Renaissance Barcelona Fira Hotel

In the Hospitalet de Llobregat district, by the south gates of Barcelona, a black and white twin tower 110 metres tall emerges from a garden of palm trees. This privileged space in Barcelona’s new Plaça d’Europa is a garden full of light and shade, delightfully fresh and cool. The Hotel Renaissance is an invitation to luxury, its entrance marked by a generous canopy of living green vegetation. Two external walkways tie the two buildings together along their entire height. The walkways host a luxuriant vertical landscape, bordered by the guestroom passageways and criss-crossed by terraces and staircases in an interplay reminiscent of Piranesi. At mid-height, a garden wreathes the building in a cold greenhouse, filtering the sun. Behind the greenery, the hotel restaurant can just be glimpsed. At the top of the building, a ring of palms rises over the terraces of the bedroom suites, and the fitness centre and swimming pool.

The east, south and west façades are luminous, white, almost blinding. The north face is matt black. There are no windows, only openings that stem from, and blend in with, the plant motifs screen-printed onto the glass and esgrafiados, or etched, into the concrete.

The material is ever-changing. Day and night, the leaves of the palm trees cast their shadows over the floors, façades and passageways. The light is either direct, filtered or reflected. Shadows are cast and silhouetted in a constant shadow play. The light is never still and creeps all the way into the rooms and over the walls and ceilings, curtains and sheets...

Each guest is able to find a space appropriate to their needs and pleasures among the three hundred and fifty-eight rooms, rooms that range from perfectly proportioned, hyperconnected ‘business’ rooms for people who might be conference delegates for a night, to ‘boudoir’ rooms for shared pleasures; from junior suites to suites where bedroom, bathroom and livingroom work in synergy and can be combined according to the guest’s desires. It’s another way of living your Barcelona sojourn.

Barcelona is one of the few cities in the world with a world-renowned architect as famous as Antoni Gaudí. We can witness his work throughout the city and the pride and joy of his architecture being alive almost a century ago after his death.Our design room sets a tribute to the work of Antoni Gaudi, both in the bathroom imagery, the carpets resembling the iconic tile design present in Paseo de Gracia, probably one of the most chic boulevards in Europe.

Gaudi is also present in patterns and accessories. The metal work in the bathroom resembles Gaudi metal iconic metal work present at many of his buildings sprinkled throughout the city.The dramatic lighting of the room takes its cue from Barcelona’ signature Mediterranean horizon. The lighting, stretching out of the walls towards the sky creates this dim infinite effect often experienced in Barcelona at dusk and dawn.

Another famous designer from Barcelona, Miguel Milá is present in our design, both on the desk and floor lamps. The special light fixture of the desk, called Cesta (basket) is one of his most awarded winning in the world designs. The palette chosen in fabrics, paints and wall surfaces is inspired on the subtle dialog of the mountain, the city and the sea, emphasizing grey, pale blue and green shades.

The photography selected depicts signature corners of the city. The collection resembles shots a guest might find at a local home rather that at hotel.
Our goal was to create an oasis, a small pied à terre in Barcelona for those traveling from abroad, a cocoon that embraces guests with respect and warmth and provides them with a subtle and sophisticated first glance of the city.

The Renaissance Barcelona Fira Hotel is one of those projects called to mark a before and after. First because it is the last tower that modifies the skyline of Barcelona, and second because it brings innovative aspects such as "the transparency of the building, the treatment of the facades and, above all, the interpretation of the plant world".

An interpretation designed by the famous French architect Jean Nouvel and his Spanish partner, the Ribas & Ribas office, which translates into 27 floors converted into "a natural refuge where palm trees and vegetation are transformed into architectural elements integrated into the structure of the building". Integration of nature and architecture is obviously not something new, but what differentiates this tower from 110 meters high is that, for the first time, the plant world is integrated into the structure of an establishment with these characteristics. This evolution of the vertical garden, located in the Plaza Europa - next to Fira Barcelona Gran Vía - is actually constituted by two towers linked by a panoramic restaurant and a viewing terrace.

Umetal and its Umetalcoat® technology becomes reality the wish of the author of the project, who creates an abstract design of vegetal ambience, with which he manages to amplify the real vegetation, achieving a vertical garden effect in its 110m height. The metal panels are composed of galvanized sheet trays with aluminum honeycomb cores. The galvanized sheet contributes to generate different effects of explosions of light that enrich and accompany the design. The glossy Umetalcoat® finish generates an optical illusion between the abstract design of palm trees and the very reflections of the vegetation on the panel.