Hotel Puerta América *****

Villeroy & Boch AG as Manufacturers

Enjoyment for the senses. For this unique hotel, 19 of the world’s best architects and designers created 12 floors full of innovation and luxury. With its colourful façade, the Puerta América adds a dash of splendour to it surroundings and invites the guest to embark upon a journey of discovery. Each room contains bold forms, materials and colours. In contrast, the toilets of the Hotel Puerta América, which are furnished with products from the Subway collection, have impressively clear lines and elegant colours.

HOTEL SILKEN PUERTA AMÉRICA

Ron Arad Associates as Interior Architects

1. Hotel Puerta América. A unique hotel that invites you to dream An idea of freedom come true, a gathering space merging different cultures and ways of interpreting architecture and design. A masterpiece that awakens guests’ senses, that breaks the mould by using different colours, materials and shapes. A building that ushers guests into innovative spaces, a bold departure from the usual. In short, a hotel that is unique.


The Hotel Puerta América is a space that invites people to dream - a never-been-attempted-before project that has brought together nineteen of the top architecture and design studios in the world from thirteen different countries. Originality, luxury, innovation and formal freedom define a hotel that awakens its guests’ senses. Each of the floors showcases a different concept in hotel rooms. All play with different materials, colours and shapes to create spaces that bring together the best in avant-garde design and architecture, where creativity and the freedom to develop each of the spaces has been the hallmark.


The Hotel Puerta América is, in short, an eclectic, daring space that does not sell comfort short. Rooms with luxury in their finest detail that entice guests to search for new forms, to interact with them, to touch, to see, and even to breathe and smell... In short, to utterly enjoy a unique space that stands out especially for its quality and wide range of services.


The concept of the Hotel Puerta América emerged from Hoteles Silken mission to create a hotel that was unique, merging different ways of seeing architecture, design and art. The group has put intensive time and energy into the build over the past three years, not to mention investment – estimated at 75 million euros. The area, more than 34,000 square metres, is designed to play host to people from different nationalities and cultures. Everyone involved embarked on an ambitious idea whose very ethos was to become a meeting point, with creative freedom as a banner. All the floors boast the same layout, with a central lobby upon exiting the lift, and a hallway which leads to rooms on either side.


The goal was to offer a space where each of the architects could reflect the best of him or herself, of his or her work, and in many cases of his or her culture and way of viewing the world through architecture and design, and also through photography and literature. The Hotel Puerta América is a colossal accomplishment, a sacrifice spanning several years and on which at times more than 650 people were working at the same time in order to realise this unique work of art. Finally, the dream has come true, thanks to the minds, souls and hands of:


Jean Nouvel. The French architect was commissioned to design the façade, the penthouse and the twelfth floor, which boasts twelve suites. In the latter space he blends photography (lining the walls with images of women and flowers) and architecture to achieve a highly provocative space ideal for “experiencing exceptional moments”


Zaha Hadid. The first woman to win a Pritzker Prize (termed ‘the Nobel of architecture’) has designed the first floor, a space that stands out for its fluidity and interplay of daring lines. The rooms almost seem to be liquid rather than space, where the choice of innovative materials is yet another outstanding feature


Norman Foster has created a serene environment on the second floor which harbours the guest from the hustle-bustle outside. Leather is the pre-eminent material through which different acoustic and tactile sensations are sought


David Chipperfield, on the third floor, proposes a simple yet luxurious space where he combines handcrafted finishes, upholstered panels and white marble. Chipperfield creates a sensation of depth and surprise by paying painstaking attention to colours and lighting both in the lobby and hallways and in the rooms


Plasma Studio (Eva Castro and Holger Kehne) is a young studio that is striving to “change the stereotype of a hotel as an anodyne space” through a highly geometrical design for the fourth floor. This is a space that could well come straight out of science fiction.


Victorio & Lucchino have transformed the fifth floor into a very cosy space inspired by their work in the field of fashion. The design team from Seville uses different types of fabrics, such as linen, and decorates the walls of the rooms with different motifs until achieving a truly welcoming, warm space where the guest feels virtually embraced by the fabrics and colours


Mark Newson has created two extremely modern, relaxing and sophisticated spaces on the sixth floor and the bar, featuring an interplay of just a few materials. The hallway of the sixth floor is totally of red lacquered wood, resembling a mirror. In the bar, he creates spaciousness in a work boasting a marble bar, a single piece weighing more than six tonnes and measuring 8.25 metres long, and 400 strips of laser-cut aluminium


Ron Arad has organised the space on the seventh floor in a highly provocative, imaginative way, which shows a glimpse into how future hotels could be. He opted to “use the floor space, rather than the walls” to create an internal pathway that gradually reveals each of the spaces within the rooms


Kathryn Findlay has designed the eighth floor. Her intention was to re-create a meditative space where guests can dream, or as she claims, listen to the wind. The architect barely separates the spaces using white curtains in order to achieve a highly feminine space. On this floor, Jason Bruges, an interactive designer, has worked in conjunction with Findlay to create light installations for the lobby and hallway that react to guests’ movements


Richard Gluckman was commissioned to design the ninth floor, where he used materials such as methacrylate in unexpected and surprising ways. His concept is that of ‘a box within a box’. In this way, the space stands out for its orderliness and feeling of lightness and neatness


Arata Isozaki provides guests with a subtle, relaxing interior design on the tenth floor, with a clear Japanese influence. The bathroom harks back to typically Japanese traditions, with the wooden bathtub and shower placed together. Also noteworthy is the shoji, a panel reminiscent of this Far Eastern country’s traditional homes


Javier Mariscal and Fernando Salas were determined to provoke different sensations with their graphic design for the eleventh floor. They used a broad palette of colours, especially in the rooms’ floors and walls, in an attempt to convey liveliness and imagination


John Pawson was commissioned to design the lobby and meeting rooms. He has attempted to create “a space to encounter peace and quiet in the heart of the hotel”. He achieves this through the use of wood and a design that harbours the reception area in a semi-circle, thus sheltering the guests from the constant motion passing through the area


Christian Liaigre combines different aspects of Spanish culture in the restaurant, with a leather and wood interior that provides a home for high quality cuisine, made from premium ingredients that have been meticulously combined


Teresa Sapey designed the underground car park using a fascinating play of colour and line which “appeals to a person’s emotional side, yet which is at heart functional”. In this way, each floor presents an inter-play of colours, most notably warm tones in the first underground level


Harriet Bourne and Jonathan Bell from B+B uk handled the landscape design in the outside garden. The vegetation is designed to reflect the changing season while complimenting the building it surrounds. Indeed, in their opinion, “the integration between vegetation and buildings is fundamental”


Arnold Chan, from Isometrix Lighting and Design, was commissioned to design and co-ordinate the building’s lighting scheme, adapted to and supporting the designs of each architect


Felipe Sáez de Gordoa (SGA Estudio) developed the design for the structure. With extensive previous hotel build experience, he laid the foundations for the space upon which the other architects and designers have worked


Oscar Neimeyer. One of the greatest architects in history, Brazilian Neimeyer has exclusively designed a sculpture to be placed in the adjacent park. It takes the form of a sickle-shaped work which harks back to the poetic shapes of his best buildings.


