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    Patricia Urquiola converts historic palazzo into Six Senses Rome hotel

    Milan-based designer Patricia Urquiola has converted a palazzo in Rome into a hotel and spa, filled with circular elements and traditional Italian materials.

    The Six Senses Rome is located within the Palazzo Salviati Cesi Mellini, close to historic sites like the Pantheon and the Trevi Fountain in the city centre.
    The lobby of the Six Senses Rome is an open social space with multiple seating areasAdjacent to the Church of San Marcello al Corso, the building was first constructed in the 15th century before being updated in the 18th-century baroque style by architect Tomaso De Marchis.
    An impressive central staircase and the building’s main UNESCO-listed facade, which overlooks the bustling Via del Corso, are among the period details that were restored during the renovation works led by Studio Urquiola.
    The Bivium restaurant connected to the lobby offers all-day diningThe entrance to the Six Senses Rome from Piazza di San Marcello leads into an open lobby and social area, furnished with a variety of sofas and lounge chairs from Urquiola’s oeuvre alongside classic Italian designs.

    These are positioned in groupings with tables and decorative objects on circular rugs, between potted plants spread across the travertine floors.
    Circular elements appear throughout the hotel, including rugs and tables in the lobby”At every turn, the craftsmanship, the finishes, the materials and the graphics create a union with nature while staying true to both Roman classicism and Palazzo Salviati Cesi Mellini’s rich history,” said Urquiola.
    A curved green marble bar is positioned near the windows, forming an incomplete circle with the matching counters in the courtyard, which are visible through the glazing and follow the shape of earth-toned steelwork overhead.
    In the courtyard, a green marble bar counter continues from insideThe courtyard also features benches built into planters along the back wall and additional seating, where diners can enjoy food and drinks from the trattoria-style Bivium restaurant.
    Circular forms and motifs continue throughout the hotel, including in the Six Senses Spa and Roman baths on the first floor.
    The spa waiting area features seating within sheer curtain enclosuresHere, sheer curtains encircle small seating areas for those waiting for treatments or preparing to enter the travertine-lined bathhouse, which offers multiple pools for soaking and relaxing.
    Bedrooms across the central levels have “quirky” layouts and a soft neutral decor, including tambour panelling, patterned rugs and a variety of spherical light fixtures.
    Travertine lines the walls and ceiling inside the spa and Roman bathsSeveral of Six Senses Rome’s 96 guest rooms and suites have balconies, and all enjoy either a courtyard or city view.
    Plasterwork in the rooms is made from an ancient Roman material known as cocciopesto, which comprises fragments of earthenware or brick mixed with lime and sand.

    The Rome Edition opens in converted 1940s bank building

    “The legacy of antiquity is also honoured with the choice of cocciopesto, which decorates the plaster of the rooms and gives a nod to Roman architect Vitruvius,” said the studio.
    The hotel also features a roof terrace and bar called Notos that offers views across the city and serves botanical cocktails and light bites.
    The bedrooms at the Six Senses Rome have a soft neutral decorArtworks such as watercolours, sculptures, textile works and canvases throughout the interior are curated by art advisor Federica Sala and are all unique to the hotel.
    Six Senses Rome is shortlisted in the hotel and short stay interior category of Dezeen Awards 2023, while Studio Urquiola is shortlisted for interior designer of the year.
    Plasterwork in the bedrooms and suites is made from cocciopestoOriginally from Spain, Urquiola is one of Europe’s most sought-after designers and has released furniture and product collections with brands like Moroso, Cassina, Kettal and Boffi among many more.
    Other hotels designed by her studio include the Haworth Hotel in Michigan, the Hotel Il Sereno on the shores of Lake Como and the Room Mate Giulia in Milan.
    The photography is by Luca Rotondo.
    Project credits:
    General contractor: CDS HoldingArchitecture: Starching and professor Paolo MicalizziInterior design: Patricia Urquiola

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    The Rome Edition opens in converted 1940s bank building

    American entrepreneur Ian Schrager’s The Edition group has landed in Rome, opening a hotel in a converted bank that makes use of its soaring lobby, original marble staircases and hidden front courtyard.

