design et al are delighted to announce that Alfaro-Manrique Atelier have been shortlisted for Hotel Under 50 Rooms – Global Award in The International Hotel and Property Awards 2018.
The design of Tabakalera House comes from the idea of keeping the personality of the building and the character of the city where the hotel lies. The history, the memory of the old Tabacco factory and its relationship with the city and the people of Donostia.
The industrial and monumental character of the building, with its high ceilings and open spaces, determined the course of the designing process, and the narration of its elements. The interior design was conceived as a balanced synthesis between both natures: the industrial character of the building itself enhanced with an elegant, stately approach that gives the artistically suggestive touch that relates it to the artistic centre in which it is located.
Primitive, natural, stunning, the chosen materials follow the same design concept of the project. Some of them, like the polished concrete finishing, comes from the former building; as a contrast, the richness and texture of wood facings invest the spaces with the necessary warmth. The range of colours between green aquamarines, emeralds, oil blue with warm touches in mustard or magenta in textiles and the richness of textiles: velvets, chenillas, natural leathers, joined to the use of textured woods in the execution of a furniture designed expressly for the hotel, pursuing that idea of unique, almost artistic elements that accentuate the sensation of sleeping in a museum residence. Alfaro-Manrique Atelier have carefully designed heterogeneous corners that dialogue together in a coherent landscape of greater dimensions. It offers a total experience linked to intimacy on the small scale and to the public and memory on the largest scale.
The design of the architectural spaces and interior design refer to the history of the building and give continuity through the artistic experience to the existing art centre in the building today. Alfaro-Manrique Atelier believe that the design creates a narrative in the interiors of a hotel and can provide a set of experiences to the visitor. The design tells the visitor a lot about the history of the building and can generate new stories for all its visitors, giving them comfort for all the senses, physical and emotional.