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    Space Copenhagen pays homage to historic features in Mammertsberg renovation

    A sculptural spiral staircase, floor-to-ceiling windows and panelled walls have been paired with contemporary furnishings in Space Copenhagen’s renovation of a restaurant and hotel in Switzerland.

    Called Mammertsberg, the combined hotel and restaurant is housed within a 1911 villa that overlooks the Alps mountain range in Freidorf, Switzerland.
    Top: a spiral staircase takes centre stage in Mammertsberg. Above: Space Copenhagen has renovated the Swiss hotel and restaurantDanish design studio Space Copenhagen focused on the restaurant and lounge, which were totally refurbished to transform the interior from its previous status as a Swiss-food restaurant.
    Meanwhile, the adjacent six hotel guest rooms were given a light refresh.
    Contemporary furniture was added to the lounge”We embraced the idea of keeping key historic, listed, and structural features, defining for the building and its architectural heritage,” Space Copenhagen told Dezeen.

    “For the transformation towards something new, it felt important to add a diverse mix of furniture, lighting, materials, art and books, all of which could have been collected slowly over time,” the studio added.
    Linen curtains frame the large windowsDue to the building’s historic status, Space Copenhagen faced certain refurbishment restrictions, which resulted in the studio adapting its design around existing features within the property.
    These included a large central staircase by architect Tilla Theus that connects the restaurant on the ground floor to the bar and lounge on the first floor.
    Natural materials were used throughout the interiorIn the 42-seat fine-dining restaurant, which serves up locally sourced dishes, the studio embraced the high ceilings and large windows by adding floor-to-ceiling curtains in tactile, heavy linen.
    “The building overlooks the impressive landscape and alpine scenery that characterises Switzerland and this inspired our design choices and approach,” said Space Copenhagen.
    “It felt natural to treat the house as a large country home from which to enjoy the surrounding nature; offering guests the opportunity to contemplate and recharge.”
    The restaurant has a walnut and linen colour paletteThe surrounding nature was referenced in the material and colour choices, with solid oak tables in varying shapes and sizes dotted throughout the restaurant and lounge.
    Elsewhere in the Mammertsberg restaurant, Scandinavian chairs were upholstered in subdued colour tones such as walnut and light linen, while petrol blue leather was added for contrast.

    Space Copenhagen renovates landmark Arne Jacobsen hotel using updated classic furniture

    “We wanted to create a warm and inviting scene to balance the vibrant dishes while simultaneously seeking a high level of detailing, quality, and refinement in the curation of materials and furniture pieces,” explained Space Copenhagen.
    “We worked with a new approach to solve the layout for the restaurant. Being a small restaurant allowed us to create a sense of familiarity with a variety of different tables – round, square and longer styles – all with different configurations and possibilities.”
    Six guest rooms were given a light refreshThe project also involved updating Mammertsberg’s guest rooms. Each of the six rooms was individually decorated to feel like someone’s private residence, with sculptural lighting and soft furniture to encourage rest and relaxation.
    According to the designers, the limited time frame meant that finer details such as adding new finishes were prioritised over a larger overhaul.
    Each hotel suite is individually furnished”We couldn’t change the polished stone floors in certain public areas such as the restrooms, bathrooms and guestrooms,” Space Copenhagen said.
    “We solved this by applying a different finish which honed them as much as possible towards a more matt and subdued hue, settling into the overall colour and material palette.”
    Space Copenhagen was established in Denmark in 2005 and is best known for its restaurant interior design projects.
    Among them is the Blueness restaurant in Antwerp, which is decorated with bespoke furnishings and Le Pristine, a restaurant that the company renovated with a moody aesthetic.
    The photography is by Joachim Wichmann.

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    Vipp transforms 13th-century Italian palazzo into pop-up “liveable installation”

    Interior designer Julie Cloos Mølsgaard has created a pop-up hotel filled with Italian frescos and modern Scandinavian furniture for Danish homeware brand Vipp within Palazzo Monti in Brescia, Italy.