    The Rome Edition began welcoming guests earlier this year to the 91-room hotel, located a block away from Via Veneto – the street that was immortalised in the 1960 movie La Dolce Vita.
    Arrival to The Rome Edition is via a path under a bronze pergola that leads to the lobbySchrager and his in-house team spearheaded the renovation of the grand building, utilising many of the original features including a cipollino marble staircase, central courtyards, statues and lamps.
    “Built in the 1940s and formerly occupied by one of the main Italian banks, the building is a striking example of the rationalist style and was created by Cesare Pascoletti in collaboration with the famed architect Marcello Piacentini,” said The Edition team.
    The plant-filled, sunken courtyard acts as an all-day lounge and dining spotUnusually for Rome, arriving guests are escorted through a sunken garden “piazza” – which acts as an outdoor lounge, restaurant extension and gathering place – before reaching the lobby.

    Once inside, dramatic seven-metre-high ceilings, full-height windows and green curtains, and travertine floors and walls set the tone for The Edition’s signature brand of soft minimalism.
    The dramatic hotel lobby features seven-metre-high ceilings and full-height green curtainsSymmetrical arrangements of custom white furniture and low coffee tables exaggerate the strict geometry of the architecture.
    “The lobby is Edition at its most dynamic,” said the team. “It is a place to relax and make merry; a place to see and be seen or play a few games of pool on the custom-made table.”
    The Amina restaurant is divided into two dining spaces, one of which is accented with chartreuse-coloured upholstery and carpetFor the hotel’s signature restaurant, Anima, the team partnered with local chef Paola Colucci on a menu that puts a modern spin on family recipes and traditional Roman dishes.
    Amber glass separates the kitchen from the two dining areas, one with chartreuse-toned accents across furniture and artwork, and the other blue.
    The restaurant’s second dining space is decorated with blue accentsThe various bar areas on the lobby level each provide guests with a experience. The Punch Room is a concept borrowed from other Edition properties including another recent opening in Tampa and occupies a cosy room with warm wood panelling and deep red tones, for sharing bowls of punch – a 17th-century tradition that’s been given a contemporary spin.
    A dark walnut bar, Rosso Levanto marble fireplace, dark pink velvet sofas, and custom armchairs in rosewood and dark brown leather all add to the cosy atmosphere in the dimly lit space.
    Off the lobby, The Punch Room bar is lined in walnut and includes dark pink velvet furnitureWith space for just 10, the intimate Jade Bar features a rotating cocktail menu and is fully lined in deep green antique marble.
    This small and dramatic room is furnished with emerald-hued velvet soft seating and satin brass and gold accents – including a wall-mounted sculpture influenced by artist Jeff Koons.
    The Jade Bar is wrapped in antique green marble, with emerald seating and brushed brass accentsIn the front courtyard, The Garden is filled with over 400 plants and lightly perfumed by the jasmine that climbs over the facade.
    A bronze awning divides the outdoor space in two, with an al fresco dining area for Amina on one side, and an all-day casual terrace for cocktails and light bites on the other.

    Tampa “about to explode” as a destination, says Edition hotels founder Ian Schrager

    Teak banquettes and free-standing furniture are surrounded by “an Italianate arrangement of lanterns to give it the feel of a traditional Roman garden”.
    The roof terrace on the seventh floor features a pool and bar area that offers sweeping views over the Eternal City’s rooftops.
    Walnut wall panelling and herringbone floors feature in the bright guest roomsIn the bright guest rooms, walnut wall panelling and herringbone floors are paired with custom beige leather furniture.
    Carrera marble basins and brushed brass fixtures stand out against the grey stone bathrooms, and frosted glass partitions are used to conceal showers and toilets.
    Carrera marble sinks contrast the dark grey stone in the bathroomsThe Rome Edition is the group’s 16th global property, following locations that include Times Square in New York, West Hollywood in Los Angeles, and Tokyo.
    The Madrid Edition, designed with British minimalist John Pawson, was longlisted in the hotel and short-stay interiors category of Dezeen Awards 2022.
    The photography is by Nikolas Koenig.

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    India Mahdavi enlivens Rome’s Villa Medici with bold geometric furnishings

    Architect India Mahdavi has updated six rooms within Rome’s 16th-century Villa Medici to feature an array of contemporary and colourful furniture.

    The intervention comes as part of a three-year project called Re-enchanting Villa Medici, which was launched in 2022 to amplify the presence of contemporary design and craft within the Renaissance palace.
    India Mahdavi has furnished six rooms inside the Villa Medici including the Chamber of the Muses (above) and the Lili Boulanger room (top image)While the first phase of the project saw fashion brand Fendi revamp Villa Medici’s salons, Mahdavi was asked to freshen up rooms on the building’s piano nobile or “noble level”, where the main reception and the bedrooms are housed.
    She worked on a total of six spaces including the Chamber of the Elements, Chamber of the Muses and Chamber of the Lovers of Jupiter, which once served as an apartment to Cardinal Ferdinando de Medici.
    Several of Mahdavi’s Bishop stools were integrated into the designThe three other rooms – titled Debussy, Galileo and Lili Boulanger – were formerly used as guest quarters.

