Hasta La Ideas

Movie: Wong Mun Summ of WOHA explains how the Singapore studio tried to recreate geological forms in the architecture of PARKROYAL on Pickering, which won the Hotels category at last month’s Inside Festival. 

PARKROYAL on Pickering by WOHA is a 367-room hotel on the edge of Singapore’s Central Business District, which features large balconies and terraces covered in 15,000 square metres of tropical plants.

“We wanted to create a hotel in a garden,” explains Wong. “We have achieved more than 200% of the site area in green replacement. So the green areas in the building are actually larger than the site itself.”

The balconies are made from layered slabs of contoured concrete, which continue inside the hotel in the reception areas on the ground floor. Wong explains that they were arranged to suggest natural landscapes.

“All the inspiration comes from rock formations,” he says. “It’s a very organic feeling that you get from the building.”

He adds: “We wanted to mimic the idea of the sedimentary layer and that is actually quite obvious from the form of the various strata in the building. Each layer is grooved, so that it has more shadows and is more refined.”

The hotel rooms themselves are more simple in design, but Wong says that the layout of each one is designed in relation to the garden outside.

“We wanted create a very warm feeling that is extending from the gardens,” he says. “The hotel rooms are configured in such a way that all of the rooms look into the sky terraces. Not only do you get a city view, you get a garden view.”

The large windows in the bedrooms are broken up by an irregular pattern of timber mullions, which is replicated by the bespoke furniture and fittings inside the rooms.

“Because we were the architects [as well as the interior designers] we wanted to make sure there was a good transition from architecture to interiors,” says Wong. “So the idea was to transform [the windows] into framing structures for the cabinets, the shelves, and even the lamp fittings.”

Wong says that he believes the hotel can be enjoyed by both passers-by and guests.

“We succeeded in creating a building that the man in the street can relate to,” he claims. “Quite often high-rise buildings tend to be very abstract, almost lacking in details. In this case what we have tried to do is humanise the skyscraper.

“It’s not just the guests that benefit from it, but also people who walk around in the city.”

This movie was filmed at Inside Festival 2013, which took place at Marina Bay Sands in Singapore from 2 to 4 October. The next Inside Festival will take place at the same venue from 1 to 3 October 2014. Award entries are open February to June 2014.

The post Singapore hotel covered with plants was
“inspired by rock formations” appeared first on Dezeen.

Exposed ductwork and rough materials feature at this hostel in central Berlin (+ slideshow).

Anwar Mekhayech of Toronto firm The Design Agency collaborated with local architects Ester Bruzkus and Mark Asipowicz of WAF Architects to design the hostel interior.

The latest accommodation in the Generator chain is located in an early twentieth-century building in Berlin’s central Mitte district, close to the city’s Museum Island.

Minimal en-suite rooms and dorms with exposed concrete ceilings can accommodate up to 552 guests.

In the reception light wood panels contrast with dark flooring and seats in pink and red. Patterns are created by overlapping strings stretched from the exposed ceiling pipes to the walls.

Wooden work benches act as tables in the dining area, accompanied by wood and copper-coloured stools. Bright artwork on corridor walls is based on graffiti around the city. The doors are covered with large room numbers.

Communal areas include a bar, library, cafe and central courtyard. An event space in the basement with seating integrated into steps will host exhibitions by local artists and performances by local bands.

“Generator Berlin Mitte has been one of the most exciting Generator projects to date because of our collaboration with local interior designer Ester Bruzkus and also the talented Berlin-based artists who added a relevant cultural dimension,” said Mekhayech.

Generator also operates a hostel in Berlin’s Prenzlauer Berg district and has recently opened branches in Venice and Barcelona. Photography is by F+W Fotografie.

Read on for more details from the hostel:

Generator continues to challenge the traditional hostel concept with the launch of its third property in 2013

Generator Berlin Mitte follows the openings of Generator Barcelona and Venice and further strengthens the company’s position as Europe’s largest and most innovative urban design hostel group

Located in a historic 1900s building in the bohemian neighbourhood of Mitte, the design-led Generator Berlin Mitte accommodates up to 552 guests across 139 en-suite rooms and dorms. Public spaces include a lively Generator Bar, chill-out library, café, historic central courtyard and a basement event space that will be used to showcase the work of local artists, designers and musicians.

Carl Michel, Executive Chairman at Generator which is backed by Patron Capital, said: “Our new Berlin property is in an area that has undergone many transformations, from being the old Jewish quarter to the pulsing heart of the city that it is today with a vibrant nightlife scene. Our newest Generator offers our growing customer base a high standard of comfortable and stylish accommodation at an affordable price and just a stone’s throw from the Museumsinsel (Museum Island).”

