MKV received two briefs, one for Intourist Baku and one for Boulevard Baku, which are both part of Marriott’s Autograph collection. Both hotels celebrate Baku’s past while symbolising the international and aspirational city it is becoming. MKV’s first brief was for Boulevard Baku, the largest conference hotel within Baku.
Situated on the seafront of the Caspian Sea, the client wished for the hotel to capture the story of Boulevard Baku’s location. MKV was responsible for the design of all the lobby and lounge areas as well as the conference area and the spa. The brief required MKV to create a distinct identity for these spaces, with references to the city’s industrial legacy while celebrating the 21st century rebirth of Baku and the aspirational lifestyles of the city’s residents as they look to the future.
Boulevard Baku
The design of the Boulevard Baku’s public spaces is a confluence of past, present and future. MKV delved into Azerbaijan’s rich culture and diverse geography, as well as into Baku’s architectural inheritance and its past association with the Silk Road. Allusions to these were introduced throughout the design. MKV’s designers also engaged with Baku’s vibrant contemporary art scene, working with local artists to create modern, fresh, stylish and international indoor spaces.
Boulevard Baku’s extensive spa and wellness facilities, in addition to serving hotel guests, is a private health club for local residents comprising a state-of-the-art fitness centre, an indoor pool with natural daylight, a beauty salon and a spa. Connection with nature is at the heart of the spa. This is a timeless space where the indoor pool area looks onto the garden outside and, during summer, opens up to allow guests to take treatments and relax outdoors in the sunshine. Yet, during the cold winter months, the spa envelops guests in its comfortably curvaceous forms and elegantly defined spaces.
The sheer size of the Boulevard and the scale of its lobby meant that MKV needed to create impact in this space to give it soul. Two rows of large, structural columns define the space and features such as full-height bronze fretwork, which is a continuous feature throughout Boulevard’s public areas, screens and sheer curtains were introduced around these to soften the effect and form more human-scale seating areas. A recessed pewter ceiling and a modern glass chandelier adds warmth and lightness to the contemporary sofas and the vibrantly coloured accessories and rugs. From the lobby, the long corridors have very directional features, such as water cut marble with an Italian gold mosaic within the floor.
Intourist Baku
MKV’s second brief was for Intourist Baku, located just 11 miles away from Boulevard Baku’s location close to the Baku Eye. Here, the client wished to create a hotel with the glamour, sophistication and intimacy of Baku’s original Intourist Hotel which, during its mid-20th century heyday, was ‘the place to be seen’.
Although the architectural design of Intourist Baku’s new building was a replica of its predecessor, MKV responded to the brief by designing a hotel with a narrative that is clearly its own. Boutique in quality and scale, the interiors of the new hotel might be a lovely family home or a special place for local people, reviving memories, but within a 21st century context. The design vision was to create a hotel that is glamorous, contemporary and intimate in ambience.
MKV approached Intourist Baku with a view to reimagining the atmosphere of the original Intourist in its heyday, rather than a literal recreation of past interiors and since the building was in fact new, there were no historical parts to incorporate.
Intourist Baku’s lounge has the ambience of an exclusive member’s club with a mid-century design aesthetic that complements the clean lines of the interior architecture. Elegant furniture and lighting in modern classic forms, by renowned European brands, are finished in high-quality materials and rich tones. Harmonising with the warm colour palette, a green forest marble wall with a recessed fireplace and log storage forms a dramatic backdrop. The overall effect is one of sophisticated glamour.
Reflecting both of the hotels’ external environments within the internal design was more explicit within the Boulevard, as the design of the new hotel is very much about the story of its location. Baku’s industrial legacy is experienced on arrival in the reception lobby, where gas fires flank the entrance, shooting flames upwards from granite hearths that are set against a background of falling water. Two eye-catching metal sculptures on each side of the reception desk remind guests of Azerbaijan’s wealth of birdlife and behind them, abstract artwork suggests the Caspian Sea on a summer’s day. The 1300m2 column-free ballroom departs from all reference to the industrial past into a design inspired by nature. Hundreds of white metal leaves cluster on the ceiling, the patterning to the carpet suggests a forest floor and the room opens onto an internal courtyard with planting and a water feature. The spa too has an intrinsic connection to nature and the sea, towards which it faces. Above the indoor pool, sculptural leaves suspended from the ceiling create a soft ‘tree canopy’ and seem to dance in the rippling light.