The Hotel Puerta América will undoubtedly become renowned as one of the great five-star luxury hotels. A sensorial and intellectual feast that clearly upholds the maxims of Hoteles Silken in its quest for quality and innovation. Through a space brimming with an array of different shapes, materials and colours, the aim is for the guest to become involved, to discover a new way of experiencing a hotel without sacrificing comfort. The goal is move towards a new concept in hotels, while at the same time creating a new dimension in services and facilities in order to make visitors’ stays more pleasant.


Under the motto “A passion for excellence”, Hoteles Silken reflects this philosophy in their care for guests, always going a step further in delivering the services most important to guests, such as high quality dining facilities, leisure facilities, parking, relaxing grounds and so on. Without doubt, the Hotel Puerta América sets the new benchmark for not just Hoteles Silken but hotels everywhere.


2. Floor by floor description of the design


Twelve floors and nineteen stars. A unique vision of avant-garde interior design and architecture.


Car park. Teresa Sapey: Stimulus of colours


“On an emotional level, I have striven to tell a tale about each person’s right to live his or her life as he or she sees fit”. This sentence is clearly a declaration of intentions and reflects the strong advocacy of freedom of choice on which the project Hotel Puerta América is based. The Italian architect’s idea is based on simple lines and colour. Only an architect like Teresa Sapey would dare to undertake such a radical, colour-saturated proposition in a space that, in theory, is as dark as an underground car park usually is. As she explains, her greatest source of inspiration was Paul Éluard’s poem Freedom, which takes up the entire façade of the Hotel Puerta América. Indeed, the poem gives shape to the writings imprinted on the wall, thus becoming symbols alluding to freedom to express oneself, to listen, to speak...


“As time goes by I’m more and more convinced that car parks are urban spaces that until now have been largely ignored. I am fascinated by how a space in which functionality is the key can simultaneously appeal to an individual’s emotional side”. A simple iconographic code on the walls leads the guest through the garage. The motifs are a finger pointing to the exits, people running with a dog, a person in a wheelchair... all of which have been rendered by mixing words from Éluard’s poem. The colour takes care of the rest in a search for this emotional stimulus that Sapey alludes to in her quest for freedom. For this reason, the floor and walls are colored in different tones, making the garage much more fun, and conferring the feeling of warmth. On top of that, it is also well-lit. On the first underground floor, the Italian architect chose warm colours: orange, red and yellow; while in the second underground floor, the cool bluish palette predominates.


She herself acknowledges that one of the recurring themes in her designs is repeated here as well: “artistic unity”. Sapey explains that “colour, and thus light, helps us to situate ourselves, they give us co-ordinates. Iconography speaks to us about other possible realities (freedom)”. There is no doubt that her design should be viewed as a fitting introduction to the dreaming, free spirit of the Hotel Puerta América. And this freedom begins right from the most hidden core of the building.


Oscar Niemeyer “Here, then, is what I wanted to tell you of my architecture. I created it with courage and idealism, but also with an awareness of the fact that what is important is life, friends and attempting to make this unjust world a better place in which to live."


Oscar Niemeyer. The Curves of Time: The memoirs of Oscar Niemeyer On the verge of turning 100 years old, Oscar Niemeyer is the last survivor of Modernism. He is a fascinating figure, prominent for being responsible for the planning and construction of the city of Brasilia, the imposing capital of Brazil. His is an architecture with a marked artistic bent, with enormous formal wealth and which, according to many critics, includes the poetic values of the Brazilian culture. He has been the recipient of the Pritzker Prize (1988) and the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts (1989). For the Hotel Puerta América he has designed an iron sculpture in the shape of a sickle, approximately five metres high to be placed in the adjacent park.


First floor. Zaha Hadid. Sinuous lines, fluid spaces


Concept/idea Until just a short time ago, Zaha Hadid was better known for the buildings she had not constructed than for those she had. Her spectacular work brought floods of clients, but the formal difficulty of her designs was extreme. All this is now in the past. Today, her fluid spaces, which used to be light years ahead of their time, set the benchmark and can be seen all over the world. Her constructions provoke the imagination of whoever has the pleasure of seeing them. In this design, guests will feel as if they are in a space almost out of science fiction, yet paradoxically, it is also accessible, within an arm’s reach. Zaha Hadid has created an architectural vernacular that encourages one to dream and imagine different worlds, mainly emerging from the possibilities of digital design which have placed this architect at the forefront of the profession with works such as the Vitra Fire Station in Weil am Rhein, Germany, and a building for BMW in Leipzig, Germany.


Lobby and hallway In general, this is a white, clean, provocative space with excellent lighting. Upon leaving the lift, in the lobby, the guest discovers a space characterised by sinuous, curved shapes. First we notice a slim, sinuously shaped lamp christened with the name Vortexx (perhaps because it somewhat resembles a hurricane, a vortex), which dominates the entire space. Hadid and Patrik Schumacher have designed it for Sawaya & Moroni, and it changes colour every so often. It is truly spectacular and is placed at eye level so that all the changes can be appreciated. The light seems almost like a liquid within the twisted shapes of this lamp. What also draws our attention are the benches that issue from the wall. Most noteworthy in the hallways are the finishes in LG Hi-Macs, a ductile material that fits Zaha Hadid’s bold architecture like a glove.


Rooms In the rooms, the most outstanding feature is the spaciousness and clean lines conferred by the white colour of the floor and walls. What is more, the guest is submerged in a world somewhere between Baroque, Modernism and Minimalism, due in the first case to the sinuous shapes, and in the second to the brightness furnished by white. Thus is Hadid’s work: difficult to categorise, eclectic and surprising.


One of the most noteworthy elements is the lighting created for the doors. This entails a strip of LEDs that illuminate the messages on the doors. In this way, from the inside guests can indicate whether they want breakfast to be served, the room to be tidied, not to be bothered, or any repair to be made. The door handles, exclusively designed by the architect for the Hotel Puerta América, are a veritable feast for sight and touch.


Inside the room, and also from a piece of the same LG Hi-Macs (Hadid’s room is also a study on this material’s potentialities) emerge the bed, the desk and the other furniture. Everything seems to issue from the wall and gives the impression that, at the guest’s orders, it could be stowed back into the wall. The architect has designed expressly for the hotel a chair that is extremely voluminous yet lightweight in appearance. The bed has halogen lighting embedded in the lower part of the headboard, perfect for the guest who wants to relax awhile by reading in bed.