    The collaboration with Vipp saw the Palazzo Monti, which is an artist residency foundation hosted in a 13th-century palace, transformed into a hotel for guests to stay overnight.
    Palazzo Monti was converted into a pop-up hotelThe space was redesigned into a hotel suites focused on showcasing Vipp products.
    Mølsgaard added minimalist furniture and lighting by Vipp to the interior spaces, aiming to complement the historic building, which features Baroque paintings from 1750 on its walls and ceilings.
    The rooms were decorated with minimalist furniture”Palazzo Monti showcases a broad array of art exhibitions,” said Palazzo Monti founder Edoardo Monti.

    “For the first time, we will host a liveable installation curated by Vipp, where we invite guests to check into our residency,” he continued.
    “Entering the opulent gates of the palazzo is like stepping into an old master’s painting.”
    The staircase is surrounded by frescos on the walls and ceiling”For the pop-up hotel at the palazzo, Mølsgaard had an ambition of building a bridge between the minimalist and the opulent,” said Vipp CEO Kasper Egelund.
    “Vipp and Mølsgaard approached the interior design with a simple and minimalist mindset to respect and not compete with the surrounding richness.”
    Green tiles cover the kitchen floorOn the ground floor is a combined kitchen and dining area. Mølsgaard added an industrial-looking matte black kitchen island in the middle of the space, which sits under an ornate ceiling and atop a green-tiled floor.
    A grand staircase surrounded by pastel frescoes leads visitors to the pop-up hotel on the first floor.

    Vipp sets up one-room hotel inside ex-pencil factory in Copenhagen

    A succession of rooms – a hallway, salon and bedroom – were transformed into a suite decorated with Vipp furniture and lighting.
    The furniture in the bedroom was intended to be simple and minimalist. The mattress sits on the floor without a bedframe, making the painted three-metre-high ceiling the main focus of the room.
    “The idea is that guests should visit and explore the space,” Mølsgaard told Dezeen. “When you wake up under the frescoes, it’s impossible not to think, what kind of life must have been lived in this house?”
    Artwork was placed on the floorThroughout the palazzo, artwork and picture frames were placed on the floor propped up against the walls, rather than being hung.
    “We initially hung a lot of art on the walls, but it was making too much noise, so instead I have sought the purity of the history of the place and wanted to let it speak through the bare walls,” said Mølsgaard.
    Mølsgaard aimed to combine Scandinavian minimalism with Italian opulence”The whole place is one big art piece,” she continued. “The staircase is a work of art, the doors are works of art, the shutters, the walls and the ceilings.”
    “When you walk around the rooms, you simply experience so many things that you almost get overloaded, so there was something that had to be removed.”
    Vipp launched a special edition chair for the pop-upArtist workshops on the second floor of the building overlook Brescia, which is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
    To celebrate the pop-up hotel at Palazzo Monti, Vipp launched the Monti Edition chair, which sees the brand’s Swivel chair design upholstered in an Italian woven fabric created by textile company Torri Lana.
    The pop-up hotel at Palazzo Monti opens on 18 April to coincide with Milan furniture fair Salone del Mobile and closes on 18 May 2023.
    Vipp and Mølsgaard have previously collaborated on projects including a one-room hotel in a converted pencil factory and a pop-up supper club venue.
    The photography is by Irina Boersma César Machado.

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    Irina Kromayer designs Château Royal hotel to feel “authentic” rather than retro

    Interior architect Irina Kromayer has overseen the design of Berlin’s Château Royal hotel, creating a series of eclectic spaces that reference the heyday of the German capital at the turn of the 20th century.