Chief Designer Anwar Mekhayech, one of the partners at The Design Agency, has set the standard for the new wave of Generators with his work in Barcelona and Venice. For Berlin Mitte he has worked in collaboration with Mark Asipowicz from WAF Architects and guest designer Ester Bruzkus, from Ester Bruzkus Architects, whose impressive portfolio includes some of Berlin’s most celebrated boutique hotels and restaurants.

Bruzkus’ very distinctive style is combined with strokes of Berlin’s own grunge flair, very present in the use of cement tiles. The style is very clear: old vs. new, bright vs. dark and moody, rough vs. smooth and sleek; all visibly translating into a contemporary atmosphere that exudes an air of unpretentious style. The rough wood panelling and open ceilings, raw copper panels against black walls in the basement and the simple furniture and mastic asphalt in the breakfast area that contrast with the mirrored ceiling in the bar are just some examples of the stunning design details that are featured in this project.

Anwar Mekhayech, chief designer, said: “Generator Berlin Mitte has been one of the most exciting Generator projects to date because of our collaboration with local interior designer, Ester Bruzkus and also the talented Berlin-based artists who added a relevant cultural dimension.”

True to Generator’s commitment and passion to creating an authentic and locally inspired experience, the Berlin Mitte property has embraced the city’s love of street art. The colourful mural was created by London artist Luke Embden during a Berlin residency, while the legendary Thierry Noir has adorned the corridors with his famous ‘heads with big lips’, similar to those at the Berlin Wall, Eastside Gallery. In addition, over the coming months, the collective Urban Art Clash will be in residence, running a studio from the hostel’s top floor and curating an open exhibition in the basement space. Other artist collaborations include Bella Leonard, who has created a distinctive crochet sculpture in the shape of Generator’s “G” and notable artist Sebastian Preschoux has set up one of his famous string installations in the café and reception.

This new urban design-inspired hostel joins Generator’s first property in Berlin, situated in the bohemian Prenzlauer Berg, and will cater for the growing number of travellers choosing to explore the German capital.

Josh Wyatt, Investment Director at Patron Capital responsible for the Generator brand, said: “We are thrilled to bring another Generator to Berlin. As well as being one of Europe’s most visited destinations, it was also the first city where Generator opened when we expanded outside of London. Having grown our leadership role as the hostel industry’s largest urban design hostel group, this new property seems a natural step. Berlin’s cultural and social heritage, coupled with the vibrant art and music scene, is a perfect fit for the Generator brand. Building on this latest opening, we will continue to increase our portfolio both within Europe and globally.”

The post Generator Berlin Mitte hostel by Ester Bruzkus
with Anwar Mekhayech and Mark Asipowicz appeared first on Dezeen.

News: visitors to the museum at the Dessau campus of the Bauhaus can now spend the night in the dormitories of the former German Modernist design school (+ slideshow).

Guests can book accommodation in the Studio Building once occupied by architecture and design students at the Bauhaus campus in Dessau, Germany, which is now a museum dedicated to the movement.

Visitors stay in one of the 28 rooms in the building, which were once let to junior masters and promising students.

Previous inhabitants include Marcel Breuer, Josef Albers, Erich Consemüller, Herbert Bayer, Franz Ehrlich, Walter Peterhans, Hannes Meyer and Joost Schmidt, plus Marianne Brandt, Gertrud Arndt, Gunta Stölzl and Anni Albers on the “ladies floor”.

The 24-square-metre studio flats are starkly decorated and minimally furnished. Boarders have to use the communal bathrooms and showers like the residents in the 1920s would have done.

One single room has been accurately reconstructed with the original furnishings, while others have been kitted-out with work by their previous occupants.

Prices start from €35 per night for a single room, while a double room on a Friday or Saturday night costs €60.

The Bauhaus school was founded by Modernist German architect Walter Gropius in 1919 and was originally located in Weimar.

The campus was relocated to Dessau in 1925, where the iconic listed building was constructed in the Modernist style. The school was then moved again to Berlin in 1932 before closing down in 1933.

Photographs are courtesy of the Bauhaus Dessau Foundation and are all by Yvonne Tenschert unless otherwise stated.

The post Bauhaus opens its dorms
to paying guests appeared first on Dezeen.

Well into bookings and a spot-on event schedule just a month after opening, The Ace Hotel’s latest offering takes its characteristic simplicity and buzz to east London’s Shoreditch neighborhood….

Continue Reading…

A hotel under construction on a South Pacific island is depicted as a collection of architectural ruins in this series of images by Australian photographer Peter Bennetts (+ slideshow).

Designed by Australian architect Kristin Green, la Plage du Pacifique Hotel is under construction along the beach of an island in Vanuatu – an archipelago over a thousand miles east of northern Australia.

