Inside the Iceland Parliament Hotel in Reykjavik

Starting with its very name, the Iceland Parliament Hotel – Curio Collection by Hilton – is “a clear homage to the history, culture and tradition of the place, as are the names that identify some of the interior spaces: Hjá Jóni (the restaurant), Telebar, Parliament Suite, Independence Hall”. These are words by architect Paolo Gianfrancesco, of the Icelandic firm THG Arkitektar, which since 2015 has been responsible for all phases of the project’s development and implementation: from urban insertion, to identifying style parameters for the architecture, to excavation, demolition and construction. For it is from a dialogue with the very identity of the Icelandic capital that this project was born, as well as from a desire to valorize history: the history of Iceland – of its landscape and its people – the history of the city’s symbolic buildings, and the stories of living and sharing that will characterize the experience of the guests, as well as of the citizens, who will be able to experience this new place.

  “The hotel location itself, in the heart of Reykjavik, is highly relevant”, Gianfrancesco has told Domus, “less than 50 meters from the Icelandic Parliament – Alþingi – and opening on the central Austurvollur Square. The place is rich in history, with very significant buildings embodying great symbolic and cultural values for the city. In agreement with the will of the population and institutions, the Curio brand has restored and valorized such important heritage, preserving its identity characteristics”. The complex in fact is developed from pre-existing buildings, preserved under the direction of the Cultural Heritage Agency and then integrated by new volumes: “The buildings belong to different historical periods, each with its own peculiarities in terms of architectural style, materials and interior. Restoration and redevelopment operations have preserved their distinctive features, while adapting the structures to modern building standards. From an aesthetic point of view, the new bodies, which act as a binder, blend naturally with the surrounding urban environment, characterized by limited heights, pitched roofs and non-homogeneous coloring”. A dialogue where the language of materials has played a central role, valorized by collaborations between designers and manufacturers.

Three historic buildings are integrated in the Iceland Parliament Hotel.
The Gamli Kvennaskólinn school for women moved, and relocated on site to allow for the installation of a new concrete basement with related facilities, attracting great attention in the national media, is now housing rooms for meetings and events, in a lower level – with a warmer, softer atmosphere, and a large bar custom-designed by THG – and an upper level for more intimate conviviality, dominated by shades of ocean blue. The NASA Ballroom, an icon for events related to the Icelandic Independence Party, and to the national cultural scene, has been reconstructed after careful tridimensional mapping, and now it is called Independence Hall: “It was realized as a box within a box”, Gianfrancesco explains, “and the hall reveals the splendor of yesteryear with a respectful and innovative design, with better materials and more refined details”. Finally, Iceland Telecom's historic headquarters, symmetrical and massive, built in the early 1930s, the scene of crucial geo-political events in the twentieth century, ae now housing the Hjá Jóni restaurant – named after the founding father of Icelandic independence whose statue can be seen in the square in front – the Telebar, and another very important articulation in the hotel's spatial concept. As the designer has told us, in fact, the primary objective of Curio Collection by Hilton is to offer structures with a distinctive character that are capable of telling a story to the visitor, and the community is also part of this vision: “Large areas of the ground floor are freely usable not only by hotel guests but also by common citizens, even as an alternative passageway to the street during the harsh winter days. Places for simple transit have been transformed into meeting and gathering areas where art exhibitions and installations are set up, and places to share different experiences and situations such as the restaurant, the bar and the large gallery with its open staircase”.

A gradual exploration can confirm what had been anticipated by the architect: the Iceland Parliament Hotel is a project dialoguing with history, with people and with the place in its specificities of landscape and material.
Different areas therefore correspond to different languages and different atmospheres, and for the ceramic cladding, the products from Iris Ceramica Group brands – Ariostea, FMG Fabbrica Marmi e Graniti, Iris Ceramica and SapienStone – have provided a visual expression capable of shaping the visitors’ experience: on the outside, in addition to metal for the ventilated façade and reinforced concrete, technical ceramics and natural stone are used for the walls, while, as Gianfrancesco has told Domus, “the interior was designed by balancing opaque and shiny surfaces, cold and warm materials, with the firm goal of welcoming and ensuring maximum comfort for the guest staying in the hotel. In the more public areas, low-reflectivity and neutral tones tones have been favored, such as those of Quarzite, the technical ceramic by FMG”.

The newly created spa, on the other hand, aims to convey the experience of a rich, yet cozy environment. “We are in the world's northernmost capital city, and people, returning from particularly cold excursions, is welcomed into a warm space of relaxation. Ceramic wall tiles were chosen that evoke natural elements such as stones and marbles with scenically striking wraparound graphics and colors that convey tranquility and a sense of exclusivity”. The same multiplicity of languages is then reflected in the custom furnishings, and the range of materials spans categories from velvet to ecological leathers to porcelain stoneware. A complex concept that required the mastering a vast complexity of themes, references, suggestions, and technical challenges, the place embodied and delivered to the city and travelers by the Iceland Parliament Hotel is the place of another, new luxury, which by basing itself on the hotel chain’s philosophy – “being home far from home” – and on the principle of dialogue manages to place the innovative experience of this hotel at the highest level of offer in its category.