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HOTEL CRAM BARCELONA, SPAIN |
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ARCHITECTURE / INTERIOR DESIGN |
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GCA Arquitectes Associats
Mr. Josep Riu
Mr. Paco de Paz
Beatriz Cosials |
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Striking curves coil around a central space. Sumptuous oranges and vivid vermilion contrast with surfaces in stark black and white where water and light move and meld to create an unforgettable atmosphere.
Set in Barcelona’s historic yet bustling Eixample district, the design concept of Hotel Cram could be seen as a quieter, interior reflection of the dynamic city it lives in. Here is a place that, like Barcelona, wraps itself around you in a way that’s oddly contradictory and almost indescribable, but is - more often than not - a vibrant, pleasant surprise.
Behind the historical façade of this completely reconstructed 1892 corner building, Spanish architect Josep Rui of GCA Arquitectes Associates has created a modernist 67-room luxury hotel around a central, cylindrical courtyard that carries natural illumination from above down the structure’s seven floors.
While one is immediately struck by a muted ambience upon entering the lobby – with its anthracite-hued granite and dark-wood floors, black ceilings and "Tibetan" toned textiles and accents – the open column acts as a beacon of soft light. "It’s like a lamp," says GCA architect Roser Huguet. "It takes the light down to the lowest level of the hotel."
The Cram’s elegant ground-floor public spaces greet guests with the dark modernist aesthetic of interior designer Beatriz Cosias. Here, ceiling-to-floor curtains offer a sensation similar to being backstage in an theatre, while low-lying, sleek black couches and modernist seating invite guests to settle in to a drink at the Majreva Lobby Cocktail bar and gaze at the wall of water separating it from the reception. The lighting concept is designed to create a subdued atmosphere in that it is always indirect, at times even subtly whimsical: small points of light that spell the word "light" in Japanese are set into the bar’s black ceiling.
For all the soft darkness below, Hotel Craml’s upper spaces offer contrasts of dark and light in different sequence and a cleaner, cooler feel. Leading upwards like a series of white rings, broken by the vertical colour blocks created by the elevators, the courtyard column acts as a centrepiece for the hotel’s unusual structure and unique aesthetic. It is further embellished by a filigree, hanging sculpture-like fixture sprinkled with delicate points of light. "The rooms lead off from the floors that branch off from the courtyard column and each floor’s décor is done in either a deep orange or red," states Huguet.
Due to the building’s odd shape – the result of the architects’ cleverly conforming to Spanish codes of construction – each room is different. Ranging in size from 16 to 22 square meters, rooms are sleekly efficient with wood floors and fully integrated storage and light units in pristine white. The guestrooms also play with the established colour scheme of oranges and reds by contrasting the basic white with coloured textile accents and furnishings by Edison Barone and Derin Sariyer, thus making the overall experience chromatically harmonious. Even the ceilings in the sleekly curved, white-tiled bathrooms echo the same tones. Here, too, light plays an important role: illumination is adjustable and allows guests to create their own individual atmospheres according to the comfortably cliché settings for "welcome", "fiesta", "romantic”"and "night light".
After one has reached the apex of the "lamp" and therefore the top of the building, an outdoor rooftop pool and bar offer breathtaking views of the city in all its colours. Dwindling just a little bit down again, a relaxed side to this vibrant city is also palpable in the acclaimed Restaurant GAIG one floor below, where chef Carles Gaig serves delectable Catalan cuisine in a restaurant dating back to 1869 – now both spatially and aesthetically integrated into the overall theme of the Cram in elegant red and black tones.
A truly enlightening roller-coaster ride with all the necessary aesthetic safety features awaits you at Hotel Cram – an experience that mixes light and dark, history and modernity, water and light. A fitting embodiment of what Barcelona has to offer.
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