A 20-sm hotel room does not provide the biggest canvas to try and create a unique and luxurious experience for guests, but that is all the space Morphosis had when redesigning a series of rooms for the House of Architects at 7132 Hotel in Vals, Switzerland.
The Los Angeles- and New York-based firm, after careful examination of the space, determined the customization of every aspect of the room was the best way to produce the bespoke, luxurious space they sought. Everything in each of the rooms, including the lighting, bed, furniture, and shower and wash basin, was custom-designed for the space.
The hotel itself is surrounded by alpine rock, earth, and greenery, and it is from these elements that the inspiration for the redesigned rooms was drawn.
Each room is wrapped in locally sourced natural materials; differing veins of Valser stone that varies in color, cut, and texture, or striations of oak sourced directly from the surrounding Graubünden forests. The result of these materials is a room that feels completely connected to the beautiful surrounding landscape.
The focal point of each room is a cold-formed, cast glass shower piece that is designed by Morphosis and fabricated by Circursa in Barcelona. The shower and wash basin, which has the appearance of a cryogenic pod seen in inestimable science fiction movies, acts as a nice juxtaposition to the abundant natural materials found in the room.
Morphosis redesigned 20 rooms for the hotel, 10 wrapped in stone and 10 in wood.
Photo: Morphosis Architects
Photo: Copyright Global Image Creation – 7132 Hotel, Vals.
Photo: Copyright Global Image Creation – 7132 Hotel, Vals.
Photo: Morphosis Architects.
Photo: Morphosis Architects.
Photo: Copyright Global Image Creation – 7132 Hotel, Vals.
Photo: Copyright Global Image Creation – 7132 Hotel, Vals.
Related Stories
| Aug 11, 2010
Gold Award: Westin Book Cadillac Hotel & Condominiums Detroit, Mich.
“From eyesore to icon.” That's how Reconstruction Awards judge K. Nam Shiu so concisely described the restoration effort that turned the decimated Book Cadillac Hotel into a modern hotel and condo development. The tallest hotel in the world when it opened in 1924, the 32-story Renaissance Revival structure was revered as a jewel in the then-bustling Motor City.
| Aug 11, 2010
Silver Award: Palmer House Hilton Hotel & Shops Chicago, Ill.
Chicago's Palmer House Hilton holds the record for the longest continuously operated hotel in North America. It was originally built in 1871 by Potter Palmer, one of America's first millionaire developers. When it was rebuilt after the Great Chicago Fire it became the first hotel in the U.S. to put a telephone in every room.
| Aug 11, 2010
Gulf Coast Hotel's Stormy Road to Recovery
After his initial tour of the dilapidated 1850s-era Battle House Hotel, Ron Blount, construction manager with Retirement Systems of Alabama, said to his boss: “You need a priest more than you need a contractor.” Those words were more prescient to RSA's restoration of the historic Mobile landmark than he could have known at the time.
| Aug 11, 2010
Lifestyle Hotel Trends Around the World
When the Rocco Forte Collection opens the Verdura Golf & Spa Resort in Sicily in early 2009, the 200-room luxury property will be one of the world's newest lifestyle hotels. Lifestyle hotels cater to guests seeking a heightened travel experience, which they deliver by offering distinctive—some would say avant-garde, or even outrageous—architecture, room design, amenities, and en...
