The access to the hotel, from the village is along a public street, while from the east side along a public pedestrian that also leads to the reception area. The building’s floors are connected through a network of open staircases and passages that flexibly and optimally integrate the private and public areas on their individual levels.

Neo Hotel is located on the edge of the extension of the village of Fira in Santorini, a residential area densely built.
The L shaped plot is part of a building block, has a slight inclination and view to the North & East towards the sea and to the South & West towards the village.
The building consists of two floors on separate levels and a basement. There are 12 rooms on the ground floor, 8 rooms on the first floor, while on the basement, within the existing stone berm, someone can find, the reception, the restaurant, the spa/gym and supplementary spaces of the hotel.

The aim of the design was the creation of a composition of rooms-cubist prisms, with reference on the scale and form of the existing white cubist architecture of the village as also on the logic of puzzle matching Tetris-type shapes.
This composition through the creative reinterpretation and interrelation of the above reference points, in the context of the discrete integration of the building into its surrounding residential environment, of the accomplishment of the desired view and microclimate based on the orientation and of the coverage of the demanding functional needs of modern hospitality use, leads to the formation of a dynamically balanced net of forms and spaces with a clear architectural identity.

The typology and placement of the hotel rooms borrows from the shapes and logic of the Tetris game.
Blocks of rooms in the shape of a square, rectangle, L, Z & T are stacked horizontally and vertically, fit, touch or mismatch, forming equivalent voids of outdoor spaces with various view points and passages of natural light.

In the same direction moves the design and grouping of the openings of the individual blocks, through which the interior opens to the exterior areas, further contributing to the fluidity of the spaces and actions.
Correspondingly, inside the white interior spaces, each type of room contains a smaller size and similar shape & colour of block of sub-space (bathroom, kitchenette, etc) or fixed furniture(wardrobe, beauty desk, staircase, etc) as well as furniture, artificial lighting and decoratifs that also diffuse into the outdoor spaces, between free-standing, dividing walls under the shade of perforated pergolas.

Arte Surfside | ACPV ARCHITECTS | United States

Project name: Arte Surfside

Construction company: ACPV ARCHITECTS

Principal Architect: Antonio Citterio、Patricia Viel

Project location: United States

Designed by Italian cross-disciplinary practice Antonio Citterio Patricia Viel, Arte is an eleven-story luxury residential development that comprises 16 luxury condominium residences on the sunny oceanfront of Surfside, Florida. Its architecture addresses the urban streetscape–the leisurely character of hospitality and residential buildings along Collins Avenue–and the building’s exposure to the beach on the east side. “The building and the setting are intrinsically connected to one another. We strive for this in every project, but rarely is it achieved to this extent.” – Antonio Citterio The requirements of the site area are balanced by the symmetrical stacking of the building components articulated around the central east-west axis. These elements are extruded along the length of the building and represent themselves in an almost identical way on the east elevation as they do on the west.

Arte keeps the complexity of an urban building located in a historical context while providing wide and open views to the ocean. Protective yet fragile in nature, the architecture of the residences celebrate outdoor living in a uniquely Italian fashion. “We created an approach to the building that emphasizes the very special relationship between the urban environment and the beach. Very few buildings in Miami do this.” – Patricia Viel Horizontally, the massing of the 105,500 sf (9,800 sqm) building is articulated by a series of terraces which create outdoor spaces while allowing for the building mass to elegantly ‘step back’ in a manner that aligns with the zoning requirements. Alluding to historical precedents in Miami-Dade & Surfside, exquisite materials such as travertine, bronze colored finishes and glass create a contemporary outlook for the new development. Located on the opposite side of Collins Avenue, the amenities and services building includes a spa, a tennis court and a clubhouse. The interaction between the urban context, the architecture, and nature formulates the interior spaces in a careful harmony of seclusion and transparency. With landscaped terraces that offer unobstructed views to the ocean, each residence is conceived as a private space that evokes a sense of understated and informal luxury. Arte draws a unified composition of textures in bronze, wood, stone and glass, carrying impressions of warm homeliness on the beachfront of Surfside, Miami.

InDéfense & Hôtel OKKO | 3XN Architects | France

Project name: InDéfense & Hôtel OKKO

Architect: 3XN Architects

Project location: Kim Herforth Nielsen、SRA Architectes

Project location: France

Steps away from Paris’ bustling business district and the Grand Arche de La Défense, the InDéfense & Hôtel OKKO project combines office and hotel program in a single unique, faceted structure.

3XN is proud to share its first completed project in France, a 16,000 sq m office building and hotel in Nanterre, France. Developed by VINCI Immobilier and realized in collaboration with Paris-based SRA Architectes, the two-building project anchors the growing Les Groues district in Nanterre and boasts views onto La Défense and the Grande Arche.

“As the first shape you encounter when arriving from La Défense, this building had to be eye-catching and dynamic”, says 3XN Founding Partner Kim Herforth Nielsen. “The faceted façade and shifting volumes make it a standout in the busy district. The concept – two distinct but complementary designs – is unique in the area.”

