managed via a convenient radio control, thanks to The Mind system, which integrates the stove with the domestic Wi-Fi network. In this way, Lena can heat the home in a smart, practical and connected way. The Sistema Leonardo and Fire Control functions automatically regulate combustion according to environmental conditions, the characteristics of the pellets used and the conformation of the chimney, optimising fuel consumption and cutting down on the carbon footprint. Lena complies to the highest energy efficiency European standards.

HURRICANE MURAL | CMO PARIS BY ÉLITIS

CMO is the Élitis line of coverings and fabrics in natural materials, emphasizing their intrinsic qualities and their wealth of imperfections.

In the new creations for 2023, Hurricane Mural is a wallcovering collection that combines bramble wood and brass. The metal is crafted in a very thin layer, pleated by hand and burned or oxidized (two techniques also done by hand) to bring out the artisanal know-how of the company and the seductive visual depth of the material. The briar surfaces feature random knots and cavities, revealing the metal below. The results? Glowing surfaces, as if they were crossed by stardust.

ATLANTIS | RIFLESSI

A sculptural aesthetic and a sartorial spirit are the parameters of Atlantis, the new extensible table by Riflessi.

Refined materials are shaped by an essential, rigorous design that incorporates innovative extension technology, composed of a telescopic mechanism and an added folding panel. The ceramic top is supported by trestle legs in coated die-cast aluminium; the range of finishes, personalized touches and measurements is very large. A remarkable detail: the ceramic extension is made from the slab of the top itself to conserve the harmonious positioning of the grain. Functional and versatile, Atlantis permits many combinations thanks to the proportions, starting from a minimum of 160cm and reaching a maximum of 280cm in the largest version.

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DESIGN INSPIRATIONS

MARGHERITA | STUDIO FUKSAS | POLTRONA FRAU

Chairs with or without armrests and a stool are the items in the Margherita collection, a line of custom furnishings based on the collaboration between Studio Fuksas and the Custom Interiors business unit of Poltrona Frau. First created to enhance the new spaces of the bookshop and workshop of the EUR “La Nuvola” convention center in Rome, the Margherita seating elements suggest a natural world, with its intrinsic wellbeing: they have sinuous forms resembling flower petals – a daisy (margherita). The pieces are produced in contrasting color combinations (with leather or fabric covering), reflecting the image of a country landscape.

“Today we interact more with our mobile phones than with people – say Massimiliano and Doriana Fuksas.

– The Margherita collection encourages us to communicate. To converse with others. To rediscover beauty and share in our humanity… to have someone who sits beside you.”

Photo © Moreno Moggi

CONTEMPORARY WALLPAPER 2023 | WALL&DECÒ

71 new visual offerings in the Contemporary Wallpaper 2023 collection of Wall&decò. A wide range of styles and colors, sharing a forceful personality, marked by “a bold aesthetic that is never banal and is extremely sophisticated at the same time,” in the words of Christian Benini, founder and creative director of the company. Of the three inspirational moodboards behind the collection, “Virtual Aesthetics” features graphics that combine saturated colors, powerful tones of great impact, in an approach of captivating technicolor liveliness. The outcome is a futuristic celebration of a bright, optimistic world. In the photo, the model Viva Magenta.

LOTO RECYCLED | MARA

Mara’s focus on sustainability is perfectly embodied in Loto Recycled, a collection of seating with a minimal, versatile character. Now the series is also “green.” Returning to the design of the Loto chair, a Mara icon from 2019 originally produced in wood, the company now offers a version in 100% recycled and recyclable polypropylene (made with regenerated certified post-consumer plastics), with the traditional base in steel tubing.

The design is the same, but now the environmental impact is almost nil: no plastic is added to the ecosystem, and the chair itself can be recycled at the end of its life span, putting the material back into the production cycle. Loto Recycled is ideal for hospitality structures and collective spaces, though it is also perfect in residential contexts, especially thanks to the new range of colors, in a palette of pastel tones: pink, sage green and greige.

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PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

FANTASMINO | VENINI

A game of lights and shapes, but also of overlapping time frames, between past and present, to generate something new and original. Once again Venini demonstrates its mastery, with the Fantasmino lamp, which interprets the brand’s ability to constantly update its heritage for a contemporary context, without losing sight of the age-old expertise contained in its DNA. Fantasmino is the new rechargeable LED lamp whose silhouette comes from an exclusive archival prototype, updated in table and floor versions that reinvent the Opalini technique dating back to the 15th century. The blown glass becomes an object that seems to move lightly, as if it were floating in space: an ideal that is also accentuated by the portable use of the extremely manageable lamp, with a height of 16 centimeters. There are five available colors: Red, Orange, Amber, Aquamarine and Milk, all in opaline glass.

