Buildings have their own unique life paths just like we humans have our own individual life paths from birth toward death. Houses emerge reflecting the characteristics of the current decade and century and ideally they a live long and colorful life. There are some buildings, however, that encounter tragic moments too and they decline and disappear. And then in the end – just like in the fairy tales – some of them survive and rise up from their ashes thanks to helpful human hands and collective power.
Casa do Conto (House of Tales) in Porto, Portugal has had a very similar life path too. The 19th-century bourgeois home was renovated and converted into a unique hotel three years ago with the supervision of Pedra Líquida architectural studio. Then all of a sudden, right before the hotel’s grand opening day in March 2009 the building had suffered a fatal fire. Only pain and questions remained. Nevertheless, the owners and architects did not give up their dreams and offered the Casa do Conto a new chance for an elegant life.
Today, Casa do Conto provides something extraordinary and embodies a new concept in the hotel industry: arts + residence. Stylish holiday break with plenty of cultural possibilities are offered to those guests who decide to take some rest among these walls. The striking designer hotel stands in Rua da Boavista in the trendy Cedofeita area in central Oporto.
Social areas of the house such as reception, lounge, dining room and garden can be found on the ground floor. The other three floors have two unique suites per floor. Every hotel room has a different atmosphere and decoration. The rare design items, carefully selected colors, vintage and modern furnitures manage to soften the dominant, grey concrete – and sometimes industrial – setting.
There is something else why the Casa do Conto is one of a kind. The carvings on the ceilings tell various stories and tales about the city and building. These narrations give a personality to each room and that is where the name derives from: ‘House of Tales’.
Another amazing house has risen up from its ashes – just like the legendary phoenix. We would like to think that good architecture can be immortal.
Old maritime cities ooze a special atmosphere. Walking the streets of these towns and getting lost in the historical docklands offer an instant time travel back in the past. Every corner of these cities talk about the love of the water and endless sea.
Contemporary architecture and modern design love the maritime subject too. Architects and designers like to work with maritime elements such as dockyards, warehouses and shipping containers. For example, creative minds showed us that the shipping containers can be used in many unconventional way: as apartment, student home and self storage, just to name a few. A new trend is to incorporate old maritime elements into boutique hotel design too.
Today we are going to take you on a journey and visit an amazing hotel in the ‘Venice of Northern Germany’. This hotel is the 25hours Hotel Hafencity and is located in Hamburg.
Hamburg is chic like London, romantic like Venice and cool like Barcelona that still managed to retain its maritime and northern character. In addition, the town has become a mecca for modern architecture, too, thanks to the development of HafenCity that is an extremely ambitious urban construction project. HafenCity is a very new district that is emerging and creating a modern and lively city quarter where people can come together and socialize.
The brand new 25hours Hotel Hafencity designed by Stephen Williams Associates is completely embody the spirit of this trendy Hamburg district. The contemporary design was inspired by the sea and harbor. The hotel targets cool urban nomads and offers them a unique place where old and new stories can come to life. All the deco industry elements such as ropes, containers, rotors, shipping crates and vintage furnitures are authentic. Shipping containers were donated by Hapag-Lloyd that is a German shipping company based in Hamburg. These rusty containers now have different functions: one has become part of the rooftop sauna and work-out area. This room features amazing views of the industrial harbor. The other orange container piece can be found downstairs in the lobby and functions as a conference room or extra seating for the restaurant.
To create an authentic maritime feeling in the hotel, the design team interviewed 25 international sailors to learn more about their lives, experiences, stories and their work in the shipping industry. The interior design and decor were inspired by these interviews. Visitors will not find any conventional furnishings in their rooms. Each room is designed to look like a ship cabin with a custom travel trunk that offer all the comfort needed: drinks, information and working space with electrical connections.
25hours Hotel Hafencity is definitely a cool place and great design harbor to recharge yourself. Good news is that the rooms are relatively affordable. Expect to pay $132 (€99) per night for the cheapest cabin.
via Uncle Bob’s storage units
Have you heard about the lovely and ancient town of Prata Sannita? The generic answer is usually: “No, I have not”. This romantic medieval place is located in Italy about 180 km southeast from the capital, Rome and is surrounded by amazing scenery. The little town with about 1.700 inhabitants faced the problem of declining population: young people were trying to escape and start a new life in bigger cities. This tendency is not really new at all.
To do something about the immigration problem and put Prata Sannita back onto the map, a low-budget project (10.000 EUR) kicked off. Austrian office feld72 and 40 local volunteers worked together day and night for one month. And the result? Some medieval and abandoned buildings, which were destined to collapse, have been transformed into a very unique hotel experience.
Today the 150-square meter Million Donkey Hotel offers unforgettable moments to its guests: 4 rooms, simple living and time travel back to the middle ages. A special bed is reserved for dreamers and star-watchers. They can now sleep in a cage high above the city and almost touch the stars.
The Drake Hotel is an old veteran of the downtown streets of Toronto, having seen its fair share of transition since its early days as D.A. Small’s Hotel in the heyday of the Canadian Pacific Railway.
Through many transitions and owners, the sturdy structure has become more than a convenient place for lodging, good food, and entertainment. It is now a cultural icon, re-born in February 2004 after a significant face-lift established its current level of prestige as a boutique hotel in Toronto’s West Queen West neighborhood, a nerve center for Canadian artists.
Here you’ll find a range of gathering places appealing to all the senses. There is fine or casual dining, including the talents of Executive Chef Anthony Rose and a full-service menu that serves three meals daily, a weekend brunch, cocktails, and spirits. There are places to mingle, including a raw bar, rooftop lounge, café and bistro, and underground venue with a nightly lineup of concerts and events.
Most importantly, there are 19 unique rooms to lay your weary head after such a blizzard of activity. 10-foot ceilings, queen-size beds, and quaint furnishings will help you remember just how unique the Drake has become. See The Drake Hotel here.
