Vienna House Andel's Lodz was honored at the European Hotel Design Awards for its impeccable transformation into a hotel.
The tourism sector is experiencing its peculiar 'fifth industrial revolution'. And we are not referring to the profound digital transformation – that is what is behind the fourth industrial revolution, which has just officially started in 2016, according to the World Economic Forum. What we are talking about is the architectural fervor to recover abandoned spaces and bring them back to life making the most of its potential and hardly intervening in its appearance.
And what does all this have to do with the future 5.0 society? Well, a lot, because experts predict that the revolution that is yet to come will be that of the circular economy or it won't be. And this is precisely what the big hotel chains are doing, rehabilitate buildings loaded with architectural singularities that are respected and enhanced to add some substantial value to future hotels.
The Vienna House Andel’s Lodz hotel occupies a former textile mill (spinning mill) from 1878.
PLUSCUAMPERFECT INDUSTRIAL STYLE
A perfect example of this new procedure can be found in Łódź, the third largest city in Poland. Here, one of the most powerful Austrian hotel groups, Vienna House, took over an abandoned textile factory from 1878 and transformed it into Vienna House Andel's Lodz.
The architectural firm OP Architekten, led by Wojciech Poplawski, was commissioned to renovate the huge red brick building (under the guidelines governing the restoration of historic structures) and to convert it into a hotel adapted to the new times: 1.0 structures for a 5.0 society.
The result is an establishment made up of 277 rooms and suites, apartments for long stays, a huge conference center and the jewel in the crown: a wellness and fitness area called skySPAce, covering 1,000 m² and with a sparkling rooftop pool offering amazing views of the city (created from a 19th century fire tank) .
Wellness and fitness area of the Vienna House Andel's Lodz, called skySPAce for its views of the city.
“We believe that there is nothing more refined than the simple things in life and there is something we want to do above all else: inspire our guests. This is the motivation that reflects us and that makes us proceed. It's about being a real host, about being yourself." This is how Rupert Simoner, CEO of Vienna House, defines the philosophy of the hotel chain.
And it seems that it is a formula that works, according to the awards obtained by this Polish hotel: Architecture of the Year award for the best transformation of an existing building into a hotel at the European Hotel Design Awards in 2009, as well as other distinctions related to the rehabilitation project.
INTERIOR DESIGN
Although, to honor the truth, the exquisite intervention carried out in interior design by the Jestico + Whiles studio (based in London and Prague) has had a lot to do with these awards. Visionary, alternative and always effective, they knew how to make the hotel fit in and stand out! within the facilities of Manufaktura, a former industrial complex today converted into the largest shopping and entertainment center in Poland.
For it kept the genuine industrial atmosphere by retaining the historic pillars, walls and beams and they restored the iron gate and the centuries-old stairs; they also added glass ceilings and skylights and backlit elements in public spaces.
In the Oscar's Bar of the Vienna House Andel's Lodz, you can have an aperitif in a relaxed atmosphere.
The result is an interior architecture in which the harmonic dialogue between the elements of the past and the contemporary stands out. Exposed brick walls and vaults coexist with colorful designer furniture.
The non-whitewashed walls – chipped in some cases – contain informative indications (cafeteria, bar, etc…) in the form of street art stamps. A decorative dance of styles that, even though they are opposed a priori, fit together in a timeless way and feed off each other.
“Colours, textiles, works of art, sculptural features, and furnishings are conceived as contemporary interventions within the historic structure, transforming the factory into a gallery-like hotel that provides a lively and luxurious atmosphere”, is how Jestico + Whiles defines its interior design project.
Informative signs in the purest street art style at the Vienna House Andel's Lodz.
THE GASTRONOMY
One of these prints on the wall directs us directly to the Delight restaurant, where chef Mirosław Jabłoński usually changes the menu every 30 days and adapts it to seasonal local products.
A fusion cuisine in which the traditional flavors are present under a renewed and avant-garde appearance, such as the Roast Duck with cherry sauce, grilled potatoes and oscypek (smoked sheep's milk cheese), the Cocochas of cod paired in vinegar or Salmon marinated in horseradish with beetroot.
In addition, every first Sunday of the month, between 1 and 4:30 pm, Delight offers a brunch that includes dishes from show cooking. And, although the restaurant can hold up to 330 people, I, if I were you, I would run to occupy one of the 170 recovered chairs that show in their notches and damage the first (or second, or third...) life that they had before finding their place in this industrial hotel in which any vintage detail fits perfectly thanks to the careful, affectionate and professional work carried out by OP Architekten and Jestico + Whiles.
Fusion restaurant Delight, in Andels Lodz.
The Maisonettes Deluxe at Vienna House Andel's Lodz hosted Justin Bieber, Martin Scorsese and Sting before you.
Everything is opposite and, at the same time, fits in the Vienna House Andel's Lodz.
Address: Ulica Ogrodowa 17, dź, Poland View map
Telephone: +48 42 279 10 00
Half price: From €80