The bathroom is a single structure from floor to ceiling which changes colour according to the room. It is a monochromatic space. The bathtub melds with the sink, without sunder. The toilet, a piece by Stefano Giovannoni for Alessi, fits in perfectly with the rounded, futuristic lines characteristic of Hadid’s architecture. The waste basket is a deluxe design created exclusively for the hotel, an utter challenge for guests with imagination, because it is not so easy to find. Do you dare try?


Second floor. Norman Foster. Elegance and flexibility


Concept/idea Foster personifies the elegance of hi-tech. Here he plays with shapes and materials to express luxury and sensuality, but especially to ensure that guests disconnect with the hectic surroundings of a large city like Madrid. This was his main goal, and to achieve it everything was inspired by the palette of materials of the Basque sculptor, Eduardo Chillida, a personal friend. In his oeuvre, Chillida explores natural materials and organic forms, which Foster has reinterpreted on the second floor of the Hotel Puerta América. Without a doubt, those who want to relax will find an ideal venue in the British architect’s design. He himself acknowledges that he has created a “perfect urban sanctuary”. Two highly creative spirits, this Basque sculptor and British architect joined forces to create a provocative and highly subtle design that blends high-tech materials like glass with the warmth of carpeting and leather.


Lobby and hallway In the lobby, a Chillida sculpture welcomes the guests. The walls are covered with off-white leather, a solution that helps convey to guests a sense of privacy. Further on, in the hallways the walls draw our attention, at certain points resembling gigantic backlit translucent glass lanterns which serve to reinforce the feeling of a highly dynamic space. These walls become the central element of the design and act as a nexus between the hallway and the rooms by penetrating into the rooms, serving as the walls in the shower stalls as well. What is more, the bathroom ceiling is made of stretched canvas that is backlit, as if the guest was in a tanning booth! Here, too, the idea of technology so characteristic of the British architect makes itself felt. One has the feeling of bathing in a bathroom out of a science fiction novel, rather than being in a hotel in the middle of Madrid. In short, it is a flexible, sinuous, technological space.


Rooms Foster always avoids clutter. He prefers simple, light yet suggestive lines, such as those on the Millennium Bridge in London which joins the Tate Modern to the City. At the Hotel Puerta América, the use of leather manages to convey different feelings without overburdening the space unnecessarily. Moreover, the materials’ different textures manage to provide the guests with different acoustic sensations. The headboard of the bed is covered in brown leather. Across from it, the wall hiding the television and other services is covered in white leather, conferring a sense of warmth and privacy, which is reinforced by the oak wood flooring. A simple handle enables guests to lift a door to see the television. Stridency has no place here. The bed is also positioned barely off the floor, a virtual enticement to relaxation.


A large swath of backlit onyx, which also acts encompasses the sink in the bathroom, spans the space wall to wall. In the bedroom, it morphs into the desk, thus elegantly joining together bathroom and sleeping area. The illumination seeks not only to showcase it but also to achieve a certain spaciousness, since it is also a piece that does not take up too much room despite its length. This is most likely the greatest surprise for guests and summarises “the flexible atmosphere of the bedroom”, in Foster’s own words, and the luxury he has striven to convey.


Third floor. David Chipperfield. Luxury and privacy


Concept/idea “Let us imagine a luxurious setting and a private space. We design a room using luxury materials, such as terracotta and marble, where you can also enjoy them. We think of a space pared down to the essentials, which would thus confer a certain importance on each element. It is rare to be asked to design a hotel room without having to adhere to any type of restrictions. Thus, this has been my opportunity to design the kind of room I would like to find in any hotel”. David Chipperfield starts from this idea, and designs a simple yet wholly welcoming space.


Lobby and hallway The hallway, painted totally black, gives a feeling of depth and privacy, as if one were submerged in a type of time tunnel without knowing where we would emerge, in what time or place in history. Without a doubt, the architect achieves this by the play of light he designed. Triangular bundles on the ceiling precisely attempt to confer this quality of spatial depth and continuity, the feeling of forgetting where we are. Relaxation and privacy are the keys here. What is more, the walls in the lobby and hallway, in lacquered DM, boast a strip of light every so often, thus contributing to the feeling of being in a time tunnel.


Rooms The surprise here is that Chipperfield has sought a different type of room based on a highly geometric concept of space. The entire floor is covered with pieces of terracotta measuring 7 x 21 cm. Some of them are hand-cut due to the difficulty of covering them in certain spots within the room, such as the corners. The spatial order continues in the desk, which is made of a single slim piece using the same proportions as the floor tiles and walls, occupying approximately the same length as the bed and located next to it. It is made of black LG Hi-Macs. The bench and headboard are covered in black leather as well, making for utter simplicity. Over the bed is a piece of lacquered blue DM which constitutes a unique feature in the room. The contrasting colours, mainly black and white, and the simplicity of the space give the guests supreme relaxation and achieve a very well-lit space.


Fourth floor. Plasma Studio. An exercise in geometry


Concept/idea This is a young studio which managed to participate in this project upon winning a contest. Plasma Studio, made up of Eva Castro and Holger Kehne, has shown that it is in the vanguard of architecture with a bold project based on geometrical lines and cool materials such as stainless steel. Interest in complex shapes, everything digital and other working methods that depart from the norm are the cornerstones of Plasma Studio. Indeed, they themselves explain that they “attempted to avoid the stereotype of a hotel as an anodyne, homogeneous place” and that they immediately realised that this was not just any project, rather “a benchmark in contemporary architecture”. They strove to spark guests’ imagination by pushing the space to its limits. For those who are not familiar with their work, now is the time to discover it.


Lobby and hallway A three-dimensional space that will leave spectators astonished. The premise: to surprise guests by forcing their usual conception of space. If you have a preconceived notion, toss it out; it will have nothing to do with what you think. The underlying idea is the maxim governing the work of this young studio. In the Hotel Puerta América, this concept also prevails and is especially visible in the astounding volume-sculpture in the lobby, which also becomes an enormous bench. Both the space and the hallway are resolved using large pieces of stainless steel and geometrical shapes reminiscent of a spaceship. The structure seems to want to swoop down towards the guest. The sensation of a fictitious work is reinforced by a play of different coloured lights emanating from LED strips which reflect the light over superfine bars of methacrylate, thus reinforcing the intention of creating a sensorial tour where the only thing that counts is the guest’s intuition.