    In the Chamber of the Muses, which is topped with a dramatic coffered ceiling, Mahdavi inserted sea-green editions of her Bishop stool alongside an enormous hand-tufted rug by French workshop Manufacture d’Aubusson Robert Four.
    Its geometric design features green, purple, red, and rosy pink shapes, recalling the flowerbeds that appear across the villa’s sprawling gardens.
    Chairs were reupholstered with eye-catching raspberry-hued velvetOnly subtle alterations were made to the Chamber of the Elements and Chamber of the Lovers of Jupiter, where Mahdavi has repositioned an existing bed to sit against an expansive wall tapestry.
    Some of the chairs here were also reupholstered in raspberry-hued velvet.

    Fendi introduces modern furnishings to Rome’s historic Villa Medici

    A cluster of bright yellow sofas and armchairs sourced from the French conservation agency Mobilier National was incorporated into the Lili Boulanger room, named after the first female composer to take up residence at the villa.
    The furnishings sit on top of a blush-pink rug by French manufacturer La Manufacture Coglin and are accompanied by octagonal tables designed by Mahdavi.
    The Lili Boulanger room has a grouping of bright yellow sofas and armchairsA Renaissance-style four-poster bed was added to the room named after astronomer Galileo Galilei, who reportedly visited Villa Medici twice in his lifetime.
    The bed’s tiered wooden base and headboard were inlaid with graphic, berry-toned marquetry by cabinetmaker Craman Lagarde. The pattern, which also appears on the curtains that enclose the bed, takes cues from the design of the villa’s flooring.
    A grand four-poster bed is inlaid with berry-tone marquetryA similar bed can be seen in the room named after French composer Claude Debussy. But this time, the marquetry done by French furnituremaker Pascal Michalon is executed in more “acidulous” colours that Mahdavi said reminded her of Debussy’s piano piece Clair de lune.
    Mahdavi has lent her distinctive colour-rich aesthetic to a number of significant venues. Recent examples include the lavish London restaurant Sketch, to which she added sunshine-yellow and golden furnishings.
    The photography is by François Halard.

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    Fendi introduces modern furnishings to Rome's historic Villa Medici

    Italian fashion brand Fendi has teamed up with the French Academy in Rome to refresh six salons inside the Villa Medici – a 16th-century Renaissance palace set amongst sprawling gardens in the heart of Rome.

    The villa has been home to the French Academy in Rome since 1803, and today is used by the French art institute to host creative residencies and public art programmes.
    Fendi has introduced new furnishings to Rome’s Villa MediciThe building’s salons had not been significantly modified in some 20 years, leading the academy to initiate a revamp in the hopes of establishing a better connection between the centuries-old rooms and contemporary design.
    Fendi was brought on board to consult on Villa Medici’s interior scheme alongside Mobilier National – France’s national furniture collection and conservation agency.
    The project also saw the academy call in French architect Pierre-Antoine Gatier to restore some decorative features of the Grand Salon, while conservation specialist Bobin Tradition carried out preservation work on the building’s existing wall hangings.

    Umbrella pine trees informed the shape of the table in the Salon des PensionnairesFendi’s artistic director of couture and womenswear Kim Jones worked with Silvia Venturini Fendi, the brand’s artistic director of accessories and menswear, as well as Mobilier National to curate a selection of modern French and Italian furnishings for the salons.
    Many of the pieces were pulled from Fendi Casa, the brand’s homeware collection, and chosen for their ability to slot in amongst the building’s existing heritage pieces and classical artworks.
    Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance’s tables for the Salon Bleu mimic ancient Roman paving slabsThe focal point of the Petit Salon is now a huge modular sofa by Milan-based designer Toan Nguyen, upholstered in a rust-orange fabric that matches the colour of the walls.
    Over in the Salon des Pensionnaires is a table by French designer Noé Duchaufour-Lawrance. This is supported by spindly black legs, which resemble the branches of Rome’s ubiquitous umbrella pine trees.
    The slightly moodier feel of this room is complemented by grey-blue sofas and armchairs by Italian designer Chiara Andreatti.

