w hotel
Interior design:
United Design Partnership
Photography
José Hevia
Place
Barcelona, Spain
At the end of the Barceloneta, at the very same edge of the sea, the majestic W Hotel stands up still, a colossal, sail-like figure 99 metres high.
In constant dialogue with its surrounding natural environment: thus it was conceived by its architect Ricardo Bofill. But not just him; the team in charge of its interior design turned also to this same environment: “Our inspiration came from the theme of ‘sky and sea by day and night’. The W lounge benefits from an iconic view of these two elements, coming together on the edge of one of the most vibrant cities in the world”.
Two live elements which experience endless metamorphoses depending on the moment of the day, as the London-based studio United Design Architects managed to capture in the lounge area of the hotel: “We wanted to reflect these beautiful, natural and vibrantly changing colours as well as taking into account Barcelona’s rich maritime history and the city’s social and playful party reputation”.
Blue, pink, purple, orange and indigo spill all over the fin screens on the walls replicating a sea bottom where the corals dream of octopuses, seahorses and ocean sunfishes. But not just the colour palette helps create this sensation of deep sea; also the organic shapes of the furniture evoke the plasticity and gaiety of the reef, from the transparent side tables which seem to float in the water stream like jellyfishes to the lamps recalling organ pipe corals and the carpets unfolding their colours like gorgonians.
In the middle of it all, Nautica swings stand out with their undulant rattan frame inspired by the reflections of sunlight on the waves, sometimes resembling swaying weeds that move to the rhythm of the tides. In the designers’ own words: “It is an invitation to have fun with its movement and its design”. This piece created by the Valencia-based studio MUT Design bursts with plasticity in an endlessly flowing space, where materials, textures and colours coexist in perfect symbiosis just like the inhabitants of the reef.
Interior design:
United Design Partnership
Photography
José Hevia
Place
Barcelona, Spain
At the end of the Barceloneta, at the very same edge of the sea, the majestic W Hotel stands up still, a colossal, sail-like figure 99 metres high.
In constant dialogue with its surrounding natural environment: thus it was conceived by its architect Ricardo Bofill. But not just him; the team in charge of its interior design turned also to this same environment: “Our inspiration came from the theme of ‘sky and sea by day and night’. The W lounge benefits from an iconic view of these two elements, coming together on the edge of one of the most vibrant cities in the world”.
Two live elements which experience endless metamorphoses depending on the moment of the day, as the London-based studio United Design Architects managed to capture in the lounge area of the hotel: “We wanted to reflect these beautiful, natural and vibrantly changing colours as well as taking into account Barcelona’s rich maritime history and the city’s social and playful party reputation”.
Blue, pink, purple, orange and indigo spill all over the fin screens on the walls replicating a sea bottom where the corals dream of octopuses, seahorses and ocean sunfishes. But not just the colour palette helps create this sensation of deep sea; also the organic shapes of the furniture evoke the plasticity and gaiety of the reef, from the transparent side tables which seem to float in the water stream like jellyfishes to the lamps recalling organ pipe corals and the carpets unfolding their colours like gorgonians.
In the middle of it all, Nautica swings stand out with their undulant rattan frame inspired by the reflections of sunlight on the waves, sometimes resembling swaying weeds that move to the rhythm of the tides. In the designers’ own words: “It is an invitation to have fun with its movement and its design”. This piece created by the Valencia-based studio MUT Design bursts with plasticity in an endlessly flowing space, where materials, textures and colours coexist in perfect symbiosis just like the inhabitants of the reef.
