Reaching up towards the Catalonian sun, the two towers of The Renaissance Barcelona Fira Hotel contain a “vertical garden”; the structure has a core of vegetation that snakes up the central atrium and spreads through two areas of public space, one at the uppermost of the 27 floors, and one midway. Nearly 300 palm trees and dozens of other plants from five continents comprise the garden, which has taken root in the otherwise urban surrounds of the city’s Plaza Europa.
World renowned architect Jean Nouvel and long-standing Barcelona firm Ribas & Ribas collaborated on the hotel. As with another recent Nouvel hotel, the Sofitel Vienna Stephansdom, black, white and grey are heavily integrated into the design. The front aspect is a patterned matte black, while the other three façades are a brilliant white. Correspondingly, the majority of the 357 guest rooms have been given a white scheme, around 40 are dark grey. As our images from highly-accoladed Barcelona-based architecture and documentary photographer Iñigo Bujedo-Aguirre show, the hotel is at its most verdant in the gaping spaces between the main sections, and the scenic restaurant on 14 which was designed with especially high ceilings to allow the trees room to stretch out. Threatening to date quickly (if they haven’t already) are the palm-tree windows, but there’s definitely an overriding sense of calm. Breath deeply, and relax…
