Project Overview

Refurbishment and renovation of the main lobby entrance, lobby lounge and bar area of the Hilton Milan. Revitalising and breathing new Milanese style and life into an area of the hotel very much in need of updating. By using innovative local companies and the craftsmanship of the Italian makers - surfaces, finishes and upholstery where all combined to give the Hilton a new personality in line with the Milanese ethics of this forward thinking city.

Project Commissioner

Hilton

Project Creator

THDP - The Hickson Design Partnership

Project Brief

The project brief was to bring modern Milan crashing through the front doors of the Hilton Milan. With an existing, very lack lustre entrance and guest experience the project brief was to update and breath new life and sociability into this most important of areas of the hotel.
The guest on arrival was to be met with a style and exuberance that conveys that they are in a distinctly Milanese hotel. From the reception experience through to the lobby lounge, this was absolutely destined to have a relaxed elegant approach, interesting to the eye, exciting to the senses but above all a relaxing and "Casa Milan" style that ease the guest into the city.
The bar was to work night and day and to be a meeting place as well as a social place to drink and eat and enjoy a coffee an pastry in the morning to lunch and afternoon tea and onto the art of "apperativi" - a well established Milan bar ethic in the evenings. To introduce into the lobby area a lounge, to sit and relax and a quite area to work or use the internet and print information from.

Project Innovation/Need

Giving the bar two personalities just by closing or opening doors. The back bar feature is cleverly designed, decorated and detailed in such a way that just by opening parts of the back bar doors and swinging 180 degrees closing off other areas of the back bar turns the bar from a day feel of coffee and pastries to night for cocktails and apperativi.

This small but innovative detail has allowed the whole of the lobby bar and restaurant to have more than one personality and it transform the space instantly.

Design Challenge

All the challenges that the designers generally meet in a refurbishment project were in evidence here, including the renovation of the existing marble and granite floors and to integrate the existing finishes into the colour scheme to make them subtly step back and allow the new and modern to come through and take centre stage. Budget was an extreme challenge and of course this, along with the value engineering that was necessary did not impede the original design ethics and approach that where originally presented, what was built and finished was very much in line with the original design presentation. Clever use of materials and local artists gave this its individuality and the use of local FF&E companies met the low budget figure that was issued at the beginning of the project. The designers research the market locally and delivered a high quality interior that is much talked about in Milan.

Sustainability

The whole of the project was locally sourced - the furthest company used for the supply of FF&E was in the Veneto. The use of new materials that where either from sustainable sourses or materials that where re-cycled into the new finishes.