Intourist offers subtle references to its location, but it is more about the world inside than the Boulevard. Glass chandeliers, floating through the reception and restaurant areas, allude to the sails of the old ships which once ploughed the Caspian Sea – cultural motifs were the design inspiration for the reception floor pattern, as well as for the decorative timber screens which recur throughout the public areas. Artwork in the guestroom corridors consist of large-scale images of old Baku buildings, which MKV photographed and reworked in collaboration with a local art gallery.
The Boulevard Hotel is primarily a large hotel for business and functions, so MKV placed a lot of emphasis on helping guests find their way around the public areas, creating in effect a grid to allow for ease of navigation and by giving long corridors a very directional feel with a parade of screens and a magnificent floor patterning. Whereas, Intourist’s guests were likely to be local and international people ‘in the know’, confident in quietly sophisticated interiors and familiar with high-quality pieces. MKV responded, for example, by including collections of original contemporary furniture in the public areas and a crystal embossed wallpaper in the otherwise streamlined guestrooms.
Located between the lounge and restaurant areas, Intourist Baku’s bar concept is of an international style that will appeal to a sophisticated clientele. The antiqued brass of the bar glimmers under shafts of light slicing through dark walnut timber and white lacquer boxes suspended from the ceiling in a crafted design which ‘cuts through’ the marble wall from the lounge. The hint of a seagoing raft is apparent in these boxes, an idea picked up in a printed canvas, set into a porthole-shaped frame over the bar which depicts an ancient ship that might once have set sail from the seafaring nation of Azerbaijan. The timber flooring is composed of hexagonal panels in an M.C. Escher fashion and a striking zig zag table traverses the bar space – a striking alternative to the conventional sharing table.
Comfort is the primary consideration when creating a luxury restaurant experience that requires getting every element exactly right, beginning with a thorough understanding of how the space will flow from an operational point of view and following this through to the fine details that make a place feel exceptional. MKV’s challenge with Intourist Hotel’s restaurant was a series of structural columns that dominated the space. So, MKV softened their appearance with mirror cladding overlaid with sheers and screens, some of which can slide between columns to create more intimate spaces. Dining tables feature polished copper details and smartly tailored seating is supremely comfortable. An entire wall features a mural and another is clad in exquisite travertine stone. A chandelier of illuminated glass droplets adds a feminine touch to balance the architectural lines and hard surfaces. To the rear of the restaurant, an open kitchen provides an interactive dining experience.
The public spaces in Intourist flow naturally from the entrance lobby, leading guests into the next area with intriguing glimpses and carefully composed views. Behind the reception desks are the first of the decorative timber screens which recur through the ground floor space, with their hint of a 1960’s patina, together with full-height sheers and a magnificent cascade of ceiling pendants that swirl through the public areas like an unfurling sail, they hold the spaces together while each area has its own experience to offer.
Creating luxury
As a company, MKV believes that a luxury hotel experience is a combination of many things. Maria elaborates: “Within the mix of service, design, facilities and location, design can help to deliver a sense of place and authenticity, as well as those exquisite details that create enduring memories for guests. Guests want to share their stories when they get home and great memories reinforce the sense of luxury.
“A generous amount of space is also often said to be important, especially a large guestroom and bathroom. This simply cannot always be achieved in urban hotels where there are constraints on space and, here, the skill and creativity of the designer becomes even more important in creating a sense of luxury through high-quality finishes and furnishings – those details appreciated by well-travelled connoisseurs of hotels. For me, a lovely spa is all-important alongside public areas where guests can feel at home, but with the added advantage of being looked after.”
MKV set out to create cohesive interior schemes that flow seamlessly throughout both the Boulevard and Intourist, such that each space has a distinct identity yet belongs to an interconnected whole, which Maria believes “is particularly important in hotel public areas where patrons need to be able to easily navigate their way to a restaurant, bar, spa or function area”. In each of the Baku hotels, the material finishes, colour palettes and bespoke features create a design language that is used to both delineate and link individual spaces.