Rooms The same steel from the hallway gives shape to the shower, the bathtub, the headboard of the bed and the desk, which unfold one after the other, all arranged along the same wall. It is all one single gigantic piece which flows naturally despite the apparent aggressiveness of its shape. The bathtub is made of glass, and the divider separating the bathroom from the room is also glass and is upheld on its own structure. This is a young, dynamic space which challenges the guest to touch it, to discover each and every nook and cranny. The floor is made of resin. In the toilet there is an attention-grabbing backlit glass panel, and the same solution has been used in the room on the wall hiding the television across from the bed. Contained light and bold shapes to respond to the eclectic tastes of the 21st century.


Fifth floor. Victorio & Lucchino. Fashion which bedecks an interior


Concept/idea Comfort and serenity are the two keywords that best define the work of Victorio & Lucchino in the Hotel Puerta América. The basic premise was to make guests feel comfortable, welcomed and nurtured by warm textures and colours that embrace, that seem to rock to sleep whomever stays in these rooms.


Lobby and hallway In the hall, the walls are lacquered in black, the armchairs are upholstered in velvet and the floors are covered in distressed black stone. Two white marble sphinxes from the designers’ personal collection rise hieratically in the middle of the lobby. The designers have brought the best from their daily lives to the hotel. They offer their unique universe to the guests, they take them by the hand and lead them into a courtyard in Córdoba.


The hallways are lined with black carpeting which contrasts with the beige velvet on the walls. Gypsum plumes reinforce the Baroque touch in the decoration. The numbers of each room, in rubber, are adhered to a steel backing.


Rooms Victorio & Lucchino have sought a “luxurious yet comfortable” atmosphere. On the wall where the headboard is located hangs an exclusive, one-of-a-kind work for each room crafted by the artist Sergio Cruz. The black furniture is by the designers and boasts rounded corners. However, perhaps the most unique feature in the plans by these two designers is the textiles: linen, velvet and cotton which have been used to create elaborate two-toned bedspreads, curtains and cushions; red velvet bases anchored with tacks; a red velvet screen with a gold interior; red and black Chinese-inspired armchairs. The room features a classical layout, with the desk right next to the bed.


In the bathroom, comfort and harmony reign among the bathtub and sink and the other pieces, all in ceramic. Finishing touches include red or beige candles, as well as custom-designed ceramic receptacles and pots. Victorio & Lucchino have forgotten no detail, and every single one bears their signature.


Not a single element – neither colours nor placement – is repeated in the different rooms. All of this is possible thanks to streamlined yet sophisticated materials such as cotton, linen, velvet, distressed stone and black glass, which the designers have reinterpreted according to their unique vision. In terms of colours, tones like chocolate brown, anthracite grey, black, beige and bordeaux prevail, which with they manage to create a warm space where anyone can feel at home.


Sixth Floor. Marc Newson. The luxury and comfort of simplicity


Concept/idea Simplicity and comfort are the two adjectives that best describe Newson’s design on the sixth floor of the Hotel Puerta América. In his opinion, a hotel room should entice guests to relax from the very start; everything should be accessible, and there should be no one element that overshadows the others. “I have spent a great deal of time in hotel rooms all over the world, and this is a great chance to improve on all the things that have always bothered me about hotels”. His design conception almost verges on the naive; one scarcely senses that they are in a ‘designed space’. The outcome is simplistic yet innovative.


Lobby and hallway Marc Newson opted for wood lacquered a brilliant red for the furnishings in these spaces. The floor alternates wool carpeting with marble. The goal is to envelop the guest in a provocative, modern yet relaxing atmosphere where nothing prevails over the anything else. These two common areas are streamlined down to the minimum, thus giving the guest a tranquil passage to his or her room.


Rooms Newson’s major pieces include the Felt Chair for Capellini, or the Lockheed Lounge, featuring sinuous, suggestive lines which encourage rest and relaxation. The same holds true with this project. Newson mainly blends white and grey. The bed, also designed by Newson, is a type of island, an oasis isolated from the other elements and surrounded by leather, used in both the headboard and the nightstand. The floor is oiled oak parquet made of wide panels that provide a touch of warmth to the interior design. Newson has designed a single multi-functional piece of furniture. Everything is easy, everything is accessible. This is the advantage of his design. What is more, the designer has created a table and chair especially for the Hotel Puerta América.


In the bathroom he has chosen Statuario Venato marble from the Carrara quarries. It is a single piece and the seam can be seen, an utter luxury for guests and a material that is also found in another space within the hotel also designed by the Australian - the bar. Finally, the bathtub was also designed by Newson, just as the other pieces in the bathroom, for Ideal Standard.


Seventh floor. Ron Arad. An interplay of sinuous shapes


Concept/idea It has been said of Ron Arad’s work that it has all the energy of modern art. He is one of the inevitable benchmarks in current design. His ideas seem to be inexhaustible, and all his pieces become commercial successes. As a Professor at the Royal College of Art in London, he has also taught and inspired many of the top designers working now. At the Hotel Puerta América, he has designed a sinuous space with eminently luxurious details.


Lobby and hallway Arad’s rounded, sinuous shapes can be glimpsed in the lobby, which boasts a circular sofa made of reflective fibreglass, foam and Alcantara in anthracite grey. On the walls are large LCD screens where different images can be viewed. The floor of both areas is made of elastic resin, and the ceiling curves downwards, seeming to swoop over the guest, although in reality it manages to creative a cosier, more modern space.


Rooms Ron Arad suggests a concept of room in which bulbous, rounded shapes characteristic of his way of designing prevail. A curved, continuous wall, white in some rooms and bright red in others, acts as a central divider separating the different uses of the space. Arad creates a circuit in which guests gradually discover each of the spaces: first the entryway, then the bed, then the bathroom, the sink, the toilet. Everything bit by bit. The round bed is by the Italian design firm Capellini and is placed towards the back of the room. It is highly provocative and comfortable. There are no limits; it is like a dream world. The television is actually a large screen that unfolds from the ceiling. There is no doubt that for many people, the luxury of having a gigantic screen right in front of the bed will be the best feature of Arad’s design.


The headboard is part of the LG Hi-Macs piece which has been directly soldered onto the wall to achieve a feeling of continuous space, of a circuit which has neither beginning nor end. In the bathroom, each space is made independent of the next by means of a wall divider. Despite the continuity, the logical independence is not forsaken. The shower and toilet have stainless steel ceilings. Arad seamlessly blends both materials, achieving an extremely modern space with a touch of high technology. Across is a huge swath of glass, which in the case of the toilet not only provides a distorted reflection of the guest, but also visually enlarges the space. The chairs at the desk are Fantastic Plastic Elastic designed by Arad for the firm Kartell, also sinuous and suggestive. Their lightness entices the guest to sink into them, to submerge himselfin a different design concept. The guest moves about the space continually surprised, as if attempting to find new shapes in every corner.


