Novotel Zurich City West Common Areas Revamped by Stone Designs

The multidisciplinary studio Stone Designs has renovated the common areas of the Novotel Zurich City West hotel. Located in a post-industrial area of Zurich known as “Technopark,” the hotel is surrounded by large buildings juxtaposed with parks and playgrounds where residents and visitors can sit down to eat or play with their children. This contrast of scale, a unique and distinctive feature of the area, was the leitmotif used by the Spanish studio to design the hotel’s common areas. 

Stone Designs said: “The idea was to create a welcoming yet striking interior atmosphere, with a lobby that would bring guests together to share analogue experiences.” The high-ceilinged main entrance allowed them to recreate this environment, mixing large volumes with small connecting areas. New and distinctive forms of seating, such as the eye-catching bleachers, sit alongside more traditional lounge areas. A bold and cheerful color palette, combined with functional and sustainable materials, creates a harmonious blend.

The studio was inspired by the large water tank in the neighborhood when designing the central bar, which embodies the spirit of the desired concept. The large-scale structure is at the very center of the room, drawing people’s attention while also organizing the space and creating the expected flows.

For the studio, renovating this hotel meant improving it both aesthetically and functionally, creating a comfortable space for visitors that would serve as a seamless transition from outside to inside. For this project, Stone Designs worked with the architectural firm Studio Wet, using seating and furniture from collections by Andreu World, Boln, Finsa, Inclass, Joquer and Ondarreta and lighting from B.lux, Marset and Santa & Cole.