IFDM | 225

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DESIGN INSPIRATIONS

SALINAS | LUDOVICA + ROBERTO PALOMBA | TALENTI

This sophisticated collection, which includes sofas, benches, chairs and armchairs, dining and coffee tables, draws inspiration from the natural region of the same name in Ibiza, a location that has always exerted great fascination on the collective imagination, a sort of earthly paradise within reach. The result is a project with strong references to the natural and interior world with the clear intention of reducing the distance between in & out by highlighting an ideal continuity between the various environments. “In sofas and armchairs the textile component is predominant. Used together, flat rope and metallic details on the seat backs, create a timeless and elegant appeal”. As to the tables, available with either a concrete or an Accoya frame, the designers “wanted to make an object with a marked monolithic appearance. The result is a piece featuring minimal shapes that, when combined into a single base, create a strong distinctive detail. We have always been fascinated by the theme of columns, which we use here to impart the idea of simplicity and iconicity.”

IPOGEO | MARGRAF

The evolution of marble is called Ipogeo. The new Margraf collection bears witness to how natural stone, with its millennia of history, can be transformed, adapting to specific needs in contemporary interiors, in dialogue with modern technologies. The finishes of the Ipogeo collection by Margraf combine the most ancient techniques and forms of craftsmanship with the most advanced technologies using robots and numerically controlled machinery, in a perfect blend of tradition and innovation, creation and change. Each of the five finishes in the collection (Palus, Pagos, Origo, Sisma, Metamorfosi) is evocative, pointing to a different aspect of the natural world.The slabs bring out the origins of the material and its close bond with nature, shaped to enhance sensorial stimuli through sight and touch.

EMMA | CONTARDI LIGHTING

Light and decoration merge in Emma, a collection of table, wall and ceiling lamps made by Contardi Lighting. The marble base has a circular section, creating different visual perceptions based on the version: from intense dark green hues for the Guatemala version to fine golden veins crossing the pure white surface of Calacatta. Its clean-lined opal sphere softly spreads light, evenly and subtly.

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PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

DESIGN INSPIRATIONS CLAN | PIERO LISSONI | LIVING DIVANI

In 4 different versions – 2 with curved lines, Alta and Bassa and 2 with a square shape, Grandeand Piccola, the Clan collection was designed to give a practical response to any need, both in residential and contract furnishing spaces. The collection features elegance, fine materials, and quality details. In the Alta version, it encircles the person to give privacy, and in the practical Bassa version, it offers an elegant conversation space. In the Grande version, the seating size is maximized, and the Piccola version recreates the same concept in a more contained, versatile size. “Like a real clan, each of these seats has its own distinguishing features: Alta, Bassa, Grande, and Piccola [Tall, Short, Large, and Small]. In other words...Each has its own personality!” Piero Lissoni

MAYFAIR | MATTEO BIANCHI | ITLAS

Mayfair, like the glamorous London district full of elegant residences, is the collection’s inspiration. The new developments from Itlas have been designed by Matteo Bianchi, envisioning versatile products that can exist in harmony with many different styles, while preserving their own identity and functional role. A round table, a bench, a sideboard, all in canaletto walnut, sharing a graphic support base with a light image. Mayfair is part of the Metropolitan Frames series of home furnishings by Itlas, reflecting the distinctive styles of various big cities known around the world.

TIMELESS | LORENZA BOZZOLI | NATUZZI ITALIA

A form that is pure in its asymmetry, and organic in its sinuous lines, suggesting the image of a flower as it blooms. Timeless, with its lightness and clear echoes of the world of flowers, transmits a sense of visual comfort and the idea of Mediterranean slow living – connected to the beauty of nature, the pleasure of contemplation – that has always been a key factor in the style of Natuzzi Italia. Welcoming, inviting, with a deep soft seat, the model is the ideal representation of a new dimension of residential wellbeing. The modules, covered on all sides, permit creation of various configurations, adapting to different settings and needs – for relaxation, personal shelter, socializing, entertaining, but also for study and work – with an even more striking theatrical effect when placed at the center of the room. Available in leather or fabric, Timeless stands out for its sartorial workmanship, also based on the designer’s background in fashion, to combine classic and contemporary, daring and tradition, an informal spirit and refinement.

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PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

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BIG CHANGES IN REAL ESTATE COME TO CANNES MIPIM 2023 aims to underscore its position as a touchstone and place of dialogue for an industry that is on the path of an eco-sustainable model and a new way of thinking about homes and cities MIPIM – the leading international real estate event to be held in Cannes from March 14 to 17, 2023 – will once again this year give ample space to the theme of environmental sustainability.

