Radisson BLU CITY hotel Kyiv
Part 1: Welcome area, Lobby, Lobby Bar
Design: OMO
Contact: i@omo.london
Location: Kiev, Ukraine
Area: 600 m²
Contact: i@omo.london
Location: Kiev, Ukraine
Area: 600 m²
Team: Natalia Shchyra, Ksenia Sobol, Yulia Boiko, Jo Farish, Oleander Omega,
Stas Povaliaev, Pavel Apostu, Anna Iermolayeva
General Contractor: 7CI
Photography: Andrey Avdeenko
The project is located on the street that was the city wall 1500 years ago, in the historic town centre, next to St. Sofia cathedral, a UNESCO world heritage site. The space carries a powerful, ancient energy among its walls.
It’s a project undefined by time , where the Raddison’s use of contemporary luxurious wood and stone are complimented by features supporting local heritage and myths.
The first impactful element you see on entry as you enter is a copper sculpture, it’s form reflects the passage of history. The twists and turns symbolises the milestones of this area starting from the first settlements, thorough to the Scythians and the Golden Age of Kievan Rus and to the modern days when in 2005 the first International hotel was launched here.
Inspired by the sincere hospitality spirit of the hotel team, photographic portraits are styled in the tradition of the old masters, which also alludes to the heritage of the building and location. Each area has their own set of unique characters to reflect the areas function.
The original space consisted of seven areas which we repurposed to optimise circulation in one multi-functional space. This solution created an additional destination lounge area for over a dozen people and Introduced a multi-purpose 8-seats desk station with pop-up socket units.
We exposed some structural elements to optimise space visibility and to reduce budget and use of material. To emphasis different zones and to maintain a clean look throughout, we used seamless technology & engineering integration through a combination of white plaster fragments and the open access ceilings. Tinted mirror effect were used to expand areas visually.
Photoshoot by Anna Iermolayeva
"Inspired by the sincere hospitality spirit of the hotel team, photographic portraits are styled in the tradition of the old masters, which also alludes to the heritage of the building and location. Each area has their own set of unique characters to reflect the areas’ function."
To provoke visitor curiosity and engagement in local history, we incorporated multi strands of heritage inspired elements into a calm Neo-classical canvas. By using customised portraits of hotel staff in historical style, illustrated evolution of the Cyrillic alphabet and a collage of ancient symbols, the atmosphere of history is brought to life.
The Lobby bar became the nucleus of knowledge and stories with the incorporation of a Library housing books of history, art and literature plus local artefacts which illustrate unique traditions.
THE PEOPLE
From left to right: Natalia Shchyra, Pavel Apostu, Ksenia Sobol, Oleander Omega, Stas Povaliaev, Anna Iermolayeva, & Jo Farish