Eighth floor. Kathryn Findlay. Light in motion


Concept/idea The innovation supporting the design by this Scottish architect is the creation of interactive space. Her interest in integrating technology and architecture is reflected in her collaboration with the interactive designer Jason Bruges. Both have achieved a provocative, surprising interior in which the guest has no choice but to get involved: there is simply no other option. What is more, all the internal divisions in the rooms are made using curtains; not even the closets have doors. As a whole, it is an extremely suggestive design with a highly feminine touch.


Lobby and hallway Findlay and Bruges have determined that guests must play with the space, discover it for themselves and, through this interactivity, discover themselves as well. First of all, the lobby features a bench in the shape of a small maze, bulbous in appearance. This is a project just waiting for the guest to join in. It is an interactive conception of the space, one of the premises underlying the work of both designers. Fibre optic panels have been designed for the lobby, which Bruges calls Memory Wall and which capture the guests’ movements only to later project a distorted image of them over the panels made with points of colour. The ceiling is stretched canvas curving outwards, creating a bulbous structure. In the hallways, the designers have created what they call Flock Wallpaper, which reacts to the movement of whoever is walking down the hall. Two projects created exclusively so that guests interact with the space and enjoy themselves.


Rooms The most singular feature of the rooms is that Findlay refused to consider walls or doors. Everything has a highly feminine touch, since the separation between the spaces is made through simple, sweeping white curtains that separate the bathroom from the room. The entire room is white and forms a single space. Depending on how it is approached, the bathroom is on one side, the closet on the other and the bed is always towards the back of the room. In certain cases, the architect has placed a single bed that does not touch the floor, as it is suspended from the ceiling via a steel structure; the headboard also acts as a desk. Several round lamps confer light. At the foot of the bed in the window looking out onto the façade, the architect takes advantage of the space for designing a divan with cushions that span the entire window. The entire space within the room is thus liable to being used. The television, placed over the bed, is flush with the ceiling. The floor is made of resin and the walls and ceiling of painted wallboard. The bathroom is quite simple. The bathtub, round in shape, entices guests into sensual, relaxing baths, reinforced by the curved lines of the curtains, with a large shower head embedded in the ceiling. The toilet is the only part that is clearly separated by means of a translucent glass door with a small opening that acts as a handle.


Ninth floor. Richard Gluckman. Boxes of colours


Concept/idea Gluckman's idea is inspired by the “box within a box” concept, which helps to organise the approach to the different activities that can be carried out in such a small area as this. The goal is to distinguish the experience of being in a hotel from that of being at home. To this end, industrial materials such as aluminium, plastic and glass are used in quite unfamiliar ways. Gluckman's concept is surprising due to its simple organisation of space and its luminosity, in addition to the absence of any superfluous elements.


Lobby and hallway This area has an industrial appearance. The hallways look as if they belong in a factory or a recently installed office and, to reinforce this sensation, fibre cement has been used on the ceiling and walls of the lobby and hallway, while the floor is covered with wool carpeting. The only lighting in the hallway comes from the top of the doors to the rooms and the room numbers, illuminated with an LED in the floor. Grey predominates, typical of a factory-like area. The room directory is a back-lit panel with translucent glass, spanning from the floor to the ceiling and located at the entrance to the hallway. The architect plays with light and colours to guide guests to their rooms.


Rooms The room concept is different from that of the hallway. Here the aim is to achieve a simple decor but with a touch of colour. The most outstanding feature is a wall of translucent glass containing four methacrylate niches. Gluckman has differentiated the rooms by changing the colour of the niches. The half on the north side are blue, and the half facing south are yellow. The biggest box, in the middle of the room, houses the television. To the left is the telephone box, which also serves as a writing desk. To the right are two other boxes with different uses, such as for putting drinks drinks, a notebook, glasses or wallet. The bed's headboard is blue, and the wall is finished in grey fibre cement, as in the hallway. Gluckman has continued to provide an industrial touch, but here it is a little more sophisticated. As he himself has explained, he has combined rich materials, such as methacrylate, with others which he calls poor, such as fibre cement, without the result being either contradictory or artificial.


The bathroom, the first thing you see when you enter the room, is a large glass box, with a sliding door separating it from the bedroom by means of a white metal curtain. The floor and one of the walls of the bathroom are finished in Spanish granite. It is like taking a shower in the open air, under a waterfall or in the middle of a stream in the Madrid mountains. Gluckman plays with textures in his quest for colour and different sensations. There is a more urbane and technological look provided by the methacrylate, and another, more natural look, achieved with the granite. Lastly, he has chosen the Sunset chair by Christophe Pillet for Capellini, upholstered in red or blue velvet, with a comfortable, simple appearance.


Tenth floor. Arata Isozaki. Japanese tradition


Concept/idea In this space, Arata Isozaki seems to blend reality and fiction with a meticulously chosen combination of colours and materials, providing guests with a sensation of tranquillity and well-being in an area that stands out for its formal levity. Isozaki has brought the customs of his culture to the tenth floor of the Hotel Puerta América using premium materials. Guests discover a space full of oriental references, all gradually revealed as they undertake different activities within their room, such as taking a bath, opening a panel or watching TV.


Lobby and hallway The key idea for these two areas is contrast. The lobby is a decagon painted with a special white scraped paint and tiled in marble, in stark contrast with the dark grey paint used along the hallways, which is also rough to the touch, as well as the black chosen for the wool carpeting. The effect is as if something hidden is awaiting the guests after the white lobby, although the aim of both highly minimalist spaces is to provide a feeling of tranquillity and mental calm.


Rooms The Japanese tradition in the home, featuring minimalism, tranquillity and well-being, seem to be the ideas governing the interior design of the rooms. Dark colours predominate, although the area is nonetheless spacious and well-lit. Each detail transports the client to a typical Japanese room. Wooden panelling at the large window looking out onto the façade, known as shoji, crafted of stained oak and covered with a white gossamer fabric, is clearly reminiscent of the screens used in traditional Japanese houses. Opposite a small window, with a copper sheet inserted between two glass panels, visually separates the bathroom from the bedroom. The flat screen television is mounted on steel panelling, harking back to the altars in Japanese homes. Isozaki has also covered the mirrors in the entrance hall with panelling made out of the same wood as the rest of the room. The bed's headboard is made out of black-stained oak. A fluorescent tube located behind the headboard gently illuminates the special paint on the walls, also in grey as in the hallway.


The cool materials and colours contrast with the brightness and warmth of the bathroom, which is in marked contrast with the bedroom by means of the materials and colours employed. Isozaki has proposed a bathroom and shower made of hinoki wood, known for its light tones. This is a clear reference to the Japanese custom of having a shower before a bath. The floor is finished in white marble.