    The 93-room Château Royal is located in the heart of Mitte, on a street parallel to Unter den Linden boulevard and close to the iconic Brandenburg Gate.
    Château Royal has 93 rooms (top image) as well as a fireside lounge (above)  The hotel comprises two buildings dating from 1850 and 1910, as well as a newer building and roof extension designed by David Chipperfield Architects.
    The renovation project, led by Kromayer with support from Swiss architect Etienne Descloux and interior designer Katariina Minits, aims to reflect the periods during which the heritage-listed buildings were constructed.
    Built-in joinery features in all the guest rooms”Our design goal was to provide the traveller with an ‘authentic’ experience of being in Berlin, using materials and colours that traditionally stand for the city’s heyday,” Kromayer told Dezeen.

    Oak panelling, art nouveau tiles, sisal carpets and hardware in brass and nickel were incorporated into the scheme based on the finishings commonly found in Berlin’s historic buildings.
    This was informed by the storage walls of traditional West Berlin apartmentsKromayer designed much of the furniture herself – as well as in collaboration with Porto-based German designer Christian Haas – in order to achieve a seamless merging of contemporary and classic details.
    “We didn’t want the hotel to be retro but rather to feel classic so we simplified things into less decorative shapes,” she explained.
    In addition, vintage pieces were sourced from all over Europe to give a lived-in “patina” to the interior and explore a more sustainable approach to furniture sourcing.
    Loupiotte pendant lights emphasise the building’s high ceilingsThe pendant lights for the guest rooms were created in collaboration with Berlin-based manufacturer Loupiotte and are intended to emphasise the building’s high ceilings.
    Made from Japanese paper and brass, the lamps are based on a 1920s design from Josef Hoffmann, one of the co-founders of the Wiener Werkstätte art movement.

    Batek Architekten renovates historic cinema in pastel and earth-coloured hues

    The hotel’s custom-made wooden beds feature headboards crafted from Viennese wickerwork. Kromayer also created outdoor lanterns that reference traditional Berlin street lights and include unique glass panels made by artist Paul Hance.
    Built-in joinery found in each of the bedrooms was informed by the partition walls with integrated storage, which are typical of traditional West Berlin apartments.
    Glazed blue tiles can be found in the guest bathroomsPaintings by early 20th-century artists associated with the expressionist and new objectivity movements influenced the hotel’s bold colour scheme, which is applied across surfaces including tiles and upholstery textiles, along with curated artworks.
    The interior features colourful glazed bricks and tiles similar to those found in Berlin’s underground stations, as well as stained glass and coloured marble.
    Stained-glass panels brighten up the hotel barThe hotel bar is made from tin – a material Kromayer says was widely used at the turn of the century but is rarely found in contemporary German interiors. Nickel and chrome bathroom fixtures were chosen to reference the modernist and Bauhaus design movements.
    Alongside its guest rooms, which include 13 suites and an apartment, Château Royal also accommodates a lobby, bar, restaurant, private dining room, fireside lounge and winter garden.
    A Karl Holmqvist artwork hangs inside the hotel’s Dóttir eateryBuilt-in carpentry used throughout the public areas helps to create a sense of consistency with the bedrooms, while vintage furniture, rugs and lamps made for the hotel by KL Ceramics add to the eclectic feel of the spaces.
    The hotel’s restaurant, called Dóttir, features upholstered oak seating by Bauhaus designer Erich Dieckmann. Artworks including a neon piece by Karl Holmqvist bring character to the ground-floor eatery.
    Other recent renovation projects from Berlin include a pistachio-toned revamp of one of the city’s oldest cinemas and a hotel housed inside an abandoned women’s prison.
    The photography is by Felix Brueggemann.

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    Watch the AHEAD Global 2022 hospitality awards ceremony

    Today, AHEAD will announce the winners of the AHEAD Global 2022 hospitality design awards and its headline Ultimate Accolade. Dezeen is collaborating with the brand to show the ceremony here at 1pm London time.