The shift in building towards an eco-compatible model is a crucial challenge for future homes and cities. The U.S. sociologist and economist Jeremy Rifkin will give an opening talk on the subject.

LA BAIE DES ROIS | LIBREVILLE, GABON 230 | IFDM

ROOTS IN THE SKY | LONDON

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His participation reaffirms MIPIM’s role as a touchstone for those trying to get oriented in a complex and uncertain economic context. Rifkin’s over 20 bestselling books, his consulting for leading companies in the renewable energy and electrification sectors and for representatives of advanced production and business models have made him one of the most influential thinkers of the third industrial revolution. He will analyze the impact of technicalscientific innovation and digital infrastructures on society, the economy, and the environment.

The issue of sustainability will also be explored in its more tangible aspects tied to the construction of buildings less dependent on fossil fuels. A new 400 sq. m. area will be dedicated to these issues, called Road to Zero, where the largest stakeholders in this process – investors, builders, industrial businesses, and service providers – will come together. Another first for the 2023 event will be the MIPIM Co-Liv Summit, slated for the day before the official opening. The new event will focus on the growing trend of co-living, i.e. sharing residential spaces. There will also be a discussion of the legal framework for building in co-living spaces that interweave private and public life, expressing new models of community and offering a possible solution to the housing shortages in cities. The traditional MIPIM Awards will be presented on March 16 at the Palais des Festivals. In addition to the usual criteria, this year the jury will specifically consider how projects have sought to pursue environmental impact reduction and ESG objectives.

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

MORLAND MIXITÉ CAPITALE | PARIS

HONG KONG UNIVERSITY OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY (HKUST) | GUANGZHOU, CHINA

NEW MANUFACTURE DE HAUTE HORLOGERIE AUDEMARS PIGUET | LE LOCLE, SWITZERLAND IFDM | 231

PROJECTS & HOSPITALITY

CORPORATE BRAND AND BRANDED REAL ESTATE. THE NEW DESIGN FRONTIER As trait d’union between luxury brands and developers, Corporate Brand has created a winning model for the development of the Branded Real Estate segment. Case in point, The Rivus project in Ho Chi Minh branded Elie Saab The futuristic evolution of the premium residential sector is Branded Real Estate, which combines tailor-made design services with a concept of interior lifestyle that has close ties with luxury brands. Among the first companies to investigate the potential of this new approach, there is Corporate Brand SA, founded and helmed by the CEO Massimiliano Ferrari, who has drawn on over 30 years of experience in top management position (with names like LVMH and Ferrari) to create a firm specializing in Branded Real Estate. Within the wider strategy, Corporate Brand makes it possible to bring leading luxury brands (mostly in the fields of automotive and fashion) closer to the dynamic sector of real estate, acting as a connection between developers and companies: not only creating a link between the two players, but also becoming a direct reference point for the complete process (360°) of the project.

From the creation of the brand agreement to study of brand experience and interior design concept by A++ - to the marketing and if requested the production and design of the furniture (as is the case with Elie Saab). This opens up an innovative and unprecedented perspective, leading to great success: over 30 projects already implemented around the world in just four years, alongside brand of the caliber of ELIE SAAB, Armani, Pagani, Missoni, Fendi, Lamborghini, Cavalli, Versace, and developers 232 | IFDM

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such as Dar Global, Emaar, Masterise Homes, Urbania. The latest expression of the vision of Corporate Brand is The Rivus, the first nonhotelier branded residence in Vietnam, created

by Masterise Homes (the leading real estate developer in Vietnam). The project calls for 121 exclusive villas at Ho Chi Minh City, slated for completion by the end of 2024, immersed in the forests of the coast of Dong Nai and the Tac River, with extra-luxury services like an all-inclusive clubhouse and a private tourism port. The protagonist of this unique setting is Elie Saab Maison, called in to furnish the show villas. Thanks to partnership with CB, the project has been honed down to the smallest details, from the schematic design to the overall custom-made décor. The glamour, style and elegance of the brand have been translated into an equally refined interior inspired by haute couture. For the first time this strategic approach will be explained during Mipim, in the Talk “Let’s Brand The Future” organized

by Corporate Brand with key guests of brands and developers, to be held on March 16, 2023.

