Architecture & Web Art

Archive for the ‘Hotels’ Category

Utopic Design – Kefalonia Hotel

Of course this is in the concept phase, and as we don’t talk very much about hotels here at archtopia, we won’t go on detailing the matter. We hope this serves as inspiration for the young architects out there.

The latest hotel design in Kefalonia, Greece created by the Divercity Architects intends to blend this contemporary hotel with the vernacular architecture of the surroundings.  Because of to the site conditions, the hotel blends to the sloping topology of the steep hill and it rests on and then breaks into four distinct strands that divide the site into north and south plots.   While fifteen luxury villas occupy the northern plot,  the southern portion contains gardens and areas for relaxation.  The facades are clad in operable perforated wooden panels that both serve to separate and extend the private living space into the outdoors.

Brilliant and delightful design, and surroundings.

Found this the other day, and thought I should share it with you. The hotel is definitely a piece of work, and the quality of services offered inside is well known. So a little about the building and the interior design, because this is my main focus:

The Empire sits right off of Columbus Avenue in the heart of the Upper West Side, but it feels more like a swanky downtown hot spot, where the happening crowd sips mojitos on mohair stools by candlelight. The décor of the property is anything but modest. A chocolate-brown and gold-flecked palette is jazzed up with fierce but fashionable tiger-print throw pillows and cotton-velvet chairs.

The custom furnishings, fixtures and fabrics make all 420 rooms feel like sexy, modern apartments with a nostalgic feel. Woody wallpaper, ebony accents and walnut floors pay homage to nearby Central Park. The soothing teak bathrooms, rainfall showerheads and L’Occitane bath products offset the otherwise dramatic décor, a retreat from the bustling streets of NYC.

Monte Carlo – Beach Hotel

Designer: WORKS.PSLAB

Yeah, you probably see this kinda stuff all the time, but anyway, give this hotel a try, ok? This is a pretty a awesome one. Why? Because of the lights! The designers in this here project bring you a couple of lighting solutions that make the newly renovated Monte-Carlo Beach Hotel, Monte-Carlo S.B.M. a sight to behold! Come with me! Light up your seaside world!

These fixtures are made from laser-cut metal sheets cut to leaf-like aesthetics with a ring for fixation around the light source. A hammering technique used with the sheets gives them each a unique look. The disk that holds these leaves to the light source is turnable, allowing for multiple settings in each lamp.

Architects: Ezzo
Location: Felgueiras, Portugal
Architect in Charge: César Machado Moreira
Collaborators: Fátima Barroso, Hugo Torres, Carla Barbosa
Project year: 2008
Constructed Area: 200 sqm
Photographs: Joao Ferrand

The Place

It’s a project for a rural hotel located in a farm with 10 hectares of land, 90% of which are used as vineyards. The interior of the land contains various previously existent elements. The main building from the XVI century stands out and several little constructions which are very damaged and/or ruins (the house of the home keepers, the pet store and kitchen).

existant building

Program

The program was to recover the main house and do a new building to altogether house a maximum of 22 people, plus rooms that would support the hotel and an outdoor swimming pool.

he WISA Wooden Design Hotel by architect Pieta-Linda Auttila may be a temporary structure but it has left a lasting impression on those who study design and woodworking. Situated on the island in the harbor of Valkosaari in Helsinki, this sculptural wooden building was the winner of a competition organized by UPM, a leading Finnish forest products company. As they say all good things must come to an end, and the WISA Wooden Design Hotel will be dismantled at the end of September. Hopefully we will see more similar works by Pieta-Linda Auttila in the future on a larger and more permanent scale.