    The AHEAD Awards is an annual programme highlighting striking hospitality around the world, split across Europe, Middle East and Africa (MEA), Asia and the Americas.
    For its climactic Global leg, regional winners are pitted against each other to determine the ultimate winner in each category. The winners will be announced over a digital broadcast aired on Dezeen and AHEAD’s website.
    This year the programme received over 630 entries spanning 60 countries, which were judged by a panel of leading hoteliers, architects, interior designers and industry experts.

    AHEAD Global awards 2021 winners announced in series of video ceremonies on Dezeen

    Previous AHEAD winners include the Six Senses hotel by Jonathon Leitersdorf, a luxury resort in Cala Xarraca, Ibiza, which was named the winner of the spa and wellness category at the AHEAD Europe awards 2021.

    NoMad London, a former prison transformed into a luxury hotel, was named Hotel of the Year for the AHEAD Europe 2021 award, while the One & Only Mandarina luxury resort in Mexico was awarded the Hotel of the Year for the AHEAD Americas 2021 award.
    Partnership content
    This ceremony was broadcast by Dezeen for AHEAD as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here. Images courtesy of AHEAD.

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    Eight hotel interiors enriched by decadent jewel tones

    Plush velvet upholstery, Moroccan rugs and chinoiserie-style ottomans feature in this lookbook of hotel interiors that use saturated jewel colours to bridge the gap between cosiness and luxury.

    Shades of ruby red, cobalt blue and emerald can help to create interiors that are rich in depth and dimension, especially when accompanied by tactile materials such as silk or leather.
    Read on for eight hotel interiors that demonstrate how to translate this palette into modern interiors without it feeling stuffy.
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring 70s-style interiors, biophilic homes and innovative stone furniture.
    Photo by Paul CostelloThe Chloe hotel, USA, by Sara Ruffin Costello

    Interior designer Sara Ruffin Costello set out to emphasise the grand Southern Victorian architecture of this 1800s family mansion in New Orleans when converting it into The Chloe hotel (top and above).
    Cobalt blue walls and matching chinoiserie ottomans help to complement the building’s original tall ceilings and dark wooden floors, as well as the burnt umber tiles that encircle the fireplace in the reception room.
    “The Chloe is moody with dark, antique furniture, with an emphasis on Orientalism but updated and made culturally relevant through a very special art collection,” Costello told Dezeen.
    Find out more about The Chloe hotel ›
    Photo by Ricardo LabougleNobu Hotel Barcelona, Spain, by Rockwell Group
    This Barcelona hotel by restaurant-turned-hospitality chain Nobu introduces elements of Japanese craft and design into the Catalan capital, with nods to traditional ink paintings, shoji screens and the gold-lacquer mending technique of kintsugi.
    In the hotel’s moody suites, this is realised in the form of inky blue carpets and built-in millwork finished in saturated lacquer colours, while bathrooms feature traditional ofuro soaking tubs.
    Find out more about Nobu Hotel Barcelona ›
    Photo by Christian HarderEsme Hotel, USA, by Jessica Schuster Design
    Interior designer Jessica Schuster worked with the Historic Preservation Board of Miami to revive the Mediterranean revival “grandeur” of this 1920s hotel in Miami, making liberal use of plaster and travertine. Pecky cypress, a type of cypress wood containing small holes, was used on the ceilings.
    These are complemented by decadent furnishings, vibrantly clashing patterns and saturated colours, with bedrooms finished in either a rose quartz or emerald green colour scheme.
    Find out more about Esme Hotel ›
    Photo by Nicole FranzenHotel Kinsley, USA, by Studio Robert McKinley
    Interior designer Robert McKinley wanted to steer clear of the typical upstate New York aesthetic of “antlers or plaid” when designing Hotel Kinsley in the Hudson Valley.
    Set over four historic buildings – including a former bank – the hotel instead draws on an unexpected material palette of boiled wool, intricate garnet-red Moroccan rugs and velvet upholstery in shades of mustard yellow and topaz.
    Find out more about Hotel Kinsley ›
    Photo by Atelier AceMaison De La Luz, USA, by Atelier Ace and Studio Shamshiri
    Housed inside the former annex to New Orleans’ town hall, this 67-room guest house offers a modern take on Southern hospitality by integrating furnishings and artworks that draw on the city’s uniquely multicultural heritage.
    Among them are references to New Orleans as the home of America’s first pirate, alongside quirky details such as the sapphire-blue concierge desk, where guests can collect their tasselled keys.
    Find out more about Maison De La Luz ›

