Archinect - News

Polish Scientists and Engineers Put A New Spin On Underwater Living

2013-02-07T19:43:00-05:00

Scientists and engineers from the Faculty of Ocean Engineering and Ship Technology at Gdansk University in Poland have teamed up with other Polish scientific and R&D institutions to come up with a landmark underwater hotel. The Water Discus Underwater Hotel, as it is called, may not be the first but plans for the Dubai venue call for the biggest site of its kind.

Winner of the 2012 SLEEP European Hotel Design Award: Hotel Valentiner Hof by noa*

2013-01-07T15:44:00-05:00

At the annual SLEEP European Hotel Design Awards, the project "Hotel Valentiner Hof" in Castelrotto, Italy was recently named the 2012 winner in the category "Conversion And/Or Extension Of An Existing Hotel Building." Architects of the hotel conversion was the young firm noa*, based in Bolzano in Northern Italy.

Tianjin Hotel Entry by HAO / Holm Architecture Office

2012-12-11T13:22:00-05:00

Danish firm HAO / Holm Architecture Office has shared with us its competition entry for a high-end hotel in Tianjin, Northern China.

North Korea Ryugyong 'Hotel of Doom' may open next year

2012-11-05T15:30:00-05:00

A delegation from the European Union Chamber of Commerce in Korea, which inspected the building almost 15 years ago, concluded it was beyond repair and its lift shafts crooked. But in 2008 an Egyptian company, Orascom Telecom, which operates a mobile network in North Korea, began equipping the building. Mr Wittwer said the hotel will "partially, probably" open for business next year. But original plans for 3,000 hotel rooms and three revolving restaurants have been greatly scaled back.

Sofitel Water Tower To Host Student Architecture Competition

2012-10-12T14:24:00-04:00

The Sofitel is hosting a competition in which thirteen graduate students from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago will design both an interior and exterior future concept for a fictional Sofitel property in either Helsinki, Finland, Mozambique, or Lima, Peru—sites varying from an urban center, to an eco-resort to a traditional beach resort.

On Nov. 14, Jean-Paul Viguier, the French architect who designed Chicago's Sofitel, will formally judge each of the SIAC students’ entries along with the panel of local architects. Winners will be selected for both the best interior and best exterior concepts.

Hotels Of The Future: 7 Architectural Stunners On The Horizon

2012-04-25T11:00:00-04:00

“In looking at these designs, I think back and remember that some people predicted the terrorist attacks of 2001 would end our lust for travel,” notes Albrecht, who teaches in the decorative arts masters program at Cooper-Hewitt and is currently working on an exhibition of airports—another architectural hotspot. “But today, some ten years later, one of the ur-building types of tourism and globalization—the hotel—is alive and well and remains on the cutting-edge of architectural trends.”

The Stunning Repurposed Architecture and Lunar Landscapes of Gotland’s Refined Resort

2012-04-02T19:55:00-04:00

London-based photographer Peter Guenzel explores the sparse and calming atmosphere of former limestone refinery turned eco hotel, Fabriken Furillen... the minimalist retreat is set amid the area’s untrammeled natural beauty featuring rocky coastline, wind-swept pines and glistening sea... founder Johan Hellström preserved its original infrastructure and recycled local materials such as concrete, limestone and hardwood to build the hotel's 17 rooms.

Real Madrid's Fantasy Island Revealed

2012-03-22T14:23:00-04:00

Real Madrid Resort Island will be a major tourist and sporting centre of great dimensions and the highest level. This extraordinary complex will attract millions of people looking for quality leisure services.

The resort will be located on the artificial island of Al Marjan in the United Arab Emirates. It will feature sports facilities, a marina, luxury hotels, villas, an amusement park, a club museum and a futuristic 10,000-seat stadium with one side open to the sea.

Renderings given to the press are described as 'handouts' and no name for the architect is given at this point.

Kouvo & Partanen to Design Hotel Residence in Atacama, Chile

2012-01-17T13:58:00-05:00

Finnish architects Kouvo & Partanen have just recently been chosen to design a hotel residence for the astronomers, engineers, and other observatory staff working at ALMA, the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array. At 2,900 meters above sea level, the hotel residence will be built at the ALMA Operations Support Facility in the Atacama Desert, in the foothills of the Chilean Andes.

A Room for London: London’s most exclusive hotel opens its doors - Telegraph

2012-01-03T12:45:08-05:00

Named A Room for London, the accommodation is also an art installation commissioned by Living Architecture and Artangel. Living Architecture is a social enterprise that operates a handful of holiday homes throughout the UK and aims to provide members of the public with the opportunity to experience contemporary architecture at first hand. The Artangel organisation commissions creative projects by contemporary artists.

