New Zealand Commercial Design Trends Series NZ Commercial Design Trends Vol. 35/02C | Page 57

Project
Hotel Monville
Location:
Montreal, Canada
Architect:
ACDF Architecture
HOTEL AS DESTINATION
Montreal is a beautiful city but it can be less hospitable in winter – luckily this chic
hotel with soaring public spaces is an ideal place to come in to from the cold
Left:See and be seen –
Montreal’s new Hotel Monville
by ACDF Architecture rises
head-and-shoulders above
its neighbours. The facade’s
precast concrete panels feature
a trompe-l’oeil design technique
that gives them a 3D quality.
Right:The hotel entry continues
into a low vestibule which in turn
opens to the dramatic lobby.
The hotel industry is changing with luxury,
wow factors, modern technology, and even an
inner-city ‘destination-in-its-own-right’ vibe all in
the mix. After all, it’s easy to check off the tourist
sites when you’re already staying in one of them.
Upmarket yet cosy, Hotel Monville reflects the
city’s rich history and contemporary flavour. It has
inviting public spaces and carefully designed guest
suites, giving guests a distinct taste of Montreal.
ACDF Architecture designed the 269-room hotel
located in the city’s downtown. This is the first
in a collection of future properties envisioned by
Nathaniel Fraiberger, whose intimate Hotel Gault
introduced boutique hospitality to Old Montreal 17
years ago within the classic shell of a 1861 cotton
warehouse building.
For new-built Hotel Monville, ACDF set out to
create a destination that captures the local charac-
ter and high-end experience of Hotel Gault, but with
modern design elements developed for the Monville