    Chief Chicago, USA, by AvroKO
    Down to the service ducts, every surface in the lobby of this Chicago members’ club is painted a rich shade of green, with matching tiles laid across the floor.
    This serves to set the backdrop for a mix of eclectic furnishings and abstract artworks, which design firm AvroKO chose to provide an alternative interpretation of traditional old-world luxury.
    “Saturated walls are intentionally bold, balanced by the warmth of plush upholstery and broken-in leather, creating approachability with an overall style that is fresh and enduring,” the studio said.
    Find out more about Chief Chicago ›
    Photo by Riikka KantinkoskiHotel Torni, Finland, by Fyra
    Originally built in 1931, Helsinki’s Hotel Torni once served as a meeting place for spies during world war two and was later favoured by artists, journalists and other cultural figures, including Finnish composer Jean Sibelius.
    Now, local studio Fyra has renovated the building while preserving its “bohemian ambience”, sticking to a moody emerald-green colour palette and layering different styles of furniture, including modern pieces by Swedish designer Gustaf Westman alongside tubular steel seats that were typical of the time.
    Find out more about Hotel Torni ›
    Photo by Heiko PriggeThe Hoxton Poblenou, Spain, by Ennismore
    The Hoxton’s outpost in Barcelona proves that jewel tones can also work in sunnier climates, drawing on a slightly more muted palette of rust red, mustard yellow and aquamarine.
    The scheme was informed by the distinctive colours and forms used by Spanish architect Ricardo Bofill, whose studio was located nearby.
    Find out more about The Hoxton Poblenou ›
    This is the latest in our lookbooks series, which provides visual inspiration from Dezeen’s archive. For more inspiration see previous lookbooks featuring 70s-style interiors, biophilic homes and innovative stone furniture.

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    Earthy colours bring warmth to clifftop Aethos Ericeira hotel in Portugal

    Lisbon-based Pedra Silva Arquitectos has teamed up with Spanish design studio Astet to convert a former clifftop farmstead on Portugal’s west coast into a destination for surfers.

    Aethos Ericeira is a 50-room hotel positioned high up on sandstone cliffs, overlooking the beach on a stretch of coastline known to offer some of the best waves in Portugal.
    Aethos Ericeira occupies a converted farmhouse. Photo is by Francisco NogueiraPedra Silva Arquitectos oversaw the building work, which included reworking the facades, while Astet replanned the spatial flow and designed the visual aesthetic of the interiors.
    Their design draws from its setting, combining references to the rural landscape with elements of surf culture, and also taking advantage of the elevated view.
    The original facade is updated with protruding box windows. Photo is by Francisco NogueiraGrand windows, simple furnishings and an earthy colour palette help to create an environment where visitors can feel relaxed and connected with the setting.

    “When we came across the property, we immediately knew it was a unique opportunity – a secluded destination on top of a 40-metre cliff, surrounded by lush fields with unrivalled ocean views,” said CEO and co-founder Benjamin Habbel.
    “The building, a former farmhouse turned into a rehab centre, had been abandoned for many years,” he told Dezeen. “Despite its bad shape, we saw huge potential.”
    Arched windows are a key feature in the lobby. Photo is by PION StudioThe venue is one of five properties under the Aethos brand, along with locations in France and Italy.
    Like its sister venues, the ethos behind Aethos Ericeira is to promote mindfulness among guests, by offering wellbeing-focused spaces and experiences.
    The materials palette includes wood, rattan and soft-green tiles. Photo is by PION StudioFor Pedra Silva Arquitectos, this meant bringing a greater sense of cohesion to the existing buildings and the various extensions that had been added over the years.
    The old farmhouse was kept simple, with light-rendered walls, a clay tile roof, arched recesses and protruding box windows. Meanwhile other parts of the building were updated with timber slats and metal panelling.