Shaped like a boat and moored above the Southbank Centre, this one-off, one-bedroom hotel has room for just two guests and is only open for one year.

Half moon hotel shows Baku's stellar architectural ambitions

2011-11-16T08:34:14-05:00

When completed in 2015, Hotel Crescent will stand on the banks of the Caspian Sea, its 33-stories housed in a vast, down-turned crescent. A sister project was proposed called the Full Moon Hotel that would have brought something resembling the Death Star from "Star Wars" to the Caspian coastline.

Winners of the Hotel Liesma Design Ideas Competition

2011-11-04T19:24:28-04:00

The winning entries have been published at the international Hotel Liesma Design Ideas Competition for a music-themed upscale hotel in Jurmala, an important leisure and cultural site in the Gulf of Riga, in Latvia. Winner of the First Prize is Portuguese architect João Maria de Paiva Ventura Trindade of Lisbon-based VENTURA TRINDADE architects, Ida.

Hotel Liesma Proposal by PRAUD

2011-10-26T19:47:00-04:00

Boston architects PRAUD have shared with us their entry to the international Hotel Liesma design competition for a music-themed upscale hotel in Jurmala, Latvia. The proposal did not manage to win a prize, but we are happy to publish it. PRAUD's project team included Dongwoo Yim, Rafael Luna, and Emily Ko.

Click here for PRAUD's Archinect Firm Profile.

Frank Lloyd Wright hotel reopens in Iowa

2011-09-08T13:05:36-04:00

Frank Lloyd Wright's only remaining hotel re-opened in Mason City, Iowa, a little more a century after the iconic, and often controversial, architect designed it.

Tour The Futuristic New York Hotel Where A Robot Will Take Your Luggage

2011-07-07T11:19:17-04:00

We loved the futuristic lobby, which is decked in purple neon and stainless steel, and has a robot that stores luggage. It feels more like the inside of a video game than another overstuffed hotel entrance.

3XN’s Bella Sky Hotel Opens Today as the New Nordic Home

2011-05-16T16:57:00-04:00

If you're in Copenhagen these days, make sure to swing by the brand-new Bella Sky Hotel in Ørestad which was officially opened today by Danish Minister of Economic and Business Affairs, Brian Mikkelsen and Lord Mayor of Copenhagen, Frank Jensen. Last week, we already posted first photos of the newly completed hotel exterior, today, we can also give you an insight view of what 3XN designed to impress arriving guests as a tasteful and warm Scandinavian home.

3XN-Designed Bella Sky Hotel Opens in Copenhagen Next Week

2011-05-11T14:49:00-04:00

Copenhagen's Bella Sky hotel, the largest hotel in Scandinavia, is scheduled to officially open next Monday, May 16. The hotel, designed by Danish studio 3XN, tries to become a new landmark on the Copenhagen skyline, symbolizing the identity of the modern Ørestad area, and also marking the capital’s increasing importance on the international convention and congress scene.

Örnsköldsvik's new [proposed] hotel is a love-hate affair

2011-04-18T15:20:01-04:00

Thomas Sandell's, of Sandell Sandberg, design for a new hotel in Örnsköldsvik's port has created quite a stir in an otherwise off-the-radar Swedish city of Örnsköldsvik, population 28,617. The hotel, commisioned by Elite Hotels, has such a stark design that it triggered a very public crit via the Örnsköldsvik Allehanda. Architects Per-Eddie Bjuggstam, Kjell Arne Mattsson and E Wistedte agreed that the building should be thinner, taller and less garish in color choice. The general public has likened the project to a pack of cigarettes and a nuclear power plant.

Kent Forsberg, of hockey fame, said, "No, it's not at all clear, there will be a lot happening yet." Forsberg, who owns local development company Forspro, is a major stakeholder in the project. Paraphrased in Örnsköldsvik Allehanda, "[Forsberg] thinks the hotel project should not be discussed in the media, but he welcomes views on the subject."

On the Örnsköldsvik Allehanda website, this single project has generated a doze...

3XN’s Bella Chandelier Is Ready for Installation

2011-04-18T13:44:00-04:00

When the Bella Sky Hotel, the largest hotel in Scandinavia, launches in Copenhagen May 16, guests are greeted in the foyer by The Bella Chandelier – a living scenography of light and color created by GXN, the R&D department of Danish architects 3XN.