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    Duchaufour-Lawrance was also responsible for crafting the tables found in the villa’s Salon de Lecture and Salon Bleu, shaped to look like the time-worn paving slabs of the Appian Way – one of the oldest roads that lead to Rome.
    The Grand Salon houses rows of the sinuous Belleville chair, created by French design pair Ronan and Erwan Bouroullec for Vitra.
    Contemporary chairs were added to the building’s Salon de MusiqueBoth here and in the other salons, Fendi and Mobilier National introduced tapestries from well-known artists including Louise Bourgeois, Sheila Hicks and Sonia Delaunay.
    Acoustic panels by Devialet were tucked behind selected artworks to discreetly enhance the sound quality inside the villa.
    Seats by the Bouroullec brothers line the Grand SalonOver the past few years, high-end fashion designers have become increasingly involved with interior design projects.
    In London, Roksanda Ilincic and Bella Freud applied their respective styles to two separate penthouse apartments, while Jasquemus founder Simon Porte Jacquemus has devised a summery interior scheme for a restaurant in Paris.
    The photography is by Silvia Rivoltella.

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    Space Popular reinterprets Aldo Rossi's architectural theories for the metaverse

    Architecture and design studio Space Popular has unveiled Search History, an exhibition at the MAXXI museum in Rome that applies the writings of Italian architect Aldo Rossi to virtual worlds.

    The installation features bold and colourful images envisioning a metaverse city, with doorways that appear to be gateways between different virtual spaces.
    Search History features a physical installation exploring virtual architectureThe aim of Space Popular founders Lara Lesmes and Fredrik Hellberg was to show how Rossi’s ideas about the experience of real-world cities can be reflected in the immersive spaces of the metaverse.
    “The project Search History began as part of our research on issues of the virtual city,” says Lesmes in a video about the project.
    The project draws parallels with the urbanism theories of Italian architect Aldo Rossi”We have been studying how we move between virtual environments, basically places on the internet that are three-dimensional,” Lesmes said.

    “We found a lot of connections to theories of Aldo Rossi,” she added. “Even though he didn’t develop them thinking about the virtual realm or virtual worlds, we feel they are extremely applicable.”
    Multilayered images of virtual environments are printed on overlapping curtainsSearch History is the fifth edition of MAXXI’s Studio Visit, a programme that invites contemporary designers to reinterpret the work of iconic architects from the museum’s collections.
    The starting point for the project was Rossi’s seminal text The Architecture of the City, which describes urban areas as a multilayered sequence of spatial experiences.
    The colourful imagery suggests gateways between different virtual spacesSpace Popular believes that virtual environments should be equally multilayered, and that special attention should be paid to the way people move from one space to another.
    “What does it mean to click on a hyperlink? Do we open a door or do we slide something up?” Hellberg says in the video.
    A lamp within the installation is reflected in the printed imageryThe exhibition comprises a doughnut-shaped pavilion formed of overlapping curtains, each printed with multilayered imagery.
    Inside, Space Popular created the feeling of standing in a city plaza by adding a circular bench topped by what looks like a street light.
    A similar lamp is depicted on one of the curtains, alongside other pieces of street furniture that include a litter bin and a drain cover.

    Space Popular sets out its vision for digital portals made of virtual textiles

    The curtains also depict architectural elements like roof profiles and columns, as well as references to computing such as a keyboard and a search window.
    “This piece is a sort of simulator, a representation of what it could be like, the experience of browsing through immersive, digital environments,” said Lesmes.
    The images also depict architectural elements like roof profiles and columnsThe project builds on the manifesto that Space Popular presented for the Dezeen 15 online festival, which proposed using portals made of digital textiles to navigate virtual worlds.
    The duo have also created other works that explore the design of the metaverse, which they call the immersive internet. These include Value in the Virtual at ArkDes and The Venn Room at the Tallinn Architecture Biennale.
    The images also show virtual interfaces like search windowsSpace Popular: Search History is curated by Domitilla Dardi, senior design curator at MAXXI, and is sponsored by textile manufacturer Alcantara, which provided the material for the curtains.
    Previous editions of Studio Visit have seen Neri&Hu explore the world of Carlo Scarpa and Formafantasma examine Pier Luigi Nervi.
    The exhibition photography is by Matthew Blunderfield.
    Space Popular: Search History is on show at MAXXI from 7 December 2022 to 15 January 2023. See Dezeen Events Guide for an up-to-date list of architecture and design events taking place around the world.

