When spaces become a story

Spagnulo & Partners

WHEN SPACES BECOME A STORY

The core of Federico Spagnulo and his team’s philosophy lies in the definition of settings with luxury content, a vision that is expressed in historical, urban and resort environments. The Milan-based practice is also one of the four winners of the Cantori Design Challenge and yacht design is becoming a new platform for its design language

by Marta Bernasconi – ph. courtesy of Spagnulo & Partners

The key vocabulary of Spagnulo & Partners contains a key word, one that helps the studio to redefine the hotel experience in Italy. Operating above all in luxury hospitality, as well as being involved with projects in the residential and catering sectors, Federico Spagnulo and his team of architects are guided by coherence, meant not as a

stylistic code to replicate in every project but as loyalty to an initial idea shaping every choice, from the distribution of spaces to the selection of materials and made-to-measure details.

The portfolio of notable projects includes the Palazzo Portinari Salviati in Florence, the Relais Chateaux Borgo dei Conti and the Casa Baglioni

Spagnulo & Partners Studio is one of the four winners of the Cantori Design Challenge. imagining a new idea of exclusivity for two

sparked off a dialogue between the

and the wide expanses of the surrounding

also worked with other collaborators, whose specific skills covered the various project requirements

and Marriott Hotel in Milan, as well as the Hotel Aramaris in Sorrento and the Baglioni Resort Sardinia. Nearing completion are the projects for the Grand Hotel Bristol in Stresa, the Palazzo Sozzini Malavolti in Siena, the Palazzo del Duca in Matera and a new resort in the Galapagos islands. The projects seek coherence, with some content items defined at the outset of the project. “In the Casa Baglioni the concept is rooted in Milanese art of the 1960s, expressed through colours, geometries and original works”, says Federico Spagnulo. “In the Borgo dei Conti, the colours and materials evoke the school of Perugino and Umbrian materials culture. Contemporary art is a leitmotif, inspired by my father’s cultural legacy – he was a sculptor. In the Hotel Aramaris, thanks to a collaboration with the Galleria Nicola Pedana,

Left, a space the studio created for the Cantori Design Challenge, where a select group of architects was tasked with designing the areas of an explorer yacht built by the Cantiere delle Marche. Below, Borgo dei Conti: a project rich in cultured references, where landscape and architecture are seen as a stage set in which guests move as main characters

the works of Dessì, Gastini and Mainolfi enhance the communal spaces in a balanced dimension between museum and hospitality”.

As an expert in the hotel sector and its transformations, the architect reveals his view of current trends. “I think that guests, especially in top-end projects, increasingly seek types of hospitality steeped in meaning and closely linked to the cultural identity of their location. In this sense we see the hotel as a hub. Through the plan and design of the interiors we give guests the opportunity to enter into contact with cultural content they weren’t aware of before”. The dialogue established between Spagnulo & Partners and the nautical world was given a testbed in the form of the Cantori Design Challenge, which involves designing some interior areas of an explorer yacht built by the Cantiere delle

Marche. “It’s an intriguing challenge. We were asked to interpret a different exclusivity, to create total comfort for long voyages in remote areas for two imaginary clients… Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat! This sparked off a dialogue between the artists’ shapes and colours and the wide expanses of the surrounding seascapes”. Spagnulo’s ideas on nautical design are linked to the concept of changeability: the exterior panorama changes, but so too do the light and reflections in the interiors. This leads to a specific idea of materials and the way these react to the shifting light and colours flooding in from the

Casa Baglioni, a new Milanese destination, part of the Baglioni Hotels & Resorts group. Its spaces are inspired by the artistic and cultural ferment experienced in 1960s Milan. This was especially intense in the Brera district, where the hotel is located. Clockwise: the lobby, entrance and Sadler restaurant

exterior. This is where hospitality and yachting meet – in the ability to construct narrative spaces.

The luxury settings form a background to the studio’s activities. But what does luxury mean for Spagnulo & Partners? “It’s not a single concept, it depends on personal perceptions and cultural bases. In the Galapagos it coincides with a direct contact with untouched nature, in a historic building immersed in the cultural stratification”. A clear response, like the one the architect gives when we ask about the studio’s future direction. “We’ll keep on having fun”.

This page: the interior design project for the Palazzo Portinari, a large historic building in Florence, creates a narrative linked to the figures in the Portinari and Salviati families. Every room tells stories of famous people and fascinating lives