Among the most viewed posts on Designdiffusion.com in 2019, hotels play an important role
Palazzo Experimental: Venice and hospitality
The most viewed hotel, which has had great success also on Pinterest, with over 200,000 views, is Palazzo Experimental. Located in the Dorsoduro district in Venice, it is a boutique hotel designed by Dorothée Meilichzon, belonging to the Experimental Group. It hosts 32 guestrooms and several communal spaces including the Experimental Cocktail Club, with interiors by Cristina Celestino.
Hotel La Suite a Matera: inspired by the ‘Sassi’
Matera, 2019 European Capital of Culture, took advantage of this designation to built new structures. One the most popular hotels among the readers of Designdiffusion.com, La Suite hotel, designed by Studio Marco Piva, is a charming structure a short distance from the Sassi. Thanks to its dark interiors, it recalls the atmosphere of the ancient houses of Matera, with cool and relaxing interiors, contrasting with the bright light of the city.
Milan: increasingly international
Milan hotels, including Speronari Suites, are always very popular. This new design hotel, a short distance from Piazza Duomo, was conceived by Hotel Solutions. Designed by Angus Fiori Architects, with interiors by Francesca Attolini, the suites are characterized by a metropolitan style. It is outfitted with locally-sourced materials and predominantly made in Italy furnishings, including Technogym equipment.
In Antwerp, a project by Vincent Van Duysen
Vincent Van Duysen confirms his ability to interpret ascetic atmospheres with AUGust, a charming hotel housed in a former Augustinian convent in Antwerp. The complex consists of 5 buildings and 3 gardens, with a spa pool. The facility is located in an area called Het Groen Kwartier (The Green Quarter), where once there was a military hospital, and today there is a large pedestrian area with shops, cafes and restaurants, adjacent to Zurenborg, an area of Antwerp rich in Art Nouveau buildings.
In Chile a manor house becomes an urban hotel
In Santiago del Chile, architect Cazú Zegers and interior designer Carolina Delpiano turned a historic mansion built in 1929 into the Magnolia design hotel. Its façade is an architectural detail that deserves deeper analysis. The new project added three floors to the existing three, elevating the building to a total of six floors. The addition is highlighted and hidden at the same time, thanks to a glass wall featuring an upside-down photograph of the lower floors.
SWEETS Hotel: a 5-star boutique hotel in Amsterdam bridges
Among the most appreciated hospitality facilities in 2019, we find Amsterdam bridges. This is an ambitious project aimed at giving new life to Amsterdam bridge houses abandoned when bridge management became automated. Conceived in 2012, this project entails the opening of 28 bridge houses: some of the structures used to monitor the bridges are transformed into rooms for two. SWEETS hotel, this is the name of the project, offers 15 structures open to the public; others are being restored and will be available by the end of 2020.
In Assisi, a 5-star hotel in a former monastery
A tribute to the beauty and history of Italy, NUN Assisi Relais & Spa Museum is a 5-star hotel with 18 suites built on the ruins of St. Catherine’s monastery in Assisi. The 18 suites are furnished by local craftsmen: grey and dove grey are the main colors; linen and natural leather represent the soul of this luxurious yet minimal space.
Vintage design in Santa Margherita Ligure
Blu di te House, a boutique hotel in Santa Margherita Ligure, proves that Italian beauty is always a trump card. The guest house, created by Michele Concina, designer, president of Fondazione Fernanda Pivano, Enzo Sanfilippo, fashion art stylist, his wife, Cinzia Berta, and Christel Chabrol, interior designer and buyer, is located in a house spread across 1,500 square meters. Each of the 20 rooms is different and is furnished with vintage design pieces including unique pieces by Ettore Sottsass, Arne Jacobsen, de Sede, Braakman, Robin Day, and a couple of pieces from the 1958 Exposition Universelle. Ceramic tableware consists of unique pieces by Richard Ginori.
In Peru a manor house from the colonial era
Not only design: when architecture respects tradition it is appreciated as well. In Cuzco, Peru, a colonial house was transformed into a boutique hotel thanks to a project by Denise Guislain-Koechlin. Inkaterra La Casona preserves the original architecture of the building and, thanks to a careful restoration, reflects the encounter of ancient cultures and local traditions across centuries.
A large boutique hotel in Cologne
Last but not least, 25 Hours The Circle hotel in Cologne. Hosted in the former offices of the Gerling insurance company, this hotel is able to offer the same comfort as a house, despite its 700 rooms. The interiors were designed by Studio Aisslinger, which, to make the spaces special and unique, avoided standardized aesthetics of commercial hotels as much as possible. That’s why the interiors combine custom-made furniture with pieces from flea markets and industrial items.
