Tag: hotel development

• Parco de Principi, Sorrento

  Italian architect Gio Ponti is one of the most important architects and designers of the 20 century. An early adopter of modernism, he is credited with helping to renew Italian design after the Second World War through his design work, his writing, and his teaching.

  As many of us dream of one day traveling again (I am currently devising an elaborate list of adventures), I thought I would share one of his projects — the Parco de Principi Hotel in Sorrento, Italy.

  When it was completed in 1962, it represented a new kind of architecture for the town. Sorrento was ancient. The Parco de Principi was not. Ornament had been removed and its rooms consisted of largely two colors: white and blue.

  Here is a photo by Rich Stapleton:

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  In some ways this feels like a dreadfully obvious approach. Let’s celebrate and frame views of the Bay of Naples, and introduce the color blue while doing that. But the results are clearly anything but dreadful.

  Ponti was more than just an architect, he was more broadly a designer. His furniture and industrial designs are also widely celebrated. And this attention to detail at multiple scales can make all the difference in the world.

  For more photos of Parco dei Principi, click here.

  2020.04.04

• Rethinking Brutalism (in London)

  The Standard recently opened up its first international outpost in London. It’s a 266-room hotel housed in a 1974 Brutalist office building overlooking King’s Cross. London-based Orms (architect) was the lead consultant and they did an incredible job both preserving and modernizing the existing building.

  All of the existing windows were replaced, but otherwise the Brutalist exterior remains more or less intact.

  A tasteful 3 storey addition was placed on top of it, which required threading new steel columns through the existing waffle slabs. There’s a 1st floor transfer slab with concrete columns below it in order to pickup these new loads.

  

  A dedicated (and red) exterior shuttle elevator was also added to the north elevation of the building. This takes people up to the rooftop, which is a signature feature of all Standard Hotels.

  

  

  Brutalist architecture is experiencing a bit of renaissance right now. We are seeing people lament the demise of our concrete blocks from the 60s and 70s. Perhaps it’s because it’s a style/movement that is finally old enough for people to appreciate it. That’s often how these things work.

  The Standard in London is a perfect example of how this history might be both respected and repositioned.

  Images via Orms

  2019.11.02