PROJECT SPOTLIGHT FOUR SEASONS HOTEL
TYPE: Hotel LOCATION: Baku, Azerbaijan
PROJECT ARCHITECTS: ReardonSmith. Richmond International – Interior Design; Ural Engineering – Structural Engineering; MMM – Mechanical & Engineering.
In a city where East meets West and where sculptured high-rise towers co-exist with centuries-old buildings, the Four Seasons, designed by ReardonSmith, references the French Beaux-Arts style of the late 19th Century. Situated on a prestigious but constrained plot at a crossroads overlooking the Caspian Sea, the key to unlocking the site proved to be the location of the main entrance on the sea-facing elevation, together with the creation of a colonnade the length of the façade. The efficient street level plan was a significant influence on the scale of the building. The ground floor
plan inside flows from the exterior. Designed on a primary and a secondary axis, the layout means that guests arriving in the entrance lobby in the centre of the building can see at a glance the key public areas to each side, including the all-day dining restaurant, a bar and lounge areas, and the lift lobby ahead. A feature staircase takes guests to the first floor, which is entirely dedicated to banqueting. There are a total of 175 guestrooms and suites. All the guestrooms are very generously sized with an average footprint of 52 sq metres and, since the corridors are single loaded, each room offers a view of either Baku or the Caspian Sea, completing the luxury experience. This plan resulted in a space in the centre of the seven guest floors within which ReardonSmith has designed a stunning “Roman basilica” soaring to a height of 12 metres under a vaulted ceiling and housing a large swimming pool. The building is clad in local, pale-toned stone and has a pre- patinated copper roof.
12 | Architects Choice |
ArchitectNews.co.uk
Images: ReardonSmith
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