In a single 16,000 sq m structure, the building combines a mixed program open to the city. Within the office building and hotel, collaborative spaces and a wide range of food options are available to users, while food venues open to the public participate in the animation of the street and the neighborhood on the ground floor. 

The project’s two programmatic elements, a hotel and an office building, are separated but adjoined along their east-west axis. Where Hôtel OKKO, clad in semi-reflective aluminum panels, remains an unbroken mass, the InDéfense office building is split and shifted into smaller masses, each pushed in or extruded to open the long and narrow site to its surroundings and add depth to the façade.

A sheltered agora, used as a bike parking at the ground level, links the two buildings and is punctuated by a spiral stair. A mural, visible from the street, will be installed on the side wall of that space aiming to encourage curiosity and bring art to the city.

Distinctive Façades

Together, the façade’s angled and tinted aluminum cassettes give it a nearly lenticular quality, appearing glassily transparent or colorfully metallic depending on the viewer’s perspective, the time of day, and even the season. Within the context, the reflective façade of the Hôtel OKKO stands out of the context and gives the program its own identity, while the distinctive bronze-tinted façade of the InDéfense building brings warmth and atmosphere in the neighborhood.

InDéfense

The visual transparency of the open atrium spaces allows for easy visual access across the building, facilitating knowledge sharing and encouraging social interaction across floors and departments. Visible from the exterior on the north facade, the spiral staircase that links the floors echoes its exterior twin and highlights the complementary architectural nature of the project.

Stairs connect more than floors

The building is organized around an interior spiral staircase set within an atrium adjacent to the full-glazed north façade. Those stairs are designed to encourage interaction, communication and knowledge sharing among the colleagues sat across the building’s floors. The staircase, which alights on each level adjacent to elevator lobby, requires passing through the floor’s shared landing – facilitating opportunities for interaction between colleagues separated across the floors.

The façades of the office building are designed with openings for ventilation cuts integrated within the opaque cassettes (through a perforated side-panel) to offer a “clean” design made of solid panels and large glass panels with no visible frames. The checkerboard composition of the façade contributes to thermal regulation and creates a light and shadow effect in the work spaces, enhanced by the « californian » blinds, which allow users to adjust the occultation and are reminiscent of the facades’ architectural style. Between the boulevard de La Défense and
the railway, the structure and the façades of the buildings are designed with a high level of performance in terms of vibrations and acoustic performance.

Masseria Belvedere | Valari | Italy

Project name: Masseria Belvedere

Construction Company: Valari

Chief Architect: Nicolo Lewanski

Designer team: Nicolo Lewansk、Federica Russo、Domenico Sasso

Project location: Italy

The Valari firm has recently finished a requalification project of Masseria Belvedere, a large 1600s farm in Contrada Belvedere, in Carovigno, in the d’Itria Valley.

Located within a hectare and a half of land, which includes a centuries-old olive garden and ample view over the Adriatic coast, the masseria presents an L-shaped structure made entirely of stone and all its spaces are vaulted.

The restoration project stems from the desire of the client to identify an investment opportunity in Puglia’s tourist sector, particularly for a foreign medium-high target, and that would offer a holiday home for large family groups or company retreats.

The architects Domenico Sasso, Nicolò Lewanski and Federica Russo, who are partners of Valari explain that “As opposed to classical architectural firms, with Valari we want to offer a vaster service, which not only takes advantage of our planning capacities, but also of our managerial ones, together with our deep knowledge of the territory: management of on-sight inspections, interaction with agencies, taking charge of all the preliminary phase of choosing the allotment; therefore being a fully-fledged consultant aside of the client, which is the way we think the role of the architect should evolve in this kind of project and what we did for the Masseria Belvedere project”.

The project curated by Valari has consisted in the refurbishing of Masseria Belvedere’s building, which extends, partially on two levels, for 500 sqm and that now hosts 8 double bed rooms and 8 bathrooms in the existing two-storey volume. It also envisages a yoga room on the ground floor and a games room with cocktail bar. The ground floor, overlooking the sea, hosts the day area, a single space on two levels that follows the rock’s slope and includes a kitchen, a dining room and a sitting room.

Outside, the infinity pool runs parallel to the day area and to the sea-view horizon. Next to it, a solarium, a fireplace, an outdoor kitchen and a second dining and sitting area. On the first floor, the terrace from where to enjoy the sunset, hosts the Jacuzzi.

Four Seasons Hotel Montreal | Lemay | Canada

Project name: Four Seasons Hotel Montreal

Construction company: Lemay

Principal Architect: Louis T. Lemay

Designer team:Louis T. Lemay、Jean Pelland、Zebulon Perron、 Patrick Gilles

Project location: Canada

Four Seasons Hotel Montreal brings back the city to the forefront of the global luxury hotel conversation. Architecture and design highlight Montreal’s first luxury hotel in decades.
Sensual and elegant interiors by Gilles & Boissier and Philip Hazan. MARCUS Restaurant: modern spaces designed by Atelier Zébulon Perron for chef Marcus Samuelsson. Emblematic eight-floor art installation by Montreal sculptor, Pascale Girardin. Lemay and Sid Lee Architecture contemporary style.