To join: letsbrandthefuture.com. (corporatebrand.ch)

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6-7 June 2023 Miami Beach Convention Center

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MONTREAL | LA CHAPELLE | DEMONFORT | ACDF ARCHITECTURE

Located the heart of Outremont, the 78-unit condominium project is the fruit of a 3-year-long reflection aiming to achieve integration with the location’s heritage and surrounding urban fabric. Guiding principles include refined design features and workmanship, top-quality materials, including brick, natural stone, wood, glass, and aluminum, and stunningly-designed common areas to further enrich the living environment. La Chapelle will feature a contemporary architectural structure cradling a historic chapel, thus complementing and enriching the surrounding urban landscape. The ground floor will be home to a common space for all residents, with an airy lounge, a coffee bar, a library, a gym, a large co-working space with a closed meeting room that can accommodate up to 10 people, and a kitchen area for hosting family and friends. With a skylight that lets in natural light, the pool area is designed to be both a private oasis and a pleasant gathering place, together with a peaceful garden area.

Render © Demonfort

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BRUSSELS | EUROPARC

The winning proposal of the international competition organized by the European Parliament focuses on the renewal of the Paul-Henri SPAAK Building, in accordance with a circular approach to minimize waste. In addition, it honors European democracy, most notably through the collective’s international makeup, and the many public areas accessible to all people. The strategy is to rigorously re-use most of the SPAAK structure, its carbon expense, significantly improve the Parliament’s working conditions and catalyze the potential for communication and exchange with European citizens while keeping as much of the existing structure as possible. On an urban scale, opening up the block will enhance the continuity of pedestrian flows in the area and create a stronger connection between Place du Luxembourg and Parc Léopold. The public realm is expanded both inside and outside the architecture, creating a more welcoming experience for the citizens and visitors of Brussels. EUROPARC is composed of architectural studios JDSA / Julien De Smedt Architects (DK/BE), Coldefy (FR), CRA-Carlo Ratti Associati (IT), NL Architects (NL) and Ensamble Studio (SP), with the support of engineering companies UTIL (BE) and Ramboll (DK).

Render © EUROPARC

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NEXT BIG SKY, MONTANA | ONE&ONLY MOONLIGHT BASIN | LONE MOUNTAIN LAND COMPANY AND KERZNER INTERNATIONAL HOLDINGS LIMITED | OLSON KUNDIG

The first One&Only resort and residential community in the United States will include 73 guest rooms and suites in the main lodge, 19 secluded villas throughout the resort, a separate ski lodge, and a Chenot Spa. In addition, the resort will introduce the first community of One&Only Private Homes in the U.S., offering 62 private residences throughout the landscape. The free-standing homes will offer a contemporary design, complete with glass walls to showcase Big Sky’s soaring mountain ranges. One&Only Moonlight Basin will be connected by gondola to Big Sky’s skiing with over 5,800 skiable acres, and will provide access to mountain golf courses, and limitless outdoor opportunities.

Less than an hour’s drive from Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport and an hour from Yellowstone National Park, Big Sky is located in the heart of a 3-million-acre national forest and is ultimately joined with the 20 million-acre Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. The resort is expected to open in 2024.

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LYON | PULLMAN TO-LYON TOWER | ROQUE INTÉRIEURS

Built on 43 floors and 170 meters high, the To-Lyon Tower overlooks the city and becomes an anchor point in Lyon Part-Dieu station district. Initiated by Vinci Immobilier and designed by architect Dominique Perrault, this skyscraper, still under construction, will be the symbol of the new urban mix housing offices, shops and a hotel. Located at the base of the building, the Pullman will have 168 rooms spread over eight floors, a fitness area, meeting rooms, a patio, three green terraces, a bar and a restaurant on the first floor. Parisian Fabien Roque has been selected to orchestrate the hotel’s interior architecture and decoration, an elegant and chic interpretation of the warmth of living in Lyon. Natural light, light-colored woods, green spaces, muted and earthy colors, a harmonious whole that is destined to become an unmissable meeting place, located in a strategic point of the city. Opening expected in September 2023.

