Hotel Viu opens in Milan
Hotel Viu, a new 124-key luxury property in Milan, has opened its doors in the emerging Porta Volta neighbourhood. With exteriors designed by Arassociati and interiors by Nicola Gallizia Studio, the property seeks to honour the classic aesthetics of Milan while remaining progressive and sustainable.
Named after a northern gateway in the 16th-century walls that once surrounded the city, the hotel has been built as part of an extensive regeneration program, and features a glass façade framed with greenery, the city’s first five-star rooftop swimming pool, and furnishings designed by Patricia Urquiola, Ferruccio Laviani and Gio Ponti. UniFor (Molteni Group) provided the furnishings and partition systems for the three upper floors, including both series products and custom works conceived specifically for the unique spaces by Herzog & de Meuron.
Rendered in sustainably sourced wood, metal and bronzed glass, the hotel’s architecture is composed of undulating patterns of indentions and projections that define each story. Floor-to-ceiling glass windows flood the guestrooms and public spaces with natural light and offer panoramic city views, ensconcing guests in an inviting, home-like setting reminiscent of a stylish Milanese townhouse.
Local Milanese studio AG&P Greenscape were responsible for the landscape design of the hotel’s vertical gardens, which sees a series of planters connected through a network of steel cables threaded with climbing plants.
The collaboration between Arassociati and Nicola Gallizia Studio has translated into an interior aesthetic that is both soothing and surprising thanks to a tonal colour palette and contemporary textures that complement the architecture of the hotel. Parquet oak wood floors and dark wood contrast with the light colours and fabrics, many of which are handmade and all exclusively created for the hotel by Italian textile company Rubelli. Within the guestrooms, walnut, durmast and rosewood panelling echoes the lines and function of the classic aesthetic, while accents in bronze add sophistication.
The hotel also plays host to Bulk, an inclusive and informal restaurant conceptualised by Michelin-starred chef Giancarlo Morelli, as well as a fitness centre stocked with Technogym equipment and a CrossFit.
