Croatian Hotel : Architecture Information + Images

Hotel Lone - proposal, Rovinj, Croatia 2008- 3LHD architects, Zagreb Project name: Hotel Lone - Monte Mulini Rovinj Type: invited competition, winner Project start date: 09/2006 Location: Monte Mulini, Rovinj, Croatia Geolocation: 45°47'37'' N 15°56'37'' Aerial images: Freya Site area: 22,700 m2 Gross floor area: 26,290 m2 Footprint: 6,240 m2 Entry level: 22 m Client MAISTRA dd In June 2008 Hotel Lone became member of the Design Hotel AG Group, an international company with its headquarters in Berlin that promotes exquisite hotels of original and unique design. The hotel is designed according to 5-star standards with 253 accommodation units and additional facilities: - Congress center with a big auditorium consisting of three parts and having a capacity of 600 seats, small auditorium with the capacity of 100 seats, VIP lounge and meeting rooms - 3000 m2 wellness center - Restaurants and cafes (three theme restaurants, three theme bars, night club, a children’s club and shops) DESCRIPTION: Hotel LONE, Rovinj, Croatia Monte Mulini zone is the most attractive tourist zone in the city of Rovinj, situated on the western coast of Istria, characterized by a vast park-forest and hotel architecture from the 1970s, which over time has lost its envisioned exclusivity. Lone Hotel is situated in the park-forest of Monte Mulini, in the immediate vicinity of the Eden Hotel, the “star” hotel of the 1970s. The area surrounding the hotel is a unique and protected region of the Monte Mulini forest, whose preservation was a priority during the project's design. The hotel's identity is recognizable through the external design of the building with the facade that is dominated by horizontal lines – terrace fences designed as diagonal boat decks so that the ground plan becomes smaller at higher levels. The complex terrain with large altitude differences determined the disposition of internal facilities through a dynamic interweaving of public areas and accommodation units at all levels. The ground plan in the shape of the letter Y enabled a rational functional organizational scheme, a quality view from all rooms and the grouping of public facilities around a central lobby which is a vertical aerial space of the hotel. Thus was created a space of impressive height and size with interesting views in and around which all vital functions of the hotel take place. The surrounding atmosphere of the hotel was selected as the hotels’ signature visual element and should define all aspects of the hotel’s interior. With that in mind, the walls are intermittently covered with mirrors which reflect ambient light and Mediterranean greenery, thus pulling them deeply into the interior and filling it with the exterior. The light and open space of the lobby covered in white stone surfaces, beige-golden fabrics, oval lines of the fences and the furniture enhance the fluid character of the space and are in contrast with the intimate, subdued tones of the rooms and apartments wherein the atmosphere is calmer, materials warmer (wood and carpets), the colors darker and lighting dimmer. The entire design of the hotel is based on contrasts (black, white wood) and fabrics as the unifying element, varying from a fluid thin veil in the restaurant, through functional but dynamic wall coverings in the rooms, to the richly decorative mural in the lobby. Several young Croatian designers and artists took part in the creation of the hotel’s identity: a team of product designers Numen ForUse, fashion designers from the studio I-gle and conceptual artists Ivana Franke and Silvio Vujicic who designed the interior, furniture, lighting, decorative fabrics and installations. Furniture and the coverings made of massive wood were chosen for their pronounced materiality and the dignified aging of surfaces that can be restored easily. The overall impression of the interior design, as well as the general visual style of the hotel, shows evidence of a deep respect towards the achievements of hotel architecture from the previous century, combining it with a strong contemporariness expressed primarily in materials functions and typologies and consequently in forms. Considering that the owners’ intention is to make this hotel the leading destination in the fall and winter months of the Monte Mulini zone, the disposition of facilities enables activities and operations adapted to all seasons. The interior and the furniture are designed especially for the hotel in order to create a clear and recognizable identity. All services and accompanying facilities and their entrances, including the underground garage, are hidden from guests’ view. The hotel functions as a catering establishment, which encompasses diverse services with the common denominator of uncompromising luxury. Hotel Lone in Rovinj, Istria, Croatia images / text from 3LHD architects