Concrete has been used for the structures of each building in the complex, which includes 18 guest villas, a restaurant with a roof garden and sun lounge, and a swimming pool and spa facility.

Peter Bennetts joined Green on a site visit to capture the structures in pictures. Although almost complete, the buildings contain few traces of life, which the photographer says created the impression of “a ruin”.

“Like pods of little whales, the off-form concrete villas swim together, entwining with native pandanus and rosewood trees in the face of trade winds and frequent cyclones,” he said.

Comparing one structure to both an ancient monument and an iconic Italian villa, he added: “As in an Aztec temple, or Casa Malaparte, a stair leads to a deck on top of a form I’d describe as the architect’s dance shoe. In the unflinchingly bright tropical sun the stair casts a shadow that Escher could’ve dreamed of.”

Each structure is designed to be cyclone resistant, with cross-ventilation that will reduce the need for air-conditioning. The architect has also added a series of concrete walls that will offer shade from intense sunlight.

The swimming pool is modelled on the ancient Roman baths at Hadrian’s villa in Tivoli, creating another reference to architectural monuments.

“The Colosseum has invaded these new lands, not a new notion for Western man,” writes Green. “Here she protects from violent storms; patrons are offered a chance at romance, to dance, dream and escape.”

Here are some more details from Kristin Green:

La Plage D’hôtel du Pacifique

Sounds of crashing waves and wind through the palm trees, the Hotel du Pacifique complex offers a protected paradise, set to take the world by cyclone. The buildings are designed to allow wind to pass through with little or no need for air-conditioning. Modern forms take on an ancient roman bath providing escape from the demands of the city. Areas are separated by dancing concrete limbs intertwined casting shadows to relieve one from the tropical sun.

D’hôtel du Pacifique: Restaurant Building

With this building we explored cinematic experience, coupled with the ideas of leisure, romance & dreaming. The ambience of 1950’s movies where casual bathing attire is worn by day yet one likes to dress up in the evening for dinner. The building is organised around zones:
» À la carte restaurant and bar with reception for arrivals,
» Open air roof garden for dining, cocktails and sun bathing,
» Casual grill bar for patrons relaxing around the pool & outdoor facilities including; Pétanque, beach tennis, swimming, handball &/or board games.

D’hôtel du Pacifique: Villas Stage 1

The first 18 beach front villas are near completion. All components of the villas are custom made; complete in-situ concrete board marked walls, floor & roof, concrete benches, day beds, cast-in-place basins and handmade light fittings, in-built furniture, sunken baths along with timber herringbone windows which are hand carved from local timbers by local craftsman and hand-cut stone floors. Kristin is regularly on site coordinating fabrication techniques and ensuring consistency of local construction methods.

Each villa is conceived as a robust, cyclone ready building, the result of a series of key relationship studies between man, building & the tropical landscape. The nature of the body disrobing, exposure, privacy & the personalised experience offers a certain romance and seclusion for its patrons.

La Plage D’hôtel du Pacifique: Pool Area & Landscape

The pool/massage/spa component of the resort offers a place for the leisure, relaxation and sensual decadence that one would expect from a quality 5-star experience in the Pacifique. A concrete slide, colonnade and capital recall the Ancient Roman baths, a direct homage to Emperor Hadrian (the pool is literally measured from & at Hadrian’s villa in Tivoli, outside Rome); ‘only here can one truly dream of being lost in time’.

The pool and sun lounge area wraps around the building, white sand, the ocean, a sensuous entanglement. Memories of roman villas bedecked with capitals, pediments and statues offer a delight to the pool area; a shady concrete capital creates a weighty ambience and shade relief.

Irregular clusters of Pandanus & palm trees, a simple landscape of grass and white sand ground surface make bare feet is a must. The tree roots emerge from the ground like something of a child’s dream, creating gentle barriers and shadows. Sandy walking paths wander through resort facilities, offering the odd secluded stopping point for new or renewed romance, a cocktail in hand, the soft floating fabric of colourful transparent sarongs and the opportunity to stroll into their villa.

Undulating mounds caress the landscape. Vines trace the board marked surface of the concrete walls, delighting patrons with their patterns. The birds sing amidst the trees and promises of the sea turtle sanctuary are desired to continue nature’s course in the region.

Narrative

Bridget is perched behind Athena’s shield, a relief from the hallowing winds that are so frequent to the Pacifique region. The Coliseum has invaded these new lands; not a new notion for western man. Here she protects from violent storms…. patrons are offered a chance at romance, to dance, dream and escape; rekindling their love, offering hope for the future & their wellbeing.

The post La Plage du Pacifique Hotel by Kristin Green
photographed by Peter Bennetts appeared first on Dezeen.