The new UNA Hotel Modena is located just outside Modena in the small town of Baggiovara, a once rural district whose recent haphazard development has led to a straggled array of historic and latest generation buildings. Designed by the Tiziano Lugli practice, partnered by Studio Colombo for the interior décor, the new building is an effective landmark, its imposing volumes and materials now a pivotal point, unifying and harmonizing the diverse fragments of its semi-urban landscape.
A key feature of the architecture is the wide expanse of porcelain stoneware-clad ventilated façades developed by Marazzi Engineering. A series of Marazzi products has been used to signpost the building’s different components and their functions. The two volumes with regular rows of ribbon windows standing on each side of the main entrance are clad in Onyx porcelain stoneware tiles. The surfaces of the tall vertical circulation towers and the decorative inserts on the side and rear façades are Marazzi’s SistemA while the distinctive appearance of the adjoining convention centre has been achieved with “diamond”, or reflective finish tiles of Marazzi’s Muri range.
Ceramics is a hallmark of the interiors too, its versatility making it the ideal partner for a range of other materials like glass, wood and metal. SistemA crystallized porcelain stoneware floor tiles are the unifying element in a large ground-floor foyer comprising several functional areas. The flooring forms the perfect backdrop to the foyer’s vibrantly coloured furnishings. The refined restraint of the tiles contrasts to great effect with seven singular columns clad in coloured fibreglass. Colour contrast is again the theme in the restrooms where black SistemA tiles are offset by multicoloured strip tiles from the same range. The bathrooms of the 95 bedrooms are more formal in style with Marazzi floor and walls tiles combined with Hatria sanitary ware.
Juxtaposition of opposites is again a major feature of the hotel’s Des Arts restaurant. A metal frame structure supporting glass walls and ceiling, the restaurant resembles a large greenhouse. The lightweight appearance of glass and metal is in striking contrast to a solid wall of Marazzi Soho Grey porcelain stoneware, here in 3-D effect strips for sleek sophistication. The wellness centre on the fourth floor gives on to a partly grass-covered panoramic terrace with sweeping views across to the Apennines. A long glazed front allows the sunlight to penetrate into the interior. Here the walls are clad in the small shiny glass nuggets of the Crystal Mosaic range, offset to great effect by the Soho Grey porcelain stoneware flooring.
Marazzi GroupV.le Virgilio, 30
I - 41123 Modena (MO)
Tel. +39 059 384111
Fax +39 059 384303
E-mail: press@marazzigroup.com
www.marazzi.it