As a curious note, it is worth noting that in each of the two junior suites there will be two kimonos on display, but are not for use by guests They have been especially designed for the hotel by a Japanese firm. What is more, in the normal rooms there will be – available for guests – robes similar to kimonos, called yukatas.


Eleventh floor. The “good vibrations” of Javier Mariscal and Fernando Salas


Concept/idea "Simple solutions without formal showiness or major technical complications; contained, functional, long-lasting, attempting to create visual perspectives in a habitat viewed as multifunctional, not as a mere bedroom". That is how Javier Mariscal defines his work on the eleventh floor of the Hotel Puerta América. Mariscal is already very familiar with this type of design, as he is the designer behind the Gran Hotel Domine in Bilbao, located opposite the Guggenheim Museum and also part of the Silken Hotels.


Lobby and hallway As soon as you leave the lift, Mariscal's Cactus sculpture appears in the lobby. It is made out of coloured Corian and stands on a double platform of stainless steel and iron. In this area the carpet is orange, contrasting with the green chosen for the hallway, whose walls are covered with striped Formica. Throughout the hallway there are illuminated glass cabinets resembling transparent light boxes and displaying different objects also designed by Mariscal. The aim is to make the way to the rooms more engaging.


Rooms Inside the rooms, Mariscal (Valencia, 1950) acknowledges that he has tried to convey "good vibrations, a sensation of being in a comfortable space". His inspiration: "the functionalism of the 1950s, but without this having had too much influence afterwards."


Guests are presented with an area where the bathroom reigns supreme. The only enclosed area is the toilet booth, isolated by means of an ash wood trellis, which also simultaneously serves as a large lamp as it is backlit. At its back, the mirror supports the plasma TV screen. The white Corian work surface has a dual function; while in the bathroom it is used as a sink and general surface, in the living room it becomes a piece of furniture, finished in striped Formica and holding the bar, fridge and audiovisual equipment.


Large-scale colourful flower prints predominate in the bedroom, covering the headboard and closets, hidden behind a panel. The bed is located against the window. In this way, natural light hits it from behind and permeates the whole room. One of the sides of the bedroom is finished with a backlit wooden trellis, giving guests the feeling of being outdoors.


Outstanding features of the living space, between the bedroom and the bathroom, are the Coconut armchairs by George Nelson for Vitra, as well as the Swiss table by È for Padova, the AJ lamp by Arne Jacobsen for Louis Poulsen and the Stone carpet by Diego Fortunato for Nani Marquina.


As the designer explains, the goal was to create a space that "can be used by a lot of people who might not have the same tastes or needs". Precisely for this reason, Mariscal says that he has not tried to "perform an exercise in style, nor futurism. Quite the opposite - I have tried to achieve an anonymous character, without imposing the author's signature too much so that it will age well". This thought is reflected the mix of classics, such as Nelson's chairs, with more modern pieces such as the Fortunato carpet.


Mariscal declares himself to be particularly proud "of the versatility of the space and the distribution achieved by merging different uses within the same area". "It's very different from other commissions because this is a space that guests will take over for a certain period of time; it's their temporary home and we have to try to create a space pleasing to everyone who stays there".


Restaurant. Christian Liaigre. Latin inspiration At the entrance to the hotel, on the left, is the restaurant, called Lágrimas Negras or Black Tears. As soon as you enter, the backlit bar made of LG Hi-Macs catches your eye, decorated with abstract motifs. This piece really stands out at night. The enormous wine cellar is a unit made of aluminium and glass separating the restaurant from the kitchen which can hold 4,000 bottles, all in plain view. In fact, it is almost more a sculpture than a working wine cellar. The space has three areas: the restaurant, a lounge area where you can have a drink between mealtimes and a buffet in the upper part. In general, clients will be surprised by the spaciousness, with an eye-pleasing profusion of light colours and materials, such as the mirror covering one of the walls which goes completely unnoticed at night, as if it did not exist. Wood and leather also confer a warm ambience. Of particular note is the formal clarity and height of the ceilings, characteristic of all the areas on the ground floor, including the reception desk and the bar. Lamps are suspended over the tables from the ceiling, like large vines.


For this project, Christian Liagre, one of the leading French fashion and interior designers, has been inspired by his own particular view of the Spanish capital, which he sees as a heterogeneous city. He has therefore integrated different graphic details from the Spanish regions, including Andalusia, Galicia and Catalonia. Guests encounter a space decorated with fine woods which make it a cosy, comfortable place, such as the oak used for the doors and the slats protecting the area from too much light and sun from the outdoors, as well as the Caiscais stone floor. Liaigre is inspired by nature and tradition. In his opinion, the freedom to design the restaurant has been "the chance to make the type of totally Spanish restaurant I like".


Reception desk and meeting rooms. John Pawson Although this is a relatively small project in terms of area, with just 150 m2 in comparison with the 1,200 m2 for each floor, John Pawson has achieved an impressive space using a limited range of materials.


Pawson's reception is a place where wood predominates. As you enter the hotel, there is an initial area to sit down and read a newspaper, a quieter zone with a small decorative water fountain. Hidden behind a wooden panel is the reception desk and the hotel lifts. The aim of the wood is to create space, and the small opening reserved for the reception desk serves to reinforce the feeling of continuity.


The common areas include several large conference rooms, all separated by sliding panels and featuring exits to the outdoor terrace.


Cocktail bar. Marc Newson MARMO BAR The whole bar can be seen from the reception area thanks to the giant glass doors at its entrance. It is an American concept: providing a venue to see and be seen. This is an inviting, modern place to unwind. The first thing that catches your eye is its height, enhanced by 400 super-thin aluminium beams almost seven metres tall, with a five-centimetre gap between them. They are arranged to form a vertical line that magnifies the length of the bar, as well as its depth and rhythm. The bar is a single 8.25 metre long unit made of white Statuario Venato marble from the Carrara quarries, the original piece weighing in at around six tonnes. This piece was the first to be installed, even before the façade, due to its enormity. On either side there are two enormous openings or caves with white leather seats for clients desiring a little more tranquillity or privacy. The tables are mounted onto a leather platform. The Bardillo Imperiale grey marble of the floor is polished to a mirror-like finish. The wall leading to the outdoor terrace is made entirely of glass, so you can see what is happening outside from inside of the bar. It is a generous area with a white floor, a simple zone, with several glass panels featuring the Hotel Puerta América logo separating it from the street. On another side is the garden, a very pleasant setting, ideal for a drink after work or after visiting the city. One chairs by the German designer Konstantin Grcic for the Italian design firm Magis have been chosen for the terrace.


