Stockholm’s Blique by Nobis is so new, you can still smell the freshly laid carpets ? and yet it respects its history. The hotel is an imaginative adaptation of a building that was part-warehouse, designed for Philips by iconic Swedish designer Sigurd Lewerentz in the 1930s, and part 1990s office block by Alenius-Silverhielm-Ã…hlund. “The project has been a balancing act between preserving the existing and daring to challenge it,” says Kajsa Johanson, an architect at WingÃ¥rdhs ? the firm behind the hotel. “The result is a raw and honest, but at the same time sharp, interior ? one that is respectful of history but also looks to the future.”
The original béton-brut concrete remains and the raw, industrial ambience it creates is complemented by the matte black ironwork and exposed services in the ceiling space. Designer furniture, much of it by Carl Hansen & Sön, in warm, natural materials such as wood and leather, provide a gentler counter-point, resulting in a balanced color palette dominated by soft gray tones with elements of buff, black, and brown. “We have developed a common method for how we approach the buildings [Nobis have] chosen to establish themselves in,” says Helena Toresson, an interior designer at WingÃ¥rdhs who also worked on Miss Clara and Nobis Copenhagen. “The point of departure is always the building’s history and its distinctive character in combination with the casual elegance and the warmth t...