Two Pilazzi have been joined to create a ‘masterpiece’ filled with Renaissance art and surrounded by romantic, once-hidden gardens

Interior designer: Pierre Yves-Rochon

Author Gianluca Tenti has written a book about the £48m project that has seen two Renaissance palaces refurbished to create the Four Seasons Hotel in Florence, which gives you an idea of the scope and scale of the new venture.

A 16th-century former convent, now renamed ‘Conventino,’ and the 15th-century ‘Palazzo della Gherardesca’ built by Antonio da Sangallo,  have undergone an expansive and expensive facelift (seven years in the making) under the strict direction of the Ministry of Fine Arts and Culture to form the newest in the Four Seasons group.

In the heart of the city but almost hidden, the two palazzi breast a stunning 4ha garden scattered with a plethora of statues and rare botanic species, intermingled with a romantic array of lawns, copses, hillocks and secret grottoes. The garden, once a secret even to local inhabitants, now provides an urban oasis for guests and the public alike, and is the largest within the city walls. (continue reading…)

The Opposite House is named after a Chinese tradition of hospitality, yet its style is seductively modern, from its minimalist décor to its maximalist levels of service

Interior designer: Di Leonardo International
Architect: Kengo Kuma

In The Opposite House, Beijing, Swire Hotels and Japanese architect Kengo Kuma have created a hotel set around an atrium just waiting to be featured in the next Jackie Chan movie. Swaths of metallic mesh sweep down from the ceilings into the opening hall, pretty much asking Jackie to make an acrobatic escape down one of them. It wouldn’t be too much of problem either, as not much goes on in the Opposite House reception area; there’s no actual reception desk - the ‘paperless’ check-in is done by the staff (who must be borrowed from China’s Next Top Model) either in the Living Room or in the pick-up car on the way over.

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Peter Cornoedus studied architecture at Hasselt University, Belgium from 1979 to 1984. He worked as a trainee in Diepenbeek until 1988 and two years later set up his first architecture practice along with Bart Lantmeeters. In 2000 Cornoedus went solo launching Peter Cornoedus & Partners, based in Genk. The nine-strong team (with the help of an army of freelancers) specialises in contemporary architecture and interior design, working on residential schemes, hotels, offices, restaurants, renovations and new build projects. Cornoedus was responsible for the architecture and interior design of the new Carbon Hotel in Genk. 

Have you worked on many hotel projects previous to the Carbon Hotel?
I have been working on hospitality projects since the 1980s. The first hotel I completed was the 18-room Hotel San Martino in Voeren. Since then I have designed Hotel Arte and Hotel Ecu (both in Genk) and Hotel Eurotel in Lanaken. The most recent are the Hotel Carbon and Hotel Eburon in Tongeren.

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Carbon-based lifeforms visiting the former coal-mining city of Genk will be in their element amid this design hotel’s monochrome and high-technology

Architect and interior designer: Peter Cornoedus, PCP Architects

Carbon comes in many forms from graphite to diamond but in the Belgian city of Genk it is has an extra special significance. The Carbon Hotel and Wellness Experience is part of the rejuvenation of the commercial centre of the city, which has a rich coal-mining history.

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The ‘other’ palace in Versailles, built in 1910, now sparkles with glamorous illumination

Interior Designer: Richmond International
Lighting Designer: Andromeda International

Located in the heart of Versailles, close to the grand Palace of Versailles and overlooking three acres of woodland, Trianon Palace has always been a popular destination, and this latest refurbishment, commissioned by its current owner Westin, can only serve to widen its appeal. (continue reading…)