PURO Hotel Poland, Krakow Accommodation Interior, New Polish Architecture, Architect, Building Images

PURO Hotel in Krakow

Contemporary Kazimierz Accommodation Building Development, Poland design by Conran and Partners

2 Oct 2018

Architects: Conran and Partners

Location: Halicka Street, Kazimierz, Krakow, Poland

Contemporary Hotel Building in Krakow

The 228-room hotel – which occupies a corner site in Halicka Street, Kazimierz, the city’s former Jewish quarter – provides a destination and curated experiences for local residents as much as for tourist and business guests.

Photos © Anna Stathaki

PURO Hotel

Conran and Partners’ design concept for the Kraków Kazimierz Hotel is ‘Bohemian Modern’.

This approach represents a fusion between the energy, history, authenticity and art culture of the location (‘Bohemian’) and the dynamic, progressive brand principles of PURO, demonstrating the brand’s passion for contemporary art, design-led furniture and forward-looking hospitality (‘Modern’). This conceptual narrative has provided a rich source of inspiration for the creation of a unique PURO hotel which is firmly grounded in its location.

The design clearly references elements of the area’s history, including its once-bustling industrial heritage, while still achieving a strong residential feel. This has resulted in a welcoming hotel, designed to encourage guests to inhabit the ground floor spaces, morning, noon and night. The café, restaurant and bar incorporate indoor and outdoor areas with private ‘pockets’ of space where guests can enjoy PURO’s hospitality.

On entering PURO Kraków Kazimierz, guests are welcomed by a bespoke reception desk, with the lobby floor showing an etched outline of Kazimierz quarter street pattern. The wall behind the reception area features a bold graffiti art installation by Polish artist ‘Nawer’ and is a taster of the wider artwork collection which is to be found throughout the hotel.

PURO Kraków Kazimierz incorporates the MAK bakery and café at ground floor level which connects directly with the street frontage. MAK offers freshly-baked bread, pastries and cakes, including traditional cheesecake and poppy seed bread. The space has a sunken lounge, open fire and sharing table. The hotel also incorporates the Halicka restaurant, offering diners a menu of dishes using locally-sourced ingredients, and an independently-run, destination cocktail bar.

The overall palette mixes natural, raw materials such as terracotta, faded bronze and reclaimed timber with bold splashes of colour balanced with the black-and-white layered tones of the PURO brand. A base palette runs throughout the hotel which has been adapted to give a defined personality and character to each of the key spaces.

The approach seeks to draw upon the various historic and cultural layers of Kazimierz – including the area’s former warehouses and workshops as well as its more recently-acquired galleries and street art – which have combined to bring a ‘decayed charm’ to one of city’s most attractive quarters to live and work in.

Guestrooms at PURO Hotel in Krakow are flooded with natural light via full-height windows, each incorporating a generous shower area. An etched, grooved, fluted glass screen physically separates the shower from the bedroom while allowing light and abstracted views through. The beds are backed by bespoke, woven headboards and covered by specially-designed throws referencing one of Conran and Partners’ early concept sketches for the hotel.

Other key features include:
• A wellness and fitness facility, ‘PRISMA’, offering an ‘Urban Spa’ with gym, sauna, steam, beauty stations, treatment rooms and generous relaxation area. This incorporates bold, graphic, contemporary spaces which fuse natural materials with industrial finishes and strong colours, including emerald-coloured tiles, vivid pink flooring and a saturated blue ceiling in spa spaces which gives the facility energy and identity

• An events and Function area, ‘The Workshop’, comprising of four meeting rooms which can be configured in various ways from a series of individual spaces to a single space accommodating up to one hundred guests for meetings or events. The design of these rooms takes its inspiration from the site’s industrial heritage and seeks to reference the workshop/ artisan economy which was once active in this part of the city. The monochrome palette uses concrete, Crittall glass windows and plywood to create four distinctive room themes. Large collections of enamel, glass, and terracotta objects help to give character, depth and interest to each room

• Four room types: Standard; Deluxe; Suite; and Apartment. The design seeks to bring a ‘relaxed, residential feel’ to all rooms in the PURO Hotel in Krakow

• An atrium and other public-facing areas which incorporate design references to the plants and foliage which typically overhang the old walls of the Kazimierz district and visually reinforce the PURO Hotel in Krakow’s links with its location. The atrium area also includes a dramatic, hanging light installation inspired by the overgrown courtyards of the area

Artwork curation was undertaken by PURO while Conran and Partners styled ‘The Workshop’ as part of a collaborative design approach. Polish street artists and local artists were commissioned to showcase their paintings as part of the room designs, as well as in the reception and bar areas. Among those artists whose works are represented are Mateusz Szczypiński, Javier Martin, Tom French and Dominik Tarabański.

