The World of Hospitality Issue 35 2019 | Page 5

ROSEWOOD “The design of the building itself is the hand gesture of greeting known as the wai and I carried the theme from the architecture into the interior design, from the big picture right down to the smallest detail,” says Chu. “I was trying to create a hotel with a residential feeling that is about culture and local flavour.” The process starts at the very first step on the journey – the drop-off area, which has been designed with a private driveway to begin the separation process of taking people from the bustling, narrow streets of the city into the calm of the hotel, presenting initially on an almost domestic scale to fortify the idea of being in a private home. This first glimpse also cements the idea that this is a building where the contemporary and the classical co-exist in harmony. What looks at first glance like dark, hardwood panelling and sculpted wood turning at the entrance doors is actually tinted stainless steel, while the modern piece of sculpture that is seen through the doors is ancient Thai calligraphy representing the word ‘wai’, designed by artist Jiandyin. Moving into the drop off area, the panelling here is wood, but the traditional moulding panels are in a variety of different sizes and configurations. THE WORLD OF HOSPITALITY 5