The design of the 38 rooms is directly inspired by the history and character of the original Art Deco building, and by the contemporary life of the ancient city in which it is located.
The main challenge of the project lay in the re-working of the layout of the building. Originally built to house retail space, offices and apartments in an era that gave little thought to the future legacy of buildings, the structure was arranged to suit the use intended at the time. The resulting irregularity of the building’s structure required an innovative approach to re-organising the layout so that it’s new use would work within it. More recently the building interior has been stripped back leaving only the façade and structural elements to provide the clues to its history and to direct our design decision making.