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Architects: OAB
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Photographs:Dani Rovira
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Manufacturers: Saflex
Text description provided by the architects. The plot where the building object of the competition is located had previously been the headquarters of the Círculo Ecuestre, founded in 1856.
The Neoclassical-style building collapsed during the civil war, and the current headquarters was relocated to the "Casa Pérez Samanillo" in 1950, at the confluence of Avenida Diagonal and Balmes Street.
After the Círculo Ecuestre, following the civil war, it became the headquarters of Banco Hispano Americano, one of the driving forces of the Spanish Post-War economy. The building was completed in 1955, as it is found at the time of the competition.
Presented under the motto "Metropolis," in reference to the film by Fritz Lang, the contest project proposed an intervention based on strict compliance with current regulations. However, despite the modifications that the project underwent in its development process due to the new requirements requested by the late incorporation of Mandarin Oriental, from the beginning, there was a concept that would remain until today: the access to the building would be understood as an extension of Paseo de Gracia, and would allow the introduction of "public space" within the building.
The key to the intervention lies in the itinerant character of Paseo de Gracia.
The intervention of the Mandarin Hotel proposes to blur the boundaries between the Paseo and the interior of the building. For this purpose, the extension of the Paseo through an architectural itinerary that "introduces" public space into the building is proposed. It aims to offer the passerby an architectural experience.
A longitudinal axis is traced, which connects the building from the street to the interior of the block. This axis is an itinerary that goes through the following sequence:
1. Paseo de Gracia: Where the access occurs.
2. The Facade: Its facade does not fit the modernist landscape of Paseo de Gracia, but its memory has been respected. The intervention consisted of preserving its main Order, but eliminating all unnecessary ornamentation.
3. The Entrance Portico: The only relevant intervention has focused on opening the windows of the ground floor to create an entrance portico in order to provide permeability from the Paseo to the interior, inviting access.
4. Access Ramp: The main access is through an aerial walkway that offers an ascending route, eliminating the original entrance of the descending imperial staircase. This operation provides an "optimistic" entrance and allows disembarking in a more centralized position of the building to solve interior circulations.
5. Atrium of Lights: Through the entrance ramp, the atrium of lights is discovered. The lighting is natural and artificial. The former is produced by the zenith glass skylight. The latter is produced by the geometric shifts of the window frames of the access corridors to the rooms. This solution allows for the continuity of spatial and sensory perception between day and night. It also offers a scenic entrance that marks the sequence of transition between the exterior and the interior.
6. Disembarkation on the mezzanine floor: The entrance to the closed space of the hotel is located on the mezzanine or attic floor. From this distributor, all access to the different dependencies of the hotel is resolved. From here, the double space of the former Patio de Operaciones is discovered.
7. The former Patio de Operaciones: In this space, a new structure and zenith natural lighting have been recreated, intended for the more public dependencies of lounges, restaurants, and cafeterias.
8. The interior of the block: The roof of the former Patio de Operaciones is the garden terrace in the interior of the block, with the collaboration of Beth Figueras.
9. The interior facade: The intervention consists of providing a "veil" to the original structure of the building while preserving its volume. A system of metal rods allows for visual and lighting control.
10. The corridor-walkway: Access to the rooms is through an interior walkway that is actually the interior facade of the atrium of lights. This reveals a new perception of this large space. If the vision is global and complete through the ramp, from the interior, it is fragmented and kinetic.
11. The Roof: The roof collects, under a clean, geometric, and compact volume, a multitude of service elements. In addition, the solution of the section also allows for a platform-lookout to the city. A water sheet and a strip of vegetation distance the visitor from the vertical plane of the facade and contribute to counteracting the inhospitable effect of the high-rise roofs.
The Program
Out of a total of over 17,000 m2, the ground floor of the hotel is dedicated to the grand hall (1,300 m2), but it will combine cafeteria and restaurant uses in the same space. The kitchens are located, one on the ground floor for the restaurant and cafeteria, and the other on the mezzanine floor for the signature cuisine kitchen. In the mezzanine floor of the former patio de operaciones, the most exclusive and private spaces of the hotel are located. From the mezzanine floor, access can be made through the stairs located in each of its lateral courtyards to the roof terrace, which is more than 600 m2. From the first to the eighth floor, the hotel has 102 rooms.
Each floor is accessed from two access cores, one for guests and another for service.
