design et al are delighted to announce that DESALLESFLINT have been shortlisted for Lobby/Public Areas Award in The International Hotel and Property Awards 2018.
The Puro Hotel Gdansk is situated at Granary Island, in the heart of the city. The hotel offers 211 guest rooms, 9 suites, conference rooms, comfortable lounging spaces, the Dancing Anchor restaurant, the Ink Above roof top bar and the Prisma spa. London based interior design practice DeSallesFlint were selected by Puro Hotels to create their new hotel in the Baltic city of Gdansk. Puro is an emerging, innovative hotel group led by Rune Askervold, who is developing an exciting stand out hotel brand, operating in Poland with aspirations for more openings across Europe.
DeSallesFlint were honoured and excited to be asked to design the Puro Hotel Gdansk. Puro is an exciting and innovative group and it was imperative that the Gdansk hotel reflected the established DNA of Puro, yet still breaking new ground. The design brief was to create a hotel which belonged to the city, attracting local custom as well as attracting the independent, discerning, and international travellers. DeSallesFlint wanted to generate an excitement and buzz about the new hotel in Puro’s collection. PURO Gdansk’s unique conferencing space sits in an eight-story high atrium, an area designed to inspire and intrigue. It offers cosy corners in which to enjoy the curated book collection, work and play or simply follow the narrative of the Puro surroundings.
The Dancing Anchor Restaurant is a real gem. Sitting within a theatrical / industrial space, with hanging ropes, blown glass lights, steel and oxidised metals, blended with over scaled hanging curtains, linens, cottons, and leathers, set against a contemporary colour palette and amazing original artwork. Dancing Anchor is created with rediscovery of favourite sea-side, pork and chicken dishes in mind; the restaurant accomplishes its mission thanks to honest, locally sourced ingredients. The top floor bar is very special, it is the late-night heart of the hotel, with the most amazing views across Gdansk and in the far distance you can see the cranes of the old Gdansk shipyard, completing the hotel narrative very nicely.
There are two large atriums in the hotel, both a design challenge. The larger atrium was only envisaged open and visible from 1st floor and above. DeSallesFlint wanted a view all the way down to the ground floor restaurant, connecting all spaces of activity. Because of fire separation and acoustic issues between floors the idea of opening up a view through the building was not allowed. DeSallesFlint persisted and in the end designed “The Shed”, a steel and glass structure above the ground floor restaurant, almost like a greenhouse, allowing dramatic views up from the restaurant, views down into the restaurant from the conference floor and even more dramatic views down from the top floor bar, truly connecting all the spaces and activities of the hotel.