CASE STUDY
unexpected results that generate moments of wonder . Like her Baroque predecessors devising heavens in the heights inside their buildings , Hadid had a history of distorting form to enchant architecture . Dimensional constraints and functional purpose alone , however , did not solely determine design . In a country with an ethic motivated by beauty , ZHA created an appropriate bellezza for each room . The hotel ’ s 74 rooms and suites are worlds of their own . The architects have designed spaces to a point of extreme generosity . ZHA drives the design to abundance like Baroque frescoes that team with architectural forms and human figures . Complexity extends from the ceilings and walls to formulate the space of each room .
ZHA intensifies materiality , light , and form throughout the building to structure space — from room to room , from wall to furniture . There is never a sense of the building ordered by a grid or box or axis or by any other top-down system of control . They build and order design not just from the vaults but the detail , an omnidirectional program of complexity emanating from all surfaces to define space . Selected for their quality and functionality in improving acoustics
and naturally regulating room temperature , the composition of materials within the guest rooms and suites includes Carrara Statuarietto and Nero Marquina marble paired with Makassar ebony , cedar or chestnut woods , and Krion engineered by Porcelenosa . Some suites on the palazzo ’ s piano nobile incorporate the restored 17th-century frescoes while suites on higher floors have private terraces with panoramic views of the city . Vaults of delicate brass circuli accentuate the lobby ’ s lava stone and ebony floors , while Sicilian rock salt , tadelakt ( an ancient Morrocan lime-based wall treatment ), together with cedar and ash have been worked with precision to create the interiors of the hotel ’ s spa . With elements of the building from the 16th century , and its later additions also listed by the government department responsible for monuments and historical buildings — the Soprintendenza Speciale Archeologia , Belle Arte e Paesaggi di Roma — extensive surveys determined that the structure required significant reinforcement . 49 companies have been involved in the restoration of the palazzo , submitting 230 different applications for building permissions with all works overseen by the Sovrintendenza as a national historic monument .
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