The Reykjavik Edition is set to open in preview on 9 November, adding 253 rooms; a signature restaurant, nightclub and series of bars; and a modern social wellness concept to the Icelandic capital’s hotel landscape.

Designed in partnership with local architecture firm T.ark and New York-based studio Roman and Williams, with guidance of Ian Schrager Company (ISC), the property’s design subtly captures the spirit of Reykjavik while avoiding the clichés and remaining firmly rooted in the Edition brand’s sophisticated and refined style.

From the outside, the building features an ebony façade of shou sugi ban timber that has been charred to be blacked using an ancient Japanese technique, while blackened steel frames are a clear nod to Iceland’s dramatic lava landscape. The simple, clean-lines of the structure itself have been angled to make the most of the views and its harbour-side setting, with a double-entrance lobby accessible either from the pedestrian Harpa plaza, or the harbour itself. The latter – in a grand sense of arrival similar to The Times Square Edition in New York City – is equipped with a canopy thats underside is illuminated by 12,210 glass LED nodes.

As with all Edition hotels, the lobby is a social space with a sense of place and time. Basalt stone – or volcanic rock – is prominent throughout, appearing on flooring that has been laid with an intricate pattern inspired by Icelandic geometry, as well as a sculptural reception desk. For the lobby centrepiece, the ISC team added a sculptural totem in lava stone to balance warm materials such as saddle leather wrapped around concrete columns and white oak flooring, ceiling beams and slats that flank the atmospheric lobby bar.

Elsewhere, the lobby lounge features a central open-flame fireplace surrounded by seating and a collection of custom-made furniture in intimate groups, including the Jean-Michel Frank-inspired armchair in white shearling and Pierre Jeanneret-inspired chairs in black velvet. As ever, there is a strong emphasis on warm, indirect lighting, which has been introduced to create a soft glow and illuminate fixed furnishings like the bar, reception desk and Christian Liaigre white bronze floor lamps that mimic a jewellery box installation.

Inside the entrance of the hotel, ISC has collaborated with local artisans to create a totem sculpture of stacked, columnar basalt slate from the south of Iceland. Rising close to four-metres-high, the sculpture’s inspiration was taken the traditional Cairns, which act as landmarks across island’s countryside. Lit by both electric and candlelight and surrounded by a basalt bench, the totem is layered with black sheepskins, black damask and silk pillows. Drawing cues from the aurora borealis meanwhile, ISC has video mapped the Northern Lights and created an immersive, three dimensional digital artwork of green and purple dancing waves to stir a reaction and emotion similar that of witnessing the natural phenomenon in real life.

“Reykjavik is a really cool, young city – perfect for our brand,” says Ian Schrager, the visionary pioneer behind Edition. “We think this is Reykjavik’s time and we’re right here at the very heart of it.”

Read Supper’s overview of the food and beverage spaces here.

Unfolding over the floors under the rooftop, the hotel’s 253 guestrooms and suites have been designed as warm retreats, each with their beds facing floor-to-ceiling windows that frame various views of the surrounding neighbourhood. Some come complete with an outdoor terrace, while all are an embodiment of the Edition brand’s approach to modern luxury with a subtle local flavour. A muted palette of ash wood and pale grey oak serves as a warm foundation for a feature formwork concrete wall, Italian custom-made furniture, copper bed light sconces, faux fur rugs, and artwork and accessories from native craftsmen, such as a colourful bed throw by local wool company, Ístex, ceramics by artist Guðbjörg Káradóttir, and in-room art by famous Icelandic artists Pall Stefansson and Ragnar Axelsson that showcases the country’s landscapes. Meanwhile, the monochrome bathrooms with bespoke, handmade white ceramic tiles made in Italy are furnished with a white marble vanity, matte black accessories and fittings, and Le Labo toiletries of Edition’s exclusive scent. From its prime corner spot on the sixth floor, the one-bedroom Penthouse Suite has its own private terrace and boasts light-filled interiors with plush furnishings in creamy oatmeal tones. The Penthouse Suite is also kitted out with an oversized bathroom featuring Italian white marble and a fireplace.

Among the hotel’s meeting and event spaces are a series of studios, a boardroom with natural light and bleach oat-wide plank floorings, and a grand ballroom with pre-function space and floor-to-ceiling glass windows. The latter can be divided into two separate spaces, while large glass doors are wide enough to accommodate a car. Within the ballroom is a hanging alabaster chandelier paired with natural felt overwraps.

Opening later this year on the lower ground floor is Sunset, an underground nightclub with a state-of-the-art sound system and theatrical lighting that illuminates a black concrete interior and cast bar. The venue can be split into three spaces with access from the hotel and Harpa Square. Along with a signature cocktail menu and ongoing roster of events, the club will play host to some of the world’s top DJs and performers, with a private entrance for those in need of discretion. “It would have been a dream to have opened Studio 54 here, where darkness lasts six months rather than the eight hours as it does in New York City,” Schrager quips.

Also on the lower ground floor is a gym that boasts strength training, weight and cardio equipment. It is the spa however that is one of the most unique aspects at the hotel. Located directly opposite Sunset, the facility not only offers three treatment rooms, a hammam, steam room and sauna, and a plunge pool that offers hydrotherapy, it also houses a central lounge with a spa bar, which by day serves a menu of post-workout Viking shakes, champagnes and moss vodka infusions as well as snacks like volcano bread with black lava salt, which guests can tuck into before heading to the geothermal splash pool or relaxing with a 60-minute Sundown Spa treatment that includes an invigorating body massage and a cool onyx scalp massage. “A spa and wellness facility with a bar is something we haven’t really seen before,” adds Schrager. “But going down there and socialising and drinking and then getting into the thermal waters is, again, a response to being in Iceland. And combining this in a tasteful and elegant way underpins what the Edition brand is about.”

Perched on a harbour against a backdrop of mountain views, the hotel sits adjacent to landmark concert hall and conference centre Harpa, whose multicoloured glass façade was designed by Icelandic-Danish artist Olafur Eliasson. It is also just minutes from Laugavegur, the main shopping street in downtown Reykjavik.

“In Iceland, you’re getting to see things you won’t see anywhere else,” Schrager concludes. “More so than any other place in the world, it’s a real opportunity to get in touch with earth and nature and we’re proud to expand the Edition brand in an incredible place with a hotel that gives people a true sense of place.”