DEMO is not simply a recovery project, but a courageous idea that has given birth to a beautiful reality, a symbol of rebirth for both the hospitality and architecture sectors. Starting with the recovery of a disused local guesthouse, an old hotel on the Romagna coast, the project involved fourteen architectural firms called upon to rethink the spaces of what is already an experimental hospitality hub.
Based on an idea of Mauro Santinato, president of Teamwork Hospitality – a well-known hotel consulting firm – the facility opened during the summer 2021.
The concept, developed in two consecutive years in 2018 and 2019, involved hotel rooms each designed by a different architect who gave voice to his or her personal idea of hospitality.
DEMO consists of nine suites, a lobby, a co-working area, a laundry and services on the ground floor. Each space has its own identity anticipated by the project title.
The exteriors and common areas identified by the incipit of a well-known Italian song, “Cerco l’estate tutto l’anno” (I’m looking for summer all year round), are designed by CaberlonCaroppi studio, who came up with a concept based on colour, with each floor featuring a different shade.
The outdoor solutions include stained glass balustrades and a surprising wall of outdoor wallpaper featuring a brick and dot pattern that is so unusual it wants to become a landmark. Support for the landscape comes from the iProgettisti design studio, which specialises in landscape architecture.
Chiara Tabellini, founder of Light8Space, took care of the lighting aspects of the exterior, as well as coordinating the choice of lighting fixtures.
On the ground floor we find the restroom: poetically named Drama, it was designed by Laura Verdi, who wanted to dedicate the space to the heroines of Italian operas, each evoked by a different motif on the walls covered in wallpaper. And, just like in a theatre, you go on stage with a specially designed playlist that repeats the most famous arias from the selected operas on a loop while you look at yourself in a magic mirror that sends back emotional and evocative images. And everything is designed to enhance femininity, from the designer radiator to the freestanding washbasin.
Also on the ground floor, adjacent to the communal bathrooms, is the reality designed by Ovre.design, Spin the wheel: guest laundry and changing rooms. A triumph of black and white ceramics, both on the floor and on the walls. “Service spaces are always too unthought of. With DEMO, on the other hand, we wanted to create a dynamic and fun laundry and changing room where people have the curiosity to go and come back“, explain Giulia Del Piano and Corrado Conti.
Surprising and unique are DEMO’s nine suites. With one or two bathrooms, they have a living area, equipped in some cases with very functional kitchens, and a large sleeping area, even with two bedrooms.
On the first floor we find Circle Room, designed by Silvia Ticchi and SMOOVE!! by FDA Fiorini D’Amico Architetti.
Circle Room is a fluid space without physical barriers, with curtains instead of doors and sliding doors. The interior is designed around the shape of the circle, vaguely retro, the style is casual and welcoming, deeply harmonious.
SMOOVE!! is an invitation to escape. It is organised around a transversal element of the space, a wall that alternates the normal equipment of a modern, comfortable hotel room with a complete set of sports and wellness equipment for sport and psychophysical well-being. Between natural materials and technological surfaces.
On the second floor are the suites designed by Alessia Galimberti, Hub 48 and Fragment Hospitality.
With the concept Una vita da (A)mare, the Alessia Galimberti studio has created a suite linked to the genius loci characterised by Mediterranean colours, brass and sand. The interior is deliberately neutral, flexible and versatile, ready to be ‘dressed’ with accessories that will identify and personalise the style.
Colour Episodes by Hub48 praises colour, with fluid surfaces and volumes defined by different shades, into which the furnishings fit for their form and function.
Fragment Hospitality creates an immersive experience based on the fluid element of water. It is a fully accessible suite designed with the consultancy of Roberto Vitali of Village for all. The concept is called In a Light Wave and, in addition to having a bathroom with a double sink at different heights to guarantee flexibility of use for a wider range of users – including children – it has a wellness area that promises guests an extended experience.
On the third floor we are greeted by Just Like Home by Contract Lab, Tropicana Club by Rizoma Architetture and Into the Cloud by Barbara Vannucchi.
With Just Like Home, Contract Lab wanted to create a multifunctional space that meets the need for relaxation but also adaptability. The living room and kitchen area can become workstations, visually separated by a suspended bookcase, as can the bedrooms, which are textured and multifaceted. A smart, green suite.
Tropicana Club by Rizoma Architetture tells a story of fun and colour. An explosion of shapes that hint at pop atmospheres played with industrial materials and bright colours. The living area has a kitchenette designed like a real bar corner, the bed is a reference to a canopy and mixes graphic elements with metal materials.
Into the cloud, designed by Studio Vannucchi, is an invitation to lightness and self-care expressed in a repeatable format.
DEMO’s penthouse, on the fourth and top floor, is the Sea Suite, designed by Studio Bizzarro with the colours of the sea. It is not a simple suite but a gratifying experience that makes peace with one’s self in an environment made up of light, tactile experiences, scents and reassuring colours. A large terrace connecting the inside and the outside, a living room with a foldaway kitchenette, a double room with a multi-sensory shower area.
For more information visit www.demohotel.space.
CREDITS
Project Management: Hospitality Project – Filippo Covili Faggioli, Marco Pignocchi
Marketing consultancy: Teamwork Hospitality
Artistic coordination and direction: Laura Verdi
Commercial coordination: Piero Marini
Corporate identity: SANTACROCE DDC
Photos: Fabio Bascetta, Francesca Pagliai, Flavio Ricci, Lago