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    “We felt the solution was to establish a clear distinction between old and new, restoring the existing building to something closer to its original state, and giving recent extensions and new construction their own distinct character,” said studio founder Luís Pedra Silva.
    “For the areas of more recent expansion, the challenge was to achieve a contemporary look and feel that was well integrated,” added architect Bernardo Nadais.
    “We achieved this by combining a strong materiality with surgical instances of demolition – removing some sloped roofs, opening up the balconies – allowing us to reinterpret the facades into clearer shapes and volumes.”
    Timber slats clad one of the newer buildings. Photo by PION StudioAstet’s interior design strategy centred around the year-round experience.
    The materials palette incorporates warm natural materials like wood, velvet and rattan, but also brings in cooler surfaces that include marble and stone.
    A swimming pool is framed by the buildings. Photo by PION Studio”Ericeira can be great and sunny but there are a few months where it’s windy and rainy, so the number one goal was for rooms and common spaces to function in the summer and be cosy in the winter,” said Astet’s Ala Zureikat.
    “Yet we didn’t want to be too literal and use Portuguese tiles, because I think that’s the first thing that everyone associates with Portugal,” he told Dezeen. “We wanted to achieve a more sophisticated twist.”
    The hotel is designed for surfing enthusiasts. Photo is by PION StudioThe most distinctive space is the hotel reception, which is characterised by the original arched windows, soft-green tiles and large louvre screens.
    The bedrooms are more minimal, with custom headboards, muted fabrics and wooden flooring.
    “The door of the room is a full-size mirror, so wherever you are, you always have a view of the ocean,” said Zureikat.
    Onda is the hotel restaurant. Photo is by PION StudioAethos Ericeira facilities include a restaurant, a gym, a heated saltwater pool, a meditation and yoga deck, and a spa with hammam, hot slab and treatment rooms.
    Landscape works help to create easy flow between these spaces, and link up with pathways leading to the beach.
    Other recent beach hotels to open include Ethos Vegan Suites in Santorini, Villa W in Saint-Tropez, and Patina Maldives.
    The photography is by Francisco Nogueira and PION Studio.

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    Dezeen's top 10 hotels of 2022

    A temple-like hotel in Mexico and a converted prison in Berlin feature in this roundup of the best hotel designs of 2022, as we continue Dezeen’s review of the year.

    Over 50 hotel and short-stay projects featured on Dezeen in 2022. Our list includes both destination hotels, such as the idyllic Patina Maldives, and stylish urban boltholes like Ace Hotel Toronto.
    Key hospitality trends include growing demand for staycations, as offered by venues like Sweden’s Treehotel, and the rise of the work retreat, thanks to venues like Artchimboldi Menorca.
    Read on for our top 10 hotels of 2022:
    Photo by Jaime NavarroCasa TO, Mexico, by Ludwig Godefroy

