Hotel NH Collection Murano Villa

The project for the NH Collection Venezia Murano Villa hotel is a fitting example of how a disused and abandoned industrial space, specifically that of a former glass factory, De Majo in Murano, can be repurposed for other, “unconventional” uses, meaning not entirely conventional compared to its original purpose.
We live in an era in which public awareness and concern for sustainability practices (not just the traditional environmental ones) and reuse (of raw materials, local economy and production, and against waste and unbridled consumption) are growing exponentially, driven by the failure to achieve that coveted balance between humanity and its ecosystem. Consequently, the reconversion of the buildings of a former industrial site into a new hotel facility is perceived with great empathy and judged as a successful and particularly smart (to use a term we felt was particularly appropriate) design, economic, and social project. Furthermore, the unique layout of the 12 individual buildings within a 12,000 m2 area ^, whose position and sequence were dictated by the specific work phases of the glass production process, most likely influenced the design work of H&A Associati, a studio based in Venice and Shanghai. It suggested a unique hotel layout—perhaps not stereotypical in terms of orthodox functionality, but certainly “functional” to the causes of regeneration and sustainability—that of a “diffused” hotel, divided between the old pavilions and appropriately reconstructed buildings. Furthermore, the exceptional beauty of the Venice lagoon and its genius loci also contributed to determining the final plan of the new hotel, designed like a small Venetian village, divided and united, with the creation of appropriate connections, between the various courtyards, calli, and campielli. The 12 buildings corresponding to the former De Majo glass factory, characterised externally by the extensive use of exposed brick, have all been converted, restored and “modernised” to provide new functions of widespread hotel hospitality, which today also includes services such as meeting rooms (with flexible capacity), a bar with a panoramic terrace overlooking the lagoon, spaces and locations suitable for wedding ceremonies, confirmations and more, gyms and spas; furthermore, a private pier for accommodation in one of the 104 new rooms and suites designed, each different from the other in shape and size, from 15 to 28 ^m2 .

Laterizio Italiano
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