Twelfth floor, façade and penthouse. Jean Nouvel The terrace and bar prevail on the hotel’s penthouse floor, as do a special small pool and spa. But there is no doubt that this floor's true standout is its impressive views of Madrid. This is one of the reasons it is worth going up to the top of the hotel to enjoy these services. The views of the cityscape and the Madrid mountains are simply spectacular, the perfect place to enjoy a drink and relax after a day spent working or visiting museums. Nouvel has also designed a glass walkway that connects the different spaces, although it is not recommended for vertigo sufferers! A semi-circle with a glass floor, it reveals the whole façade of the hotel right down to the ground. Guests can enjoy the changes in colours provided by the awnings and the poem Freedom by Éluard, which covers the façade in various languages. This structure as serves as a finishing touch for the façade. Clients can also savour a bite to eat on this floor, with a lighter menu based primarily on less formal salads. On the façade, Nouvel plays with the premise of freedom, the cornerstone of the project, by displaying the poem Freedom by Éluard in various languages and in large letters printed on coloured awnings in red, yellow, orange and other colours, totally covering the Hotel Puerta América.


On the twelfth floor, the French architect has designed twelve suites where two names are of particular importance to the concept and design: the photographers Araki and Fleischer. As the original idea is that this floor be devoted to pleasure, the French architect has decided to use the walls to display the work of these two photographers, who play with interesting images of the human body and nature. Araki's photographs, which cover the rooms on the western side of the hotel, are notable for their expressive force. Those by Fleischer, which are completely abstract, cover the eastern wing. The larger suites have a guest room boasting views of Madrid, with a floor-to-ceiling glass wall looking onto the street. All the rooms feature a system of sliding panels with rails on the floor and the ceiling to allow guests to organise the space as they wish. In fact, the most individual feature of the rooms is that the clients themselves can act as the architects, reorganising the area to suit their own tastes. Perhaps you would like a large bathroom or a spacious living area. The panels make all this possible.


Structures. SGA Estudio The hotel areas, their distribution and shape, in short, the entire structure of the Hotel Puerta América is the work of SGA Estudio, with Felipe Sáez de Gordoa at the helm. The hotel has two entrances. The main entrance is a raised orange pathway with vehicle entrance right up to the main doors. It is slightly lower than street level on the Avenida de América side of the building, enabling guests to arrive right at the entrance, where the reception deks and the common areas such as the restaurant and bar are located. The back or service access is located on Corazón de María street. "The hotel structure has a characteristic dihedral laminar shape (150º) of fourteen floors, with two adjoining cylindrical bodies on the ground floor: the front (covered entrance canopy) and the back (the meeting rooms surrounded by an outer gallery)", explains SGA Estudio.


Garden. Bourne + Bell. An oasis in the middle of Madrid B+B uk is a landscaping studio founded in 2002 by Harriet Bourne and Jonathan Bell, who have carried out projects all around the world. After having worked in other areas, both studied landscaping at the University of Greenwich. Their design idea is based on the principle that architects and designers should not impose their ideas on an area rather must discover the space's essential characteristics through ecology, landscaping, urban development and vegetation. This studio rejects pat labels, enjoys what it does and bases its strengths on highly detailed plans.


The two B+B projects at the hotel focused on designing an adjoining park as well as the lightweight pergolas on the terrace. These extend across the entire area and are covered in flowers in the summer to provide a refreshing ambience. They are simple and lightweight; the plants stand out while the pillars supporting them are completely invisible to the guest’s eye. This is a relaxing area that shelters guests from the hustle and bustle outside, where it is possible to sit in the shade for a moment during the day or to enjoy a drink at night in an unbeatable setting.


A pine grove surrounds the Hotel Puerta América. The first sensation is that the hotel cannot possibly be located in one of the busiest areas of Madrid. A system of concentric circles of vegetation has also been designed, extending throughout the adjoining park and designed as an ever-changing, surprising spot. This vegetation will serve as a kind of floral calendar, as all kinds of flowers will successively be in bloom from January to December.


Moreover, a fence made of strips of Corten steel, combined with a stone wall in some zones, shelters the area and lends an urban touch to this oasis in the middle of Madrid, which logically adapts seamlessly to the Hotel Puerta América’s environs. The whole ground of the park is covered in sand. Notably, this is the same sand as that used in bullrings, famed for its characteristic colour which also matches the hotel façade and the type of brick used in most of the surrounding buildings. Several wooden sculptures have been placed here, as have swings and benches for hotel guests and other people to enjoy this space. This is precisely the open, welcoming philosophy of the Hotel Puerta América.


Arnold Chan. Lighting Concept for all the hotel areas The lighting strategy for this unique hotel comprised two basic components of minimal intrusion to the architecture, with maximum rendering of the space. Our philosophy was to reveal the individual quality and character of each one of the suite floors and public areas of the hotel. This included the introduction, where appropriate, of a set of ‘common lighting elements’, which are characteristic of Isometrix’s approach to architectural lighting.


Starting with the landscape and the exterior of the hotel, the aim was to emphasise the colour of the hotel cladding and highlight selected features of the landscape design, both for amenity and visual interest. The iconic appearance of the hotel is evenly rendered at night with a vibrant palette of colours that glow softly from bright yellow to dark blue. At low level the texture of the walls and screens is accented to expose the boundaries of the hotel’s public realm.


The interior of the hotel responded to each designer’s requirements and individual approach to the brief. While the restaurant is illuminated using decorative pendants and recessed luminaires to bring intimacy to the ambiance, in contrast, the Hotel bar is rendered with glowing lights behind the aluminium fins and lighting slots along the floor. A slight colour accent is added to the upper aluminium feature, at night and as an extremely discrete feature, in order to avoid disruption to the strong language of materials and forms selected.


The lobby and conference rooms follow Pawson’s philosophy with clean ceilings and walls. The lighting is only present as indirect sources, which highlight screens, entrance points, or circulation spaces.


With regard to every level of the hotel, the lighting solutions mainly involved minimum visibility of the light sources, wherever possible. The primary elements of lighting are indirect coves, lighting slots and lighting integral to the furniture elements –crucial to the achievement of high quality in the project.


The choice of lamps was restricted with only light sources with the highest quality, in terms of colour rendition and light output, which are fundamental for the sought level of comfort in a five star hotel. There were few exceptions, where the character of the architecture demanded a different –and sometimes radical – lighting approach. In such cases the lighting is comprised of unusual sources like LEDs and fluorescent lamps. In all cases, the light sources had to be completely invisible and concealed in architectural details to maintain the elegance and discretion that Isometrix aimed for.


The lighting adds and compliments every architectural aspect contained within each expressed floor. The result of the lighting having a unified approach allows the distinct architects of a wonderful combination of colours, textures and dimensions to be materialised in twelve fantastic and unique hospitality environments together under one roof.