    Natural cooling was the priority for architect Ludwig Godefroy when designing this boutique hotel near Puerto Escondido, on Mexico’s Pacific coast.
    The cast-concrete structure integrates various openings – including large circular cutaways – to allow the breeze to flow through. There’s also a pool spanning the building and a series of outdoor baths for first-floor rooms.
    Godefroy described the hotel as “like the reinterpretation of an Oaxacan temple, generating a radical sensory experience upon entering”.
    Find out more about Casa TO ›
    Photo by Tom de PeyretHotel Terrestre, Mexico, by Taller de Arquitectura X
    Also near Puerto Escondido, Mexican architect Alberto Kalach and his studio Taller de Arquitectura X designed a monumental hotel complex that runs entirely on solar power.
    Hotel Terrestre consists of a series of buildings constructed from concrete and hand-made mud bricks, including 14 villas, an open-air restaurant, a spa and swimming pools.
    The ambition of the design was to embed structures in the landscape as if they have been there for years.
    Find out more about Hotel Terrestre ›
    Photo by The IngallsDowntown LA Proper Hotel, USA, by Kelly Wearstler
    Named hotel and short-stay interior of the year at Dezeen Awards 2022, this 148-room hotel in downtown Los Angeles has an eclectic interior created by designer Kelly Wearstler to reflect the city’s thriving creative scene.
    A former private club built in the 1920s, the property has been transformed with influences from Mexico, Morocco, Spain and Portugal, as well as references to local culture and history.
    Arriving guests are greeted by a hand-painted multicoloured mural designed by artist Abel Macias and a graphite reception desk designed by ceramicist Morgan Peck. Other highlights include a suite with its own pool.
    Find out more about Downtown LA Proper Hotel ›
    Photo by Patricia ParinejadWilmina, Germany, by Grüntuch Ernst Architects
    One of the most surprising new hotels of 2022 occupies an abandoned women’s prison and courthouse in Berlin.
    Locally based Grüntuch Ernst Architects transformed former cells within the 19th-century Charlottenburg facility into tranquil guest rooms finished in light colours, soft textures and warm, tactile materials.
    The U-shaped cell block now also contains a library, bar, spa and gym, while an extension housing Wilmina’s restaurant links the building with the former courthouse, which houses the hotel reception and a gallery called Amtsalon.
    Find out more about Wilmena ›
    Photo courtesy of BIGBiosphere, Sweden, by BIG
    The ever-popular Treehotel added another architect-designed treehouse in 2022, this time by Danish firm BIG.
    Joining designs by the likes of Snøhetta and Tham & Videgård, BIG’s Biosphere is the eighth treetop suite to be installed on the remote woodland site in Swedish Lapland.
    The building exterior is formed of 350 birdhouses of different sizes, fixed to a metal grid. Behind this is a 34-square-metre glass cube containing a bed, a toilet and a lounge space designed with birdwatching in mind.
    Find out more about Biosphere ›
    Photo by Fernando GuerraPatina Maldives, Maldives, by Studio MK27
    This project by Brazilian office Studio MK27 turned an island in the artificial Fari Islands archipelago in the Maldives into a luxury hotel resort, featuring secluded beach suites and water villas that project out to sea.
    The buildings – which include the Dezeen Awards-shortlisted spa – feature a materials palette of earthy colours, matt finishes and natural textures that chime with the natural landscape.
    Never rising above the tree canopy, they are dotted around the island in an arrangement designed to create areas of vibrant social activity and spaces of complete seclusion.
    Find out more about Patina Maldives ›
    Photo by William Jess LairdAce Hotel Toronto, Canada, by Shim-Sutcliffe Architects
    The Ace Hotel brand continued its tradition of collaborating with prolific architects for its first venue in Canada, which is designed by the RAIC Gold Medal-winning Shim-Sutcliffe Architects.
    The 123-room Ace Hotel Toronto features a facade of red brick laid in various patterns and an elevated lobby suspended from huge concrete arches.
    Original artworks by primarily Canadian artists feature throughout the hotel rooms and common areas, including a three-storey installation by Shim-Sutcliffe co-founder Howard Sutcliffe.
    Find out more about Ace Hotel Toronto ›
    Photo by Xun ZhengFloating Cloud Township Villa, China, by More Design Office
    Chinese studio More Design Office (MDO) renovated six traditional rammed-earth houses to create these contemporary guesthouses in the village of Qinglongwu, in Zhejiang Province.
    The properties were upgraded with new windows, partition screens and furniture, which offer a contemporary contrast to the rough-textured earth walls, and the original doors and window shutters.
    The vacation homes form part of newly established tourist destination, the Fangyukongxiangsu Cultural and Creative Complex. They are joined by two new concrete buildings that contain a bar and lounge.
    Find out more about Floating Cloud Township Villa ›
    Photo by Lizzet Ortiz and DesliorHotel Flavia, Mexico, by RootStudio
    Mexican architecture firm RootStudio delivered this 27-room hotel in Oaxaca without drawing up any plans.
    Located on a steep site, the building was commissioned in stages, as a “habitable sculpture”, so most of the design details were worked out on site.
    The result is a building organised around a courtyard filled with endemic vegetation. Visitors enter from the top level and make their way down toward the hotel’s rooms and amenities.
    Find out more about Hotel Flavia ›
    Photo by Pol ViladomsArtchimboldi Menorca, Spain, by Emma Martí
    This former girls’ school in Menorca is now home to a different type of workspace – hospitality company Artchimboldi and architect Emma Martí have turned it into a work retreat.
    The building features design-focused spaces where businesses can host meetings or team-building sessions, plus wooden “pods” that serve as bedrooms.
    Find out more about Artchimboldi Menorca ›

