A visit to the Raffles Europejski Warsaw hotel can feel like a journey through time. Here, classic 19th-century architecture meets outstanding art and modern design. From the moment you step into the lobby, it is clear that the hotel was not built solely to ensure guests a good night’s sleep and comfort. Every detail, however inconspicuous, of these fascinating interiors tells its own extraordinary story. At 13 Krakowskie Przedmieście, architects and brand ambassadors of Kontakt-Simon had the opportunity to experience this first-hand during an event combining the launch of the international Living Places Simon Architecture competition with a tour of one of the capital’s most elegant addresses.

Heritage and contemporary architecture

The history of the Hotel Europejski, which once operated here, dates back to the 19th century. Designed by Henryk Marconi and opened in 1857, it has always been a place where Warsaw’s intelligentsia and artists gathered. Among its regulars were Józef Chełmoński and Stanisław Witkiewicz. Today, following its regeneration, the hotel operates under the global Raffles Hotels & Resorts brand. The stunning interiors were designed by one of Poland’s leading architectural studios – WWAA – in collaboration with the current Director of the Grand Theatre – National Opera, architect Borys Kudlička, and the team at APA Wojciechowski and Lázaro Rosa-Violán Studio. The WWAA studio is renowned, among other things, for its design of the Polish Pavilion, which was presented in Shanghai during the 2010 World Expo. The SUD Architectes studio, in turn, was responsible for the overall design of the building’s redevelopment.

Inspiration in every detail

Guests of Kontakt-Simon began the day with a morning facial yoga session led by Marta Sawicka. They then took part in a discussion on media relations led by Olga Kisiel-Konopka from OKK! PR, a session on speaking in front of the camera with TVN journalist Katarzyna Jaroszyńska, and a meeting with WZ Studio, which demonstrated how a social media presence can strengthen a project’s narrative. The most eagerly awaited part of the day was a guided tour of the hotel, led by Łukasz Godlewski, Art Collection Manager at Raffles.

Raffles houses around 500 works of art from the 20th and 21st centuries, making this collection one of the largest private collections open to the public in Poland. Paintings, photographs, posters, sculptures and installations by many outstanding artists are not merely decorative backdrops here, but a deliberate component of the experience of the space. The first work to catch the eye was a glass sculpture by Dorota Buczkowska. The Kontakt-Simon ambassadors also admired Oskar Zięta’s steel form TAJDO in the lobby and Włodzimierz Jan Zakrzewski’s light installation ‘Granice’. The tour continued with the works of Leon Tarasewicz and Wilhelm Sasnal, and as they passed through the corridors, the architects discovered hidden details – Krystyna Kozłowska’s mosaic “The Abduction of Europa” and a collection of porcelain and glass from the 1960s, 70s and 80s, which evokes the spirit of Warsaw’s bygone decades. The creation of this collection was overseen by Anda Rottenberg, curator and contemporary art critic, and Barbara Piwowarska, an experienced expert in private collections. The works they selected blend into the hotel’s everyday spaces and allow guests to feel that being close to art is a daily experience.

A space for experiences

During their tour, the architects also had the opportunity to visit the Royal Suite, namely the historic Pompeian Hall of the former Hotel Europejski, and the intimate Humidor; a whisky and cigar lounge where understated elegance created a superb atmosphere for conversation. It is precisely this kind of luxury, balanced and thoroughly thought-out, that demonstrated why international guests are so keen to return to Raffles.

For the brand ambassadors of Kontakt-Simon, the meeting served as an inspiration to reflect on space and detail; elements that are of immense importance in design work. This experience demonstrates that luxury is not merely about material form. Equally important is the way in which architecture, art and modern technologies harmonise, creating a space that engages all the senses.

photos: R. Kaźmierczak (www.radoslawkazmierczak.com)

source: press materials

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