Launch of brand flagship NUO Beijing
Hirsch Bedner Associates has announced its partnership with NUO, a new hotel brand developed by Kempinski hotels specifically for the Chinese domestic market. The flagship NUO Beijing was launched in June 2015 located in the capital’s thriving Chaoyang District near the Forbidden Palace and the famed Hutong area.
With the founding concepts of ‘Chinese,’ ‘Contemporary,’ ‘Luxury’ and ‘Green,’ HBA helped develop China’s first high-end hotel brand aimed at providing a customised experience for the Chinese guest within China. The design of each NUO hotel in China will be unique to itself and set within the geography of its area, therefore creating an authentic experience rotted in research and cultural heritage.
This inspired HBA to design the interior of NUO Beijing with a distinct link to the Ming Dynasty of the 14th to 17th centuries – a high point in Chinese culture and art that saw a proliferation in painting, ceramics, lacquerware and porcelain – but updated to 21st century expectations.
Ian Carr, Partner at HBA says: “The Ming Dynasty theme, at the heart of the NUO Beijing, is represented in many facets of the design, from simple application of motif, to principles of layout and graphics, to how the guests interact with the property.”
Consequently, NUO Beijing boasts a mix of traditional Chinese and contemporary art pieces throughout its public spaces, serving as signature elements in the brand’s décor. Custom-made two-metre tall blue and white Ming vases where incorporated into the property’s dramatic lobby and currently flank a large sculptural centerpiece by China’s leading contemporary artist Zheng Fanzhi, the artist whose paintings are also lined up behind the reception desk.
A Chinese Tea Lounge reinforces this precept by integrating philosophies from the ancient Ming Dynasty into the exterior and interior. Natural design elements are incorporated with clean simple details executed with beautiful materials. Whilst the lighting by Illuminate has been weaved into the fabric of the interior design to achieve the desired balance of subtlety and visibility. In addition, the RGB LED backlit barrisol panels located within the vertical sides of the deep-pocketed skylights in the lobby creates a signature piece that draws the eye.
NUO Beijing features 439 guestrooms, of which 42 are suites, the design of each taking inspiration from the Ming Dynasty scholar, Wen Zhen Heng. Based on his philosophy that the ideal bedroom is ‘appropriate for a hermit who supposedly sleeps with clouds and dreams of the moon,’ the NUO guestrooms epitomise understated luxury, striving for a balance and symmetry while maintaining a sense of comfort. The colour scheme of Ming blue and inclusion of bespoke furniture pieces is subtle and calm. Yet, in the NUO style, every detail is accounted for, right down to the hand-painted ceramic plaques designed by Graphics to identify the guest room numbers.
In addition, the hotel features a 23m lap pool, seven individual spa treatment rooms and a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) treatment room inspired by the Siheyuan Garden courtyard during the Ming era.
Carr concludes: “We at HBA are very proud to be a full-scale partner with NUO to create a new brand for the Chinese market. NUO Beijing’s inspiration and design is firmly rooted in Chinese culture and history and as such, has created a new benchmark for luxury hospitality in this market. We look forward to continuing to work with NUO as they expand throughout mainland China, adapting our design aesthetics with the art, lighting and graphics to reflect the uniqueness of each city the property represents.”