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    Concrete creates art-oriented space for CitizenM's first Miami hotel

    Dutch hotel group CitizenM has opened a hotel in Downtown Miami in a high-rise building with multiple terraces that was designed to be a “3D art piece”.

    For the 277-foot-tall (84-metre-tall) building in Downtown Miami, Amsterdam-based architecture studio Concrete worked with Gensler as the local architect to carry out the design of the tower.
    Concrete worked with Gensler to create a CitizenM hotel in MiamiThe envelope features large swathes of concrete and glass organised in a series of discreet boxes that break up the massing of the facade.
    Since construction, much of the facade has been dedicated to a massive mural by American artist Jen Stark.
    The hotel was designed to showcase local artists”The architecture is considered as a 3D art piece with large colorful murals by Jenny Stark on every side of the building; by this the building is recognizable among all the other buildings,” said Concrete.

    “By using twisted boxes, you can experience the art from all sides.”
    Vitra supplied most of the hotel’s furnitureInside, a glass-lined entryway is meant to act as an “art gallery” as visitors access the set of elevators that go up to the lobby level on the second floor.
    The lobby space features a number of modular couches, workstations and plenty of light, with exposed concrete beams supporting a ceiling with wood accents.

    Kengo Kuma and Edition hotels create “oasis at the heart of the city” in Tokyo

    Also on the second floor is the canteen area, which features a black-and-white checkered floor and a wraparound bar with a black marble countertop and wood panelling topped with a hanging bar cage that holds a number of plants.
    The 20-storey building has 252 rooms, as well as a series of meeting rooms on the third floor. The rooms are mostly micro-suites, with some of the smallest clocking in at less than 200 square feet (60 metres).
    The second storey includes workspaces and terracesDespite the small size, most of the rooms have an extra large bed that sits under the window with storage space underneath.
    The bathrooms are tucked across from a compact sink and wrapped in polycarbonate that has been outfitted with LED lights. These can be controlled through a tablet that manages most of the room’s functions, including the blinds, television and room services.
    Throughout the property, most of the furniture was sourced from Swiss furniture company Vitra, with whom the hotel chain has a long-standing relationship.
    The hotel features a series of micro-suitesFor decoration, the hotel held a competition that selected local artists. CitizenM Miami Brickell is also the first location to have a rooftop pool for the brand.
    Since its inception in 2008, the hotel chain has expanded internationally with 27 hotels, and the hotel plans to open two more in Miami.
    Earlier this year, CitizenM announced a project that aimed to make it the first hospitality company to have a hotel in the digital space known as the Metaverse.

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