3. Restaurant and bars. José Luis Estevan. Quality and service for a five-star restaurant The Hotel Puerta América cuisine is another highlight. Head Chef, José Luis Estevan (who trained in the kitchens of Salvador de Moralzarzal and was formerly at La Broche, Zalacaín and Martín Berasategui’s restaurant in San Sebastián) explains that the menu is based on "traditional Spanish cuisine but reformed and stylised. It's solid cuisine, with feeling and flavours. The goal is for people to have enjoyed themselves by eating well and just the right amount". The Hotel Puerta América offers an a la carte menu with premium ingredients and aesthetic presentation. The hotel also has a gourmet tasting menu for guests to enjoy a host of different flavours and techniques, as well as a set menu, designed especially in the restaurant and based on seasonal products. The a la carte menu features cold dishes, such as consommé, tartare and goose liver foie gras; hot dishes, such as pasta, eggs, risotto and vegetables; fish, such as sea bass, tuna and hake skewers; and meat, such as poulard, pigeon and fattened or suckling pig.


Breakfast The breakfasts are also carefully prepared, with all the pastries baked on the premises. The aim is for guests to enjoy a freshly baked croissant, buttery, light and soft. Eight different types of juices are also freshly squeezed (blood orange, beetroot, carrot, cucumber, green apple and more). There is also salmon, Iberian cured ham, different kinds of egg dishes, different kinds of exotic fruit and eight varieties of bread. "Service is also a key factor. Our aim is to treat clients exquisitely", says Estevan. Another key factor is teamwork. Around 25 people work in the kitchen, in addition to the serving staff. Lastly, yet another highlight of the restaurant is its placement of olive oils on a special pedestal, in an effort to promote this traditional Spanish product.


4. Details and services of the Hotel Puerta América


Basic information Distance from Madrid-Barajas airport: 8 km Nearest bus stop: 100 m Avenida de América intersection: 400 m


Principal facilities Underground, secure car park Garden Indoor swimming pool Sauna Business centre Bar and café Restaurant Airport shuttle Convention centre Wi-Fi system Internet hook-up Disabled access


Staff Manager: Javier Tobar Head chef: José Luis Estevan Communication manager: Paula Pardo PR: Alejandra Fernández-Jardón Events: Bárbara Rodríguez International sales manager: Elisa Pérez National sales manager: Eva García


The Hotel Puerta América has 342 bedrooms, comprising of 308 premium rooms, 22 junior suites (larger than the premium rooms) and 12 suites, which are located on the 12th (top) floor.


Prices range from 200 euros per room per night (based on weekend leisure package rate) to 300 euros for single and double rooms, 560 euros for junior suites and 1,500 euros for suites in high season (prices valid for 2005). The hotel offers a babysitting service for hotel clients with small children.


All Hoteles Silken establishments boast a common denominator: exquisite guest care and impeccable service. Fifty percent of the chain's hotels have obtained the ISO quality certificate, and all boast state-of-the-art technology, such as high-speed wireless Internet hook-ups and Wi-Fi, as well as online booking. Hoteles Silken operates a website www.hoteles-silken.com with a real-time booking system with an online confirmation and pricing system, as well as virtual visits to the hotels. The facilities and services are designed to offer the utmost comfort and to make guests’ stay as pleasant as possible. In total, guests at the Hotel Puerta América have around 140 professionals at their disposal.


Inlcuding this hotel, Hoteles Silken manages 4,600 rooms in thirty hotels located in different Spanish cities. It also has another ten hotels currently under development which will join the chain within the next two years. In May, its first hotel outside Spain was opened in Brussels, boasting four stars and 212 rooms, located just twenty metres from the European Parliament building. At the end of 2006 another five-star hotel will open in London, located in the heart of the city. By the end of this year, Hoteles Silken expects to achieve a turnover of 124 million euros.


Club Silken Every time a client stays at a Silken hotel, he or she can accumulate courtesy points which can be used for free stays at any hotel operated by the company. Become a member of Club Silken by completing a form available at all th

HOTEL PUERTA AMERICA

Zaha Hadid Architects as Architects

Hotel Puerta America allowed us full autonomy to design a floor of its property, comprising 30 rooms and all common parts. Our masterstroke, in response to clichéd hotel rooms, was to explore the fusion of elements, forms and textures, where floors, walls and furniture become one continuous surface; one seamless skin.


Every single element merges and flows, from bedroom doors with LED lights, bathtubs and vanity units to beds, shelves and chairs. Even a cantilevered bench by the window of each room, which doubles up as a table, follows the same graceful form, rounded in single curved sweep. Colour also becomes a unique element of the design scheme, where guests can opt for an alpine white or black bedroom, or choose their own combination:white bedroom, black bathroom; black bedroom, white bathroom; or black bedroom and a signature orange bathroom.

Hotel Puerta América

PLASMA STUDIO as Architects

Hotel Puerta America is a radical new design hotel in Madrid. A different architect/interior designer of international standing was commissioned to create each floor of the hotel, giving free rein to their creativity in the development of the rooms and floor as a whole. The list of invited designers includes Foster and Partners, Zaha Hadid, David Chipperfield, Jean Nouvel, Arata Isozaki, Ron Arad, John Pawson etc. The hotel has 13 floors with 30 rooms, 1200 sqm per floor. Plasma Studio was commissioned for the fourth floor.


Hotels are usually characterized by linear bands of repetitive units with anonymous, undifferentiated corridors that contradict the hotels’ ambition to treat each guest as an individual. For the design of level 4 of Hotel Puerta America, we used this repetitive rhythm of partition walls, service ducts and entrance doors as a sectional framework from which a differentiation of the corridor skin was devised. In other words, the perpendicular partition walls were pulled along their axis, while the entrance doors produced resistance. In addition to this radical geometry, we introduced a colour gradient with an LED light seam that gradually changes.


In this way each section of the corridor has its own unique character. Its colour is continued into the adjacent rooms so that guests develop an intuitive sense of their place within the floor


THE VORTEX This conscious intensification of experience within the circulation areas culminates in the knot: the area where both corridor wings fold into each other to create a vortex, forcing the ceiling to dip down and form a cocoon: a bracket in space and time from where projections of Madrid’s daily routine can be seen flickering whilst waiting for the lift.


THE ROOMS The rooms have been designed as a zone that links the artificial intensity of the trembling stainless steel tunnel with the exterior behind the plate glass window. Reverberations of the corridor in colour, material and geometry are employed not to destabilize, but to organize, to define the usual functions and to accommodate comfort and wellbeing.


The room’s entrance area is shaped as a funnel towards the view through the window. Many visual relationships are projected onto the subtle geometry of the ceiling folds.

Project Credits
Products used in this project
Product Spec Sheet

ElementBrandProduct name
ManufacturersVilleroy & Boch AG
ManufacturersBolidt
Product Spec Sheet
Manufacturers
Manufacturers
by Bolidt
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