Interior design as theatre is no accident at the Hotel Teatro, a new-build on the site of a 19th-century hotel in the heart of old Porto. The interiors play their part in a modern homage to the area’s cultural heritage, and demand a curtain call

Architect: Miguel Nogueira (Eduardo Miguel Brito Nogueira)
Interior design: Nini Andrade Silva

Porto, Portugal’s second largest city after the capital Lisbon, and known for the invention and distribution of port wine, is also home to the fresh-faced Hotel Teatro.

It is located in the centre of the beautiful and historic city that has been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and built on the same site where the 1859 Teatro Baquet stood until it burned down after 29 glorious years. It had been a cultural focus for Porto, not only as the heart of the city’s music and performance but was also as a meeting place for the city’s people.

While reflecting the signature of its groundbreaking Portuguese designer, Nini Andrade Silva, the new Hotel Teatro also pays homage to the city’s theatrical heritage.

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Maria Isabel Andrade Silva – Nini – was born in Funchal, Madeira. She graduated in design at the Institute of Visual Arts, Design and Marketing (IADE) in Lisbon, and simultaneously ursued her academic and professional experience abroad, studying and working in New York, London, Paris, South Africa and Denmark. As well as being an acknowledged international architect of interiors and design, Nini Andrade Silva is passionate about painting and through her work has helped the underprivileged children of Funchal. Her paintings are included in collections of modern art in Ireland and New York. (continue reading…)

A new chapter starts for this former Victorian Villa,with design articulating old and new elements

New architecture and interior design: Make

Sometimes historic buildings acquire extensions, modifications and other small additions over the years which need a unifying hand to make them current and alive. Extended six times over the course of a century, the early Victorian Grade II listed former Kandinsky Hotel in Cheltenham, bought by Swire Hotels (The Opposite House, Beijing, The Upper House and EAST Hong Kong) is one such scheme.

Make, founded by architect Ken Shuttleworth, was commissioned to resuscitate the hotel’s tired accommodation, simplify circulation and design a contemporary addition to what is now called The Montpellier Chapter, the first hotel from Swire’s new British brand, Chapter Hotels.

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Make was founded by Ken Shuttleworth in 2004 and has already established itself as one of the UK’s foremost architecture firms, with studios in London, Birmingham and Beijing and registered offices in the Middle East. Its first award-winning building was completed within two years of the practice being founded, and it is currently engaged in a broad range of projects worldwide, from residential towers, office developments, transport hubs and urban master plans to education buildings, low-cost housing projects and interior and product design. Philip Twiss is partner and lead project architect for the Montpellier Chapter. (continue reading…)

A multimillion pound makeover has the four seasons Mayfair in full bloom all over again

Architect: Reardonsmith Architects;
Eric Parry Architects (SPA)
Interior Design: Pierre-Yves Rochon

After a multimillion rebuilding programme that took 28 months on site, the Four Seasons London has reopened at its prestigious address in Park Lane, Mayfair.

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