Hotel Design | B3 Designers

23/02

Casa Do Conto, Porto

Casa do Conto (House of Tales in Portuguese) a concept hotel in Cedofeita, Porto, has had a rocky start. The charming XIX Century Oporto House was lovingly restored by Pedra Liquida Architects, after which a fire virtually destroyed the building just days before its reopening. A new building was built on the site with the memory of the old structure in mind. The architects thought of the new skin as a type of ‘fossil’ of the historic. The project references the ornate nature of its predecessor with abstract textures and texts applied to concrete surfaces.

Apart from the textured surfaces, the design was approached with restraint and the resulting spaces seem appropriately quiet and poetic. The overall design manages to have a strong identity of its own while subtly referencing the site’s turbulent background.

(Images via Yatzer)

15/01

The 25hours Hotel Hafencity, Hamburg

The 25 hours Hotel Hafencity, a harbour city hotel that draws inspiration from maritime culture, was designed by a multidisciplinary team headed by architect Stephen Williams. The architects worked together with a storyteller, an events agency and an illustrator to give the project meaning at all levels. The hotel forms part of one of Europe’s most ambitious urban construction projects and aims to form part of a lively new city quarter.

Stephen Williams says: “We wanted to create a web of meaning with interrelating signs and symbols referring to seafaring and harbour life. A place where old and new stories come to life. It all began from the poems of Joachim Ringelnatz with the fictitious sailor Kuttel Daddeldu, a good soul who’s deeply rooted in the seafaring life, but also coarse and a little cheeky.”

The design team drew a parallel between the guests of the hotel (‘nomads’) and sailors (‘maritime nomads’). Markus Stoll, the brand storyteller, interviewed 25 international sailors in the Seaman’s Club Duckdalben in Hamburg as part of the team’s design research. He went on to adapt their stories into semi-fictional accounts that guided the concept development of the hotel and were later illustrated by Jindrich Novotny.

The ground floor consists of a lobby, restaurant, bar and shop and is intended for use by guests and non-guests alike, continuing the lively, inclusive atmosphere of the new quarter that is being developed.

Heimat Küche + Bar takes its name from the German word for home, taking its inspiration from seafarers longing for home. The space, however, however has an industrial, shipyard aesthetic. The chaotic space is filled with ‘shipping’ furniture such as warehouse shelves and rough wooden boxes, in addition to a selection of furnishings that were chosen by Connie Kotte to complete the warehouse aesthetic.

The shipyard aesthetic is continued into the conference room that sits in a shipping container donated by Hapag-Lloyd. The container wall is movable and can be hoisted up to allow access to the space or to join the conference room with the restaurant.

(Images via Dezeen)

19/03

Connaught Bar Review By B3 Designersv

Connaught Bar

Situated within the The Connaught Hotel, one of the grandest hotels of London, the Connaught Bar must be one of the most chic and stylish places to have a drink and realx.
Redesigned by David Collins, the interior design retains its classic art deco feel and mixes dark rich colours with elaborate textures and details such as the brogue detailing on the furniture. The bar also has a ‘Head mixologist table’ where guests will be able to taste an assortment of drinks produced on a cocktail station next to the table.

16/03

Mondrian Miami Review By B3 Designers

Marcel Wanders designs for Morgan’s Hotel Group

Although Marcel Wanders previous work includes other hotel design work (such as the Lute Suites), the Mondrian Miami is his first full scale hotel project. Conceived as a ‘Sleeping Beauty’s Fairy Castle’ by the designer, the interior has a surreal contemporary baroque touch; chic but playful.
The interior design features opulent furniture in painted and upholstered in bright red, chandeliers encased in large golden bells and flowery motifs on walls and floors. The surreal quality is visible in the columns which look like over sized turned table legs and a large black staircase which spirals through the building. The staircase balustrade is made from fret cut black metal which allows this imposing structure to still look quite delicate. The hotel rooms feature many of Wanders own designs and continue the chic, playful baroque scheme.