Light arrives in Bilbao to the rhythm of Art Dec
lighting project
Intercompany Drafting09/01/2022
An eclectic mix between Art Dec and Japanese airs is what has inspired DAAR ARCHITECTURE to turn the Radisson Collection Gran Va Bilbao Hotel into much more than accommodation: a warm and pleasant space, where you can enjoy all the light that does not reach the streets of the city.
The Radisson Collection Gran Va Bilbao Hotel occupies the former headquarters of Banco Hispano Americano. With a classic style, it plays with contrasts and lighting in its interior design.
Bilbao is a lively city, of people who go out to the streets and enjoy the gastronomy, museums and terraces, in short, the hustle and bustle, in what is becoming a meeting point for tourists, who are looking for a city with its own identity that combines the best of each house. However, it is not the brightest city in the world and it has undergone, perhaps in the last 30 years, a unique architectural transformation. For this reason, it is not surprising that the Radisson Collection Gran Va Hotel has wanted to collect that witness of progress and eclecticism that now surrounds the city, from the hand of the Daar Arquitectura studio.
From the outset, the building that the hotel occupies is a declaration of intent. It is a building originally built as the headquarters of the Banco Hispano Americano in 1945 in a neoclassical style. Contrasting with this style, the project takes as its starting point the Art Dec style found in relevant buildings in Bilbao from the same period, intentionally seeking that contrast between styles, based on a renewed Art Dec updated to the 21st century.
The black paneling in the reception area contrasts with the white of the ceiling, making a clear allusion to the Japanese oriental style.
The great commitment to natural light
The little light that usually exists in the city has meant that one of the objectives of the project was to provide all the hotel spaces with very careful and elaborate lighting. The golden reflections of the rays of light, which inspire the Art Dec style, together with the blue of the aquatic fluids, are similar to all the architectural monuments that stand among the streets, full of life, gastronomy and beauty of Bilbao, to Create warm and welcoming spaces.
In this way, in the reception, the stair railing is resolved in a compact way in gold and with double lighting at ground level, but also through suspended luminaires. While, at the entrance, different points of light play with the geometric shapes of the ceilings and floors, causing a multiplier effect on the experience. A transversal project where each area of the hotel is designed according to its use, where light gives continuity to the spaces and to the building as a whole.
On the roof is the restaurant area, whose lighting invites you to enjoy the impressive views of the city.
In the lobby, for example, noble materials such as walnut wood and black marquina marble of local origin have been chosen, mainly combined with small touches of brushed brass characteristic of the Art Dec style, which gives the space the lighting, uniqueness and exclusivity that characterizes the hotel. It is a project with numerous common uses developed in a reduced space and with the condition of doing it in a rehabilitated building. It should be noted that the restaurant located on the roof of the building is built with a completely transparent roof and has a spectacular terrace open to the city and its visitors.
A space endowed with a certain Japanese or oriental-inspired air, which in addition to walking the corridors of the hotel, there are also guides in different spaces of this establishment. In this way, it is perceived, for example, in the wooden paneling, which is also found in the spa or pool area, combining white and wood in the ceilings of the meeting rooms, or even as an extension of the restaurant. to the outside of the terrace.
The golden reflections of natural light in one of the hotel’s suites, with a marked Art Dec accent.
In the rooms, the Art Dec-style golden rays are continued to create different shapes. In this way, a pleasant sensation is generated in contrast to the furniture in blue tones and white walls, in combination with selected elements such as paintings and mirrors, which follow the same aesthetic line as the rest of the hotel spaces.
All these details will allow the Radisson Collection Gran Va Bilbao to use its style and elegance in the city: yet another attraction to visit.