photography © Cosmin Dragomir

In the heart of Bucharest, the capital city of Romania, sits the Hotel Mercure. The four-star hotel is surrounded by neoclassical structures, which greatly influenced its design. The Hotel Mercure Bucharest City Center is described by its architects, Arhi Group, as a story-telling structure.

As the architects further describe, “The hotel’s façade has taken and reinterpreted architectural and symbolic elements from the immediate vicinity, as to emit a cultural message, both urban and stylistically consistent.”

photography © Cosmin Dragomir

The hotel utilizes an interesting mixture of contrasting materials from plaster to aluminum composite. The Dark Grey Alucobond PLUS aluminum composite creates an interesting juxtaposition showcasing both the influence of traditional building concepts with the movement towards contemporary techniques.

photography © Cosmin Dragomir

The architects mimicked the arched windows of the surrounding buildings but manipulated them into modern rectangular versions. Additionally the architects describe, “We reiterated one of the Romanian Athenaeum’s main architectural features, the portico, which is detached from the main volume and ceded to public space.”

photography © Cosmin Dragomir

The architects further showcased modern architectural techniques with the hotel’s advanced muralled façade. Arhi Group explains, “We used CNC perforated panels, placed at a certain distance from the façade support, creating the look and feel of depth by alternating light and shade.” The modern-day fresco serves as the hotel’s graphic symbolism and showcases two of the area’s prominent cultural symbols: the Romanian Athenaeum and composer George Enescu. George Enescu, for whom the street the hotel sits on is named after, inspired the fresco’s muses, which descend from the ceiling at his Museum just miles away.

photography © Cosmin Dragomir

Both the Muzeul Național George Enescu and the Romanian Athenaeum are historic structures built in the French Baroque and neoclassical styles. The influences of these architectural styles on the Hotel Mercure are playful, attempting to both blend into its surroundings while also standing out.

Information courtesy of Arhi Group
Photography ©Cosmin Dragomir