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Overview

New top hotels: investments in the US grow

T

top hotel Marriott International HOTEL: 8,280 ONGOING HOTEL PROJECTS: 3,692

he United States still leads the pack for investments in high-range new hotels, while projects are declining in the Middle East and increasing slightly in Africa. There are 1,818 construction sites open or planned in the U.S., a growth of 7% over the same period last year: 475 of them are slated for completion by the end of 2023. Compared to the recent past, there is a greater distribution of investments among different cities, with a lower percentage for New York, though still leading with 55 projects, and a decline for Los Angeles (45) and Miami (37), with growth for Las Vegas (22), San Diego (21), and Washington DC (24). The largest hotel planned is the Resort World Miami with 5,200 rooms, but the planned opening year is not yet known. In the Middle East, where 601 projects are underway, Saudi Arabia takes back first place in the investment ranking (200 projects). Among others, the most impressive hospitality complex currently under construction in the world is about to be built: the Abraj Kudai Towers in Makkah, which at the end of 2023 is to open with its 9,760 rooms. The United Arab Emirates follows, dropping from 202 to 146 projects, while the number of new top hotels planned in Israel started to grow again (62). Africa remains the continent drawing the least investment in new hospitality buildings. Only 303 construction sites are planned or in progress, 120 of which will be completed by the end of the year. These numbers are, however, an increase over 12 months ago. The 2,500room Marina Resort in Chbika, Morocco, is Africa’s largest currently planned hotel. Globally, the leading top hotel chain is still Marriott International, which has planned the building of 3,692 hospitality facilities, 1,411 of which are in the United States. It is followed by Hilton Worldwide with 2,635 new projects. Accor overtook InterContinental Hotels Group in the number of new constructions planned: 1,658, of which 244 are in China.

ONGOING HOTEL PROJECTS

CONSTRUCTIONS IN TOP COUNTRIES: USA: 411 - CHINA: 588 - GERMANY: 122

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NEW

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INDIA: 108 - MEXICO: 88

1,818

303

601

Hilton Worldwide

USA

AFRICA

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HOTEL: 6,800 ONGOING HOTEL PROJECTS: 2,635 CONSTRUCTIONS IN TOP COUNTRIES: USA: 1,221 - CHINA: 376 - UNITED KINGDOM: 107 RUSSIA: 53 - TURKEY: 51

AccorHotels HOTEL: 5,300 ONGOING HOTEL PROJECTS: 1,658 CONSTRUCTIONS IN TOP COUNTRIES: CHINA: 244 - GERMANY: 87 - SAUDI ARABIA: 74 AUSTRALIA: 72 - UNITED KINGDOM: 68

InterContinental Hotels Group HOTEL: 6,000 ONGOING HOTEL PROJECTS: 1,586 CONSTRUCTIONS IN TOP COUNTRIES: USA: 389 - CHINA: 304 - GERMANY: 103

IN

IN

STATUS

STATUS

STATUS

VISION 59 PRE-PLANNING 347 PLANNING 699 UNDER CONSTRUCTION 524 PRE-OPENING 108 OPENED 81

VISION 5 PRE-PLANNING 45 PLANNING 75 UNDER CONSTRUCTION 145 PRE-OPENING 20 OPENED 12

VISION 8 PRE-PLANNING 83 PLANNING 97 UNDER CONSTRUCTION 329 PRE-OPENING 58 OPENED 26

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BY 2023 475

BY 2023 120

BY 2023 258

PROJECTS IN TOP CITIES

PROJECTS IN TOP COUNTRIES

PROJECTS IN TOP COUNTRIES

NEW YORK 55 LOS ANGELES 45 MIAMI 37 NASHVILLE 31 SAN FRANCISCO 27 AUSTIN 25 WASHINGTON 24 LAS VEGAS 22 SAN DIEGO 21 ATLANTA 20

EGYPT 59 MOROCCO 32 NIGERIA 24 KENYA 21 ETHIOPIA 18 SOUTH AFRICA 15 TANZANIA 14 ALGERIA 12 CAPE VERDE 9 COTE D’IVOIRE 8

SAUDI ARABIA 200 UNITED ARAB EMIRATES 146 ISRAEL 62 QATAR 46 TURKEY 40 GEORGIA 33 OMAN 23 BAHRAIN 19 IRAQ 8 KUWAIT 8

UNITED KINGDOM: 87 - AUSTRALIA: 56

TOP PROJECTS

Hyatt Hotels Corporation HOTEL: 1,503 ONGOING HOTEL PROJECTS: 999 CONSTRUCTIONS IN TOP COUNTRIES: USA: 341 - CHINA: 252 - INDIA: 49

USA Resort World in Miami

CANADA: 30 - MEXICO: 24

source: TopHotelProjects.com

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Phase: Pre-planning 4 star - 5,200 rooms

AFRICA Marina Resort in Tan-Tan Beach, Chbika, Morocco Phase: Planning 4 star - 2,500 rooms

MIDDLE EAST Abraj Kudai Towers in Makkah, Saudi Arabia Phase: Under Construction 5 star - 9,760 rooms

EUR 35.00 | USD 45.00 | wonder.ifdm.design

NEXT ISSUE: Fall / Winter 2023

Projects & Hospitality | Fall Winter 2023

In September, the second Spin-Off Projects & Hospitality by IFDM: two other stories on color trends 2024 and international projects, interviews with major players and the new “Design Inspiration” through the products selection.

For a complete, up-to-date view on the contract and hospitality industry.

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02/03/2023 12:23:01