best new Hotels resorts using biophilic design interiors
biophilic design by Jean Nouvel
Rosewood Sao Paulo luxury hotel
https://www.rosewoodhotels.com/en/sao-paulo
This 93 metre high tower in Brazil was designed by Ateliers Jean Nouvel (AJN) and completed in 2022. It houses the Rosewood Sao Paulo hotel with 104 rooms and 124 branded Rosewood suites, as well as a spa, fitness centre and penthouse complex.
Bordering Matarazzo Park, this 54,100 m² project combines elements of biophilic design with its parkside location to offer a hotel experience connected to nature despite being in a giant metropolis.
Terraces are planted with the same tree species as present in the park to create a sense of visual continuity as well as providing additional privacy for residents and hotel guests inside.
Previously this was the site of the Condessa Filomena Matarazzo Maternity Hospital, thanks in part to the landscaping by Julien Benech from Paris the transformation into a sustainable luxury tower is now largely defined by its nature-centric aesthetics.
Biophilic hotel design
TreeHouse Hotel London, UK
https://www.treehousehotels.com/london/gallery
The TreeHouse Hotel shares some of the 1 Hotels DNA as it forms part of SH Hotels & Resorts, an affiliate of global private investment firm Starwood Capital Group led by Chairman and CEO Barry Sternlicht. So it’s no surprise to see certain similarities between the two biophilic hotel brands, albeit with a number of clear points of differentiation.
Most notably, the Treehouse brand has a smaller format, and perhaps a more ‘eco premium’ positioning, while 1 Hotels is really all about ‘eco luxury.’ This arguably makes the brand more nimble and able to adapt to a wider range of locations, such as its forthcoming Downtown Miami, Brickell site designed in collaboration with Rockwell Group and SHoP Architects in the JDS Development Group's 1 Southside Park.
A Treehouse Hotel Manchester is also under development, scheduled for opening in 2023. In the London outpost though, it’s all about those large bay windows letting natural daylight flood in from the cityscape outside. Internal glass walls further pull sunlight into the interior of the building increasing the amount of natural light occupant exposure. Interiors are courtesy of the team at Audrey Sterk Interiors.
The rooms are designed to be cozy and welcoming like a childhood clubhouse. They use a color palette of grays, blues, brown and whites. There is a large quantity of wood used throughout the rooms within the closet, door, window, and bed frames, desks, tables, chairs, and shelves. This brings the tangible feel of nature into the interior of the building through biophilic interior design.
A rain shower is also included in each room within a large open spaced tile shower. Each room is playfully accented with iconic London memorabilia and accessories such as cartoon mushroom pillows, plants, and the Paddington Bear with Red Hat Blue Coat. This makes the environment of the room playful, ensuring a disarmingly informal setting for such a city-centre location.
A range of biophilic elements of design are present such as birch tree wallpaper accent walls, leaf designed pillows, whicker lights, and a bar with a bare stone facade.
Moving to the roofscape, plants line a large majority of the area with extensive garden boxes and living walls filled with a variety of flora. A small jungle is created with a beautiful panoramic view of the city.
The world’s most biophilic hotel
1 Hotel West Hollywood, USA
https://www.1hotels.com/west-hollywood/gallery
Within the hills of West Hollywood, the 1 Hotel pulls nature inwards,placing it at the center stage of its biophilic interior design. Native species of plants line the outdoors alongside heavily planted gardens. Vines cascade down from the rooftop gardens giving depth of flora to the biophilic space.
The hotel is USGBC LEED certified meaning it takes deliberate,measurable steps to ensure efficiency in carbon emissions, energy use, water use, waste management, transportation, building materials, occupant health and indoor environmental quality (EQ).
A sustainable building design meant that a series of sustainable hotel operational practices were also needed, from the elimination of single use plastics, to the provision of electric car charging stations, and onsite composting gardens.
Biophilic elements of design include living moss walls, reclaimed oak furniture and skylights. One notable element of design is a large dining / ballroom with thousand of small circular white lights. Looking up it’s like thousands of stars shining in the night sky.
The 1 Hotel in West Hollywood ensures sustainability in both its design and operations, promoting a vision of luxury 5-star hospitality that is aligned with the health of both people and planet.
A new interpretation of biophilic design for resorts and hotels
Patina Ubud, Indonesia (2023)
https://patinahotels.com/ourfootprint-ubud
Designed by Brazilian man of the moment Marcio Kogan of Studio MK27 Architects and scheduled for opening in 2023, Patina Ubud was built within the forest landscape of Indonesia with a design emphasis on integrating the location’s natural beauty, a collection of buildings were positioned along a sloping terrain leading into a river valley.
A long infinity pool runs parallel to the Wos River. Expansive, floor to ceiling windows help illuminate each room with the serenity of the Indonesian jungles, bringing the outside world into the guest experience.