Simon Kincaid, Director, Conran and Partners, says: “Our design for the Kraków Kazimierz Hotel clearly draws upon the historic heritage of the area and presents guests with the story of the PURO Hotel in Krakow’s relationship to Kazimierz. It is a concept which we have termed ‘Bohemian Modern’ and which aims to encapsulate the gritty, artisan, alternative ambience of this rapidly-changing neighbourhood of Kraków. The design connects guests to the forward-looking, innovative principles of the PURO approach as well as to its bold branding.

“At the same time, it draws upon a rich industrial heritage while still offering a strong residential feel to the overall hotel design which is approachable and comfortable for both new and returning guests. For PURO’s flagship offer, we have aimed to deliver a confident hotel with a distinctive attitude but also one which sits clearly within the PURO portfolio. It is a venue which establishes a strong connection with its locality.”

The Kazimierz Hotel offers guests Golran 1898’s Italian hand-knotted rugs, &tradition’s Danish heritage lighting and a range of furniture crafted by Carl Hansen & Son, Fritz Hansen, ByLassen, Mater and Gubi (all from Denmark), Moroso and Baxter (both from Italy), Fogia (Sweden), and Kettal (Spain).

The PURO Kraków Kazimierz hotel building was designed by Polish architectural practice ASW Architekci. PURO has operated a second hotel in Kraków at 10 Ogrodowa close to the main railway station since 2013.

Rune Askevold, Managing Director of PURO says: “All our hotels offer a complete experience for guests, with a focus on providing a creative and artistic environment in a social and cultural hub. Conran and Partners’ approach to the interiors of the Kraków Kazimierz has perfectly encapsulated our ethos and created a benchmark in terms of the way the PURO brand will evolve in the future.”

About Conran and Partners
Conran and Partners are a collaborative design practice with studios in the UK and Hong Kong working across Architecture and Interiors. Based in London, they were founded by Sir Terence Conran over thirty years ago, and have designed the interiors for some of the world’s most prestigious destination restaurants, such as London’s Royal Exchange, Skylon and Bluebird, as well as the acclaimed Hong Kong Club in Hong Kong, Gustavinos in New York and German Gymnasium in London’s Kings Cross. The practice is well established in Asia having designed many iconic projects such as Roppongi Hills Residences, Futako Tamagawa, Niki Club, Hotel Icon, Mandarin Oriental and a selection of Park Hyatt Hotels.

Conran and Partners redesigned the 267 guest rooms at Andaz London Liverpool Street which opened in 2017 in the first major overhaul of the rooms since unveiling their original design twenty years ago when Andaz was known as the ‘Great Eastern Hotel’. They also designed the 288 rooms of the QO Hotel in Amsterdam which opened earlier this year. The practice is currently working on the full interior design scope for two new Park Hyatt Hotel projects in Jakarta and Auckland, which include F+B and spa facilities. Conran and Partners are also responsible for the interior design of The House Hotel and Residence in Istanbul, an innovative mixed-use development comprising 51 hotel rooms and 155 residences with shared communal facilities.

About PURO HOTELS
PURO Hotels is a forward-thinking lifestyle hospitality brand that offers guests a contemporary, design-led hotel experience, without compromising on local culture or creativity. Since its inception in Wrocław in 2011, PURO Hotels has changed the hospitality landscape in Poland with unique new hotels in Kraków, Poznań, Gdańsk and Kraków Kazimierz.

Nested in the centre of each city, PURO Hotels draws upon local artistic and culinary inspirations to craft a holistic experience encompassing rest, work and play. PURO Hotels offers discerning guests the most original way to meaningfully explore the culture of their chosen destination.

PURO Hotels plans to open two new hotels in Warsaw and Łódź in 2019. The brand anticipates the establishment of further PURO cities in the near future. In Poland, PURO Hotels is actively pursuing new opportunities in both Katowice and Warsaw.

PURO Hotel in Krakow images / information received 021018

Location: Halicka Street, Kazimierz, Krakow, Poland

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