Set in the heart of the emerging Porta Volta neighborhood, Hotel Viu Milan manages to capture the zeitgeist of the modern-day city with its progressive and sustainable architectural concept, while honoring the classic aesthetics of Milanese design with its sleek interiors.
Featuring a glass façade framed with living greenery, the hotel’s architecture pays homage to the redefined aesthetics of the area. Inside, blended colors and textures, including parquet oak wood floors and dark wood, provide a timeless setting for classic Italian furniture from Molteni&C. Throw in a rooftop pool and terrace, the very first to grace a five-star hotel in the city, the Italian fashion and design capital is set to welcome a new prima donna to the scene.
It is said that fortune favors the brave, and this adage certainly seems true of architects Arassociati’s bold design for Hotel Viu Milan. Representative of the regeneration of the urban environment a round Porta Volta, the 124-room hotel stands out thanks to its exterior’s spectacular vertical garden. Rendered in sustainably-sourced wood, metal and bronzed glass, the hotel’s architecture is composed of undulating patterns of indentions and projections that define each story.
Floor-to-ceiling glass windows flood the rooms and guest areas with natural light and proffer a firm sense of location with panoramic city views, ensconcing guests in an inviting, home-like setting reminiscent of a stylish Milanese townhouse. The lush greenery that bookmarks the property pays homage to Stefano Boeri’s landmark Bosco Verticale project, and demonstrates Hotel Viu Milan’s passion for eco-sustainability. A newly minted public square in front of the hotel will continue the green narrative of this regenerated pocket of Porta Volta.
Local Milanese studio AG&P Greenscape are responsible for the landscape design of the hotel’s vertical gardens. A series of planters connected through a network of steel cables threaded with climbing plants form the foundations of the walls, with every spare space given over to lush greenery to create a botanic waterfall. Each plant used in the design of the garden was carefully selected to withstand the conditions imposed by the unique setting, with a focus on evergreen and locally sourced flora. Jasmine, ivy, climbing roses, clematis, and wisteria weave along the length of the building, while rosemary, cotoneaster oleander, germander, honeysuckle and viburnum complete the organic narrative.
The visual concept of the hotel’s interiors was entrusted to Arassociati Studio and Nicola Gallizia Studio; this collaboration has translated into an interior aesthetic that is both soothing and surprising thanks to a tonal color palette and contemporary textures that complement the architecture of the hotel. Parquet oak wood floors and dark wood contrast perfectly with light colors and fabrics, many of which are handmade and all exclusively created for the hotel by renowned Italian textile company Rubelli. A tangible celebration of Milanese craftsmanship: the furnishings come courtesy of Molteni&C world leader for design furniture.
For this project Molteni&C furnished all the social areas (lobbies, restaurants, bars), bedrooms and suites with custom made fixed and loose furniture characterized by delicate nuances and completed by a curated collection of objets d’art. That reinforce the impression of staying at a private residence—albeit one outfitted with impeccable taste.
The entrance of Viu Hotel displays the unconventional Freestyle sofa design Ferruccio Laviani and two D.154.2 armchairs, designed by Gio Ponti in 1954 and today produced by Molteni&C, thanks to an agreement with the Gio Ponti Archives, thereby preserving the legacy of the great Milanese maestro, which would otherwise have been lost.
Lighting forms an integral part of the overall design concept of Hotel Viu Milan, and it fell to Studio Voltaire to create a lighting system that continues the narrative of the hotel’s architecture and form. In the guestrooms, downlight Kap fixtures by Flos create a welcoming and stylish atmosphere, while warm, white lighting has been chosen for the ground floor guest areas to enhance the textures and shades of the Rubelli fabrics. The ceilings are highlighted through the innovative design of the Flos Magnet 2.0. system, whereby a linear profile of recessed spotlights emphasizes the contrasts between light and dark in an elegant geometric pattern.
all images courtesy of Hotel Viu Milan