The thoughtfulness and imagination of the team’s creative minds imbues every corner of the hotel’s unique social ecosystem, which englobes graceful and sensual modern guest rooms; lively dining and drinking environments; a spa and wellness sanctuary; the city’s newest venue for top level business meetings and glittering social galas; and an exclusive community of private residences in the heart of Montreal’s Golden Square Mile, steps away from the city’s best shops, galleries, restaurants and museums.

The building by Lemay and Sid Lee Architecture - The elegance of a gold chain on a classic black dress

Designed by Lemay and Sid Lee Architecture, the Four Seasons Hotel Montreal building combines classic elegance and contemporary style. The eighteen-storey multifunctional building includes a 169-room hotel and 18 private residences. It makes an iconic statement with its streamlined, uniquely offset volumes and richly textured accents that embody luxury and refinement.

Boldly swathed in black, the tower captures light differently on each floor and interacts with Montreal's ever-changing skyline and seasons. The façade’s main volumes are divided according to its functions by a golden bas-relief that folds inwards and spreads vertically, creating a thin blade in the centre of the building that alters its visual aspect. The dark colour of the glass lays a delicate veil over the interior spaces and creates a subdued appearance at nightfall, framed by granite side façades that reflect the rhythm of the glass panels as their textures come to life with the changing ambient light.

Mumian Chengdu | CCD | China

Project name: Mumian Chengdu

Construction Company: CCD

Principal Architect: Joe Cheng

Project location: China 

“The 24 City is blooming with cotton roses, which has always been a stunning sight to see in Chengdu. I take pride in the city, for nothing else but its bygone days of glory.” – From 24 City

24 City, a documentary directed by Jia Zhangke, tells the story of Factory 420 in Chengdu, which has been developed into 24 City by CR Land. The movie has stirred the reminiscences of countless locals.

In the late 1950s, large-scale arsenals and heavy industries were transferred to Southwest China amid the country’s Third-Front Construction campaign. During this period, Factory 111 in Shenyang, a city in Northeast China, was moved to Chengdu as Factory 420. Located in Shuangqiaozi, the factory used to be one of the largest enterprises in China’s defense industry, boasting nearly 20,000 workers in its prosperous time.

A participant in China’s industrial development, Factory 420 also embraced the traditional refined, laid-back lifestyle of the city. A witness of the joys and sorrows of ordinary people, it also marked the glory of the old days and the determination, hard work, and unyielding spirit of the special period. It was a symbol of pride and honor as well as a testimony of youth.

In 2007, the well-known factory in Chengdu was dismantled. The land on which it stood was obtained by CR Land in a bid and was developed into a project currently known as 24 City. The chimneys of the old factory have long gone, but memories about Factory 420 are still vivid for numerous people who have lived the history.

Old memories echoed in a new development

“For some people, it evokes memories about growing up, while for others, it is the symbol of home.”

For ancient Chengdu, 24 City marks the future. For today’s Chengdu, it represents the tradition and the history of the older generations.

A participant of history, the site, where Mumian Chengdu stands, has evolved beyond the limit of time. It is not only a witness to Chengdu’s booming industries, but also a signature of 24 City, a celebration of culture and history valued by CR Land.

The legendary history of the site has become a source of creativity. With the utmost respect for the past, CCD drew inspiration from the lifestyle of literati in ancient Chengdu and the history of 24 City. They engraved the area’s historical and cultural essence into the hotel, thus unveiling a brand-new chapter.

The designers believe that the value of everyday life is truly relished only after experiencing ups and downs. They hope to create a space that offers a poetic lifestyle and subtly inspires appreciation for the city’s culture.

A new chapter unveiled amid a bustling old neighborhood

While imbued with a sense of nostalgia for the bustling old neighborhoods of Chengdu, the hotel also offers an exceptional modern guest experience. The new and the old, the present and the past, time and space overlap with each other. It narrates a tale that began years ago, a narrative that continues to evolve with twists and turns, bound by an everlasting journey with no final chapter in sight.

The purity and easiness found in nature are introduced into the project. The outdoor landscape and the interior harmonize with each other, infusing a sense of relaxing tranquility into the space.

The initial concept for the project was to craft a space of art that incorporates antiquity with modernity. The designers rebuilt the original structure using oriental architectural elements, adorning it with soft lighting and crafting a sophisticated, relaxed atmosphere.

The artworks on the reception desk are inspired by the red walls of Wuhou Temple and the bustling streets next to the city’s East Gate. The elements of luxuriant bamboo, red walls, and bustling neighborhoods serve as profound symbols not only representing the historical capital of the ancient Shu Kingdom but also offering a wellspring of creative influence for contemporary art.

The land, on which the hotel stands, is like a piece of amber that seals the cultural legacy of Chengdu. It has documented and displayed the most beautiful memories about the city. Local cultural heritages become valuable art pieces for display, leaving the imprints of Factory 420 amid the changes of Chengdu.