A wellbeing design focus means that the 102 villas feature neutral, calming hues of browns, whites, and beiges. They are accented with colors of orange and green to bring together small elements of the space.
Wellbeing interior design promotes positive emotional comfort and restorative sleep via a combination of colours, patterns, textures and wabi-sabi finishes.
Natural light entering the rooms allows the circadian rhythm to balance and intuitive lighting allows guests to set the level of ambient lighting they desire during the latter hours of the night. Each room is also provided with a yoga mat, aromatherapy, and calming breathing technique tutorials.
Healthy and sustainable materials are used throughout the interiors while food is sourced from local suppliers, and single use plastic is avoided completely, three meaningful examples of a green procurement policy in a resort context.
Taking biophilic design to new heights in a luxury resort
Joali Being resort, Maldives
https://www.joali.com/joalibeing/
The Joali Being resort is an immersive, natural wellbeing retreat designed for mental and physical relaxation offering everything from customized nutrition programs to mental rejuvenation activities and interactive learning experience to leave guests ‘transformed’ in some small way.
Surrounded by the idyllic setting of the Maldivian beaches, this biophilic resort design is to be found on the island of Bodufushi, a 40 minute plane ride the main airport.
Each one of the 68 villas has its own piece of beach and a personal butler while an earth-to-table menu promises locally and sustainably sourced, fresh foods that support small farms as a way to integrate sustainable operations practices. Every meal is curated by the resort nutritionist with health and wellness in mind.
Living spaces are equally designed around maximizing guest wellness, primarily through biophilic design principles. Harmony and balance were the main priority, eliminating negative vibrations and enhancing energy flow.
Other components of this wellness design strategy include private pools, meditative musical instruments, and wellbeing games for mental stimulation.
So-called ‘transformational spaces’ were designed for reflection, movement and personal growth thanks to fitness rooms and meditation rooms in particular.
Full immersion programs were formed to rebalance and increase the mental wellbeing of guests through tailored movements to align specific health concerns such as digestive and weight rebalance and restorative sleep.
This wellbeing real estate development is a shining example of how to create a hospitality experience geared for guest wellness.
An urban interpretation of biophilic architecture and design
Villa M, Paris, France
The vertical garden exterior and contemporary steel structure of the Villa M Hotel in Paris designed by Triptyque Architects (Paris and Brazil) in collaboration with Philippe Starck makes a bold visual statement in a city full of historic architecture.
Nature is lifted into the sky by flora filled balconies overflowing with plant life. Biophilic design is immediately apparent from the exterior of the building but continues through into the interiors as well for a comprehensive, nature-inspired design.
Wood and marble are dominant in the interiors, with vibrant, organic colors promoting a sense of calm and comfort. Spacious rooms were created with a focus on guests’ sleep quality in particular.
Amenities for play, work, and health inspired by biophilic design include a restaurant and bar with its own planted garden. The rooftop space is filled with an array of fruit trees - the perfect place to relax and enjoy the skyline.
Finally, a genuine focus on fitness is a clear point of differentiation at Villa M, in addition to its wellness design interiors, they have doubled down on fitness facilities via a heavyweight boxing champion coach Tony Yoka, 250m2 of floor space including a boxing ring and a range of dance, yoga, martial arts and fitness classes both for hotel guests and external members.
Plants and biophilia in hotel architecture
Parkroyal Collection Kuala Lumpur (2022), Malaysia
https://www.panpacific.com/en/hotels-and-resorts/pr-collection-kuala-lumpur.html
The PanPacific-owned Parkroyal Collection’s first hotel outside of Singapore debuted in summer 2022 and, in a similar vein to its predecessor, the eminently biophilic Parkroyal Pickering, this too is a fine example of how to integrate biophilic interiors and prominent landscaping in a hotel development.
At 527 rooms, this is no boutique-size hotel meaning any biophilic wellness design interventions had to be replicated over a generous range of rooms and suites.
Overall it’s a self-described ‘eco-chic living’ solution in the Malaysian capital but its most noticeable feature is an exterior facade of 78 sky planters filled with luscious plants. These planters showcase more than 13,000 square feet of plants and trees from the exterior.
Guests thereby have access to garden-like escapes in the center of a bustling cityscape. With a deliberate focus on the wellbeing of their guests, the hotel houses a holistic wellness floor that showcases the St. Gregory Spa, a modern gymnasium, fitness studio, and pool.
Alongside this, there is also an outside pool surrounded by wooden pergolas, greenery, and flowering plants. Biophilic elements of design are showcased throughout the building in the shape of potted plants, stone walls, plant pattern rugs, woven wicker chairs, and a green tiled bar.
Sustainable building design and operation is a large part of the sustainability goals of the hotel. Various steps were taken toward green building sustainable design.
Kitchen menu ingredients are sustainably sourced for all on-site bars and restaurants, while bathroom amenities are sustainably presented in biodegradable packaging. A filtered drinking water system and a food waste management system complete the picture.