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    Styles and eras mingle inside “unfinished” diplomat's home in Rome by 02A

    Antique and mid-century furnishings are combined with sleek contemporary cabinetry in this intentionally unfinished apartment in Rome, designed by local architecture and interiors studio 02A.

    The one-bedroom flat belongs to a stateless diplomat, who asked 02A to turn his home into a sanctuary that he could return to at the end of his frequent work trips.
    02A has overhauled the whole apartment of a diplomat in Rome from the bedroom (top) to the dining room (above)The owner also wanted a place to display the extensive collection of furniture and craft objects he has accumulated during his travels.
    “The client has given us a wider opportunity to reflect on the concept of home as a place of belonging, even more so when it is not lived in on a daily basis,” said architect Marco Rulli, who co-founded 02A together with Thomas Grossi.
    “The project was a journey into his memory and aspirations through a constant and free dialogue.”

    An archway with an integrated bookcase leads from the lounge to the dining areaThe apartment takes up 130 square metres on the ground floor of an early twentieth-century building in Rome’s Flaminio district, a few steps from the National Gallery of Modern Art and the MAXXI Museum.
    It has a generous garden and is surrounded by nature, nestled between the eastern bank of the Tiber river and the urban vegetation of the Monti Parioli hills.
    The kitchen’s barrel-vaulted ceiling was painted terracotta redThe apartment’s entrance opens onto the living area, where a glass wall cuts through the decorative barrel-vaulted ceiling.
    In the adjacent kitchen, this ceiling is painted terracotta red and paired with brushed granite worktops alongside white and yellow wall units that complement the building’s original flooring.
    An Esperanto phrase is engraved above the granite worktop in the kitchenEngraved on the backsplash of the scullery is a phrase written in Esperanto, a universal language developed for international communication in the late 19th century.
    Translated to English, it reads: “he who is firm in his ideas is noble, but he who is able to change them is even nobler”.
    The ground-floor apartment opens onto a generous gardenNext to the kitchen, the lounge features restored parquet flooring made of solid oak, which serves as a backdrop for a couple of leather sofas, French art deco armchairs from the 1940s and an antique Venetian lantern, alongside a selection of photographs and sculptures.
    A set of French doors opens out onto the home’s private garden, which is shaded by a huge palm tree and surrounded by shielding vines and Swiss cheese plants.

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    An arched passage with a custom integrated bookcase leads from the lounge to a more intimate dining area, where an Illan birch pendant lamp by Luceplan hangs above a glass-surface table set with 1950s chairs.
    This space also displays a number of the owner’s antique furniture and artworks, including pieces by South African textile artist Igshaan Adams and a chalk work called Classroom by Cameroonian artist Pascale Marthine Tayou.
    Elements from different eras are brought together in the apartment’s bedroomThe apartment’s bedroom, study and two bathrooms are separated from the rest of the plan by a small doorway.
    This sleeping area was the main focus of the project, according to 02A. The bedroom was conceived as a suite with a small open bathroom, which is screened off from the rest of the space by smoked mirrored screens.
    Mirrored screens enclose the en suite bathroomThe bathroom’s reflective walls create what 02A describes as an “immaterial cubic volume”, camouflaging the ensuite while diffusing the light streaming in from the three large windows that run along the apartment’s southwest side.
    One side of the bedroom is lined with made-to-measure wardrobes covered in Ukiyo wallpaper by French design brand Nobilis, which was informed by traditional Japanese woodblock prints.
    Palm Jungle wallpaper by Cole & Son decorates the main bathroomThe second bathroom is bigger and houses a suspended ceramic tub, paired with black marble surfaces and Palm Jungle wallpaper by British brand Cole & Son.
    Next to the bathroom is a study furnished with upholstered vintage theatre chairs and a projector mounted on the ceiling. The room is completed with a writing desk by Italian brand Desalto and a Serbelloni armchair, created by the late industrial designer Vico Magistretti for De Padova.
    Dark decor and a projector build the theatrical character of the study”We tried to play with the concept of time,” said 02A. “We didn’t want a finished house. We were interested in giving space to the unfinished, to the imperfection that would contain the vital force of curiosity.”
    The idea of creating an intentionally imperfect or unfinished interior is popular among designers. Peeling plaster, raw concrete and dangling wires give character to these spaces, which look as though they’ve been abandoned halfway through decorating.
    The photography is by Serena Eller.

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