"This city is a point upon a map of fog."
vs.
"there's more liberty in an interior to invent a narrative..."

the upstairs bar...

For the W San Francisco, the hotel tapped the genius of starchitect Stanley Saitowitz of Natoma Architects to redesign the first 2 floors...

Stanley Saitowitz went for a darker look at San Francisco, a night portrait of the city using dark grays and purples for the color scheme. His vision as an architect is so clearly evident in his work as an interior designer — the décor projects the sensation of being outside rather than in. Playing on Bierce's "map," the floor emulates the grid of the city, the furniture extruding from it as its buildings would.

Playing on the "fog," the dark color scheme gets lighter and cloudier as one ascends the the hotel, the fog becoming "densest" at the top, much as it would be standing atop San Francisco's Twin Peaks. Guests can faintly make out the traces of city monuments on the walls. It's truly reminiscent of San Francisco at night, the time when Saitowitz says "cities are most magical and fun." As for the differing roles between architect and designer, "there's more liberty in an interior to invent a narrative," said Saitowitz, whose past interiors have been famously high-concept. "It's more circumscribed. You're asked to make a statement or create a kind of world in an interior."


read entire article here...and more images... (Via Art Info)
all text by Janelle Zara








--------------------------

Gio Ponti
vs
Gabriel Orozco

"I have built a hotel in Sorrento" wrote Gio Ponti "And, although there wasn't really any need, I wanted each of the hundred rooms to have a different majolica pattern on the floor''.






-------------------

" The circle for me is a very useful Instrument in terms of movement,
in relation to gravity and erosion. It's the tendency of objects when they're
in movement and are eroded by friction..."

Gabriel Orozco

Gio Ponti
vs
Gabriel Orozco





1. Have you ever seen a floor more beautiful?
Parco dei Principi in Sorrento, Italy
The luxury hotel remains as Gio Ponti intended. He designed everything in the hotel, from the pale wood furniture upholstered in blue fabrics in the bedrooms to the 30 different geometric patterned blue and white tiles that adorn the floors to the design of the blue ceramic pebbles and tiles that cover the walls next to the lifts and the pillars in the lobby. Even the crockery is specified as Melotti majolica plates..




2. "What is most important is not so much what people see in the gallery or the museum, but what people see after looking at these things, how they confront reality again." - Orozco

Gabriel Orozco's MOCA show here in Los Angeles 10 years ago changed the way I look at art. I left the building that afternoon in silence. These circles, the toilet paper spinning on the fans, tables full of ceramics and memorabilia of some sort of journey left me confused. Ever since, I've been looking for wet tire marks on the pavement. Simple delights after a city's summer rain.

image above: From the Samurai Tree series, IM (2006), egg tempera on red cedar panel with gold leaf, 21 5/8 x 21 5/8"














----------------------------

Portrait of A Bed

Portrait of a Bed .
pt. 14
(more here)


Lázaro Rosa-Violán
The Geometric Bedroom.

two words.... wow. wow.
kinda speechless....
a pretty darn good hotel suite.

"Lázaro Rosa-Violán leads Contemporain’s eight-strong team of industrial, interior and graphic designers. Our combination of technical ability, knowledge of design culture (both past and present) and ability to interpret our client’s needs is our raison d’ être. Together, we aim to create rich and beautiful interiors that, although meticulously contrived, carry an air of ‘lived-in’ spontaneity. This, we believe, creates a harmonious setting for our clients’ vision, and, in turn, one that their clients will wish to return to again and again."

I've chosen to post images of the bedrooms,
but frankly, his site is breathtaking..
The restaurant design is top notch.
I'll be looking at these images on his site
for a very long time...

Especially photos like this one (click here!)
or this one! here..

Sol Lewitt
inspired wall perhaps?




"Lázaro Rosa-Violán describes himself as an ‘urban archaeologist’ and ‘style hunter’. Although he studied the Fine Arts, his ability to conceive interiors is instinctual. His first project (a restaurant) was carried out in the Balearic Island of Ibiza in 1990 and in 2003 he established Contemporain, on the premise that very few bars and restaurants were executed whereby interior design, lighting, ambiance and food worked together to make a coherent whole. “The interior designer is an actor“, he has stated. “He must dress up and change roles, understand new identities and integrate them with his own.”

His ability to re-interpret design icons, culturally-aware sense of aesthetics and technical knowledge has resulted in an impressive portfolio. Rosa-Violán’s mise en scènes create a sense of luxury and timelessness. Every detail, be it furniture, textiles or wall art converge together naturally, resulting in harmonious interiors that stand out for their ease of use and concise visual language."

I could take a serious snooze
in this hotel room about now....
(caffeine is failing..)
the headboard almost looks
like mini monochrome paintings.
fantastic!

Portrait
of a Bed

Lázaro Rosa-Violán
the Geometric Bedroom.


Inspired by
The Brick House Tumbler
thanks Morgan!







------

Hotel Castell:
Art Hotel.
go here.

The Castell provokes confrontation with contemporary art. Well-known, high-level artists including Roman Signer, Pipilotti Rist, Peter Fischli/David Weiss, Carsten Höller, Martin Kippenberger and James Turrell among many others are represented in the Hotel Castell by their work, which is openly exhibited for viewing the whole year round..

The new Hotel Castell opened in December of 2004. With the new directors Bettina Plattner-Gerber and Richard Plattner, this imposing „sleeping beauty“ has become a modern and atmospheric hotel for anyone wanting to retreat and relax in surroundings invigorated by art and nature, and with endless options for activity.

James Turrell: Skyspace.




"James Turrell realized one of his skyspaces, rooms that are conceived to enable viewers to view the sky through an opening in the roof. Skyspace Piz Uter was set up on the initiative of the Walter A. Bechtler foundation and specifically developed for Hotel Castell in Zuoz. Häusler Contemporary negotiated and managed the project.."



go here for more..

(sorry, no english translation)
via vernissage.tv

The Castell thrones above the valley, directly adjacent to the Zuoz ski slopes, and has a beautiful view. Just below are cross-country ski trails in winter and the Zuoz-Madulain golf course in summer. Beyond that lies the Upper Engadine with all its attractive opportunities - from nature over culture to adventure. Alpine charm and cosmopolitan St.Moritz.

go here for more info...

Rough
Luxe
here.

"THE ROUGH LUXE HOTEL
London

"So this is Rough Luxe. Half rough, half luxury. A little bit of luxury in a rough part of London. A little bit of rough in a luxurious London. Our philosophy is simple; you are staying with us in our home, so just ask. Our Grade II listed home was transformed by internationally acclaimed designer Rabih Hage and is connected to on Art Gallery in the courtyard behind, where you will also find the Coffee Bar which is open to the public by reservation only during the week. Guests at a Rough Luxe hotel might share a bathroom or have a small room, but the luxury is in the choice of the wine, the bed linen, the art on the walls and the people looking after you. "


































"Just nine amazing rooms.

Some with a sumptuous en-suite bathroom, some with sumptuous shared bathrooms. Whichever one you get, each delivers the finest hand-made toiletries. Several of the rooms on each floor can link together to make informal suites and each room contains artworks that are changed on a regular basis.

If you want to know more about the artwork in your room, or those in the public areas, please ask us.

A few of our rooms have televisions - we decided that as you are in one of the most exciting capital cities in the world, you probably wouldn't need one. "






Rough Luxe is a concept for hotels & restaurants, bookshops, food & drink outlets and distribution businesses.