ABOUT THIS HOTEL

• DESCRIPTION
• FACILITIES
• ARCHITECTURE / DESIGN

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ARCHITECTURE / INTERIOR DESIGN

Tilla Theus

The Hotel Widder is a hamlet of a hotel made of nine historical residences, many dating back to the Middle Ages. Swiss architect Tilla Theus not only preserved the individual facades, but also the internal floor plans and structures.

During the four-year construction phase, the ambitious project involved 20 architects working in shifts, 18 hours a day. The highly sensitive interior architecture links medieval wooden beams, Renaissance pillars and wall frescos with present-day structures and construction methods. A glass ceiling tops the 12th century stone house and the polished curved wooden counter in the Widder Bar mimics the original ram head motifs from a guild’s crest. Connecting the labyrinth of eight different buildings are seams that are smooth but refreshingly obvious, as well as nine elevator banks, including one of glass and chrome that rises alongside a wall of river stones. By subtly intertwining single buildings via staircases and porticoes, a feeling of home-scale intimacy has been created in the hotel’s public spaces.

Where the demands of a modern hotel’s functions required more space, courtyards were utilised. Each guestroom has its own layout and interior design. Some have classic designer furnishings such as a Le Corbusier’s lounge chair and Eileen Gray’s glass top table. Others have partially restored trompe-l’œil frames to recessed windows and real surprises such as leather bedspreads. All guestrooms are equipped with the latest Bang & Olufsen technique. Even for those only interested in the study of architecture, the Widder alone is definitely worth a trip to Zurich.