-
The great indoors : Recline in a Eero Aarnion Bubble Chair in one of the pod rooms. -
The great indoors : The lofty seven-story atrium where bright designer chairs define the lounge areas and hedges of Perspex create smaller dining spaces. -
The great indoors : The Judges' Lounge is the perfect venue for round-the-clock play. -
The great indoors : The red-carpet treatment begins at the hotels entrance. -
The great indoors : Guests reach the second-floor reception via a grand staircase. -
The great indoors : Haldane Martin's Songololo Couch and Fiela Feather Lights on a carpet of indigenous animals acknowledge the hotel local context. -
The great indoors -
The great indoors : The Volakas Marble floor and cascading Perspex waterfall reflect the high-gloss black ceiling of the reception area. -
The great indoors : The lift interiors are yet another talking point.
PHOTOS: Micky Hoyle | PRODUCTION: Sumien Brink | WORDS: Alma Viviers
A desire to create a sequence of memorable spatial moments lies at the heart of the luxurious new 15 On Orange Hotel in Cape Town.
I am unable to resist the urge to touch everything around me. Even on my third visit to 15 On Orange, I find my fingers compulsively reaching out to run along the fringe of the three-storey Willowlamp chandelier as I wind my way up the two flights of stairs to the reception desk.
Yet this sensory experience is not the only one that calls up the stern childhood warning from my mother to “look with your eyes not your hands”, for I am completely surrounded by the tactile temptations of textured wallpapers and plush fabrics.
My other senses are also fully engaged. The gleaming minimalist interior space is accented with bright splashes of cerise pink, candy red, electric blue and acid yellow. A stroll past the Cassis pastry counter in the Cinnamon Café has my mouth watering in anticipation of a delicate macaroon melting on my tongue, while the custom-compiled soundtrack of lounge music infused with distinctive African melodies flows directly from my ears down to my feet. As one giddy patron remarks in passing: “It’s a sensory orgasm.”
The heart of the hotel
At the vibrant pulsing heart of it all is a fissure of light – a seven-storey atrium around which the hotel is structured. Derick Henstra, Director of Dhk Architects, says this is the single-most important architectural feature: “The internal atrium or galleria is the glue that holds the whole building and the way it functions together.”
The atrium also marks the meeting place between the remaining parts of the old Dutch Reformed Synod Hall, which was demolished, and the new addition. Even on the exterior, the atrium is expressed as a clear glass crevasse in an otherwise gleaming black glass tower.
“From a heritage point of view, we were required to retain some memory of the former building,” Derick explains. “Although the old ceremonial entrance to the Synod Hall was perhaps more significant, the traffic authorities would not allow the hotel to have a port-cochere on Orange Street. The northeast facade, however, already accommodated the main entrance of the building, which we were able to reuse. This facade also most successfully demonstrates the original extent and language of the original building.”
It is not only the facade that has been retained but also a whole structural grid, which translated to the depth of the rooms and dictated the structure for the remainder of the new building.
Within this polished interior space of linear planes, Jeremy Stewart, Creative Project Director of Source Brand Interior Architects, designed a series of spatial moments that define the various functions. The lounge, breakfast area, Cinnamon Café, Savour fine-dining restaurant and Murano Bar are strung out along a raised plane to one side of the atrium. Although the venues are all open plan, linking from one to another as one progresses through the spaces, each has its own identity and aesthetic.
Urban indoors
The visual theme tying it all together is a concept that Jeremy termed “The Great Indoors”.
Since this is a thoroughly urban hotel with no manicured gardens, he chose to make subtle references to geography, culture and especially nature through interior elements such as spatial dividers, textures and patterns. A cascading waterfall of white Perspex and glass breaks the high-gloss black box of the reception.
Haldane Martin’s Songololo couch snakes across a bold custom-designed carpet sporting a Versace-like pattern of indigenous animals and insects. Forests of fringing are used to veil and reveal different spaces. Hedges of Perspex rods define table areas and weeping willows of metallic chains encircle the business centre.
The same visual themes flow from the public to the private areas, becoming more subdued in the suites. At 80m2, the generous suite interiors continue the references to nature through the use of artworks, objets and custom-designed wallpapers featuring leaf and branch motifs.
The elegance of the hotel is matched by the excellent level of service – from concierge to porter, receptionist to waiter, it seems to me that all staff take pride in their jobs and place of employment. They exude confidence and enthusiasm, affording every patron one of life’s ultimate luxuries – the freedom to relax in the certainty that every need will be met with competence and grace.
There is nothing generic or even expected in this hotel – it is a world all on its own that tantalisingly engages all the sense. (So, if I could just say sorry Mom, I know you raised me well but, at 15 On Orange, you simply have look with your hands as well.)
•15 On Orange Hotel: C/O Orange Street and Grey’s Pass, Gardens, Cape Town, www.15onorange.com
• Dhk Architects: 021 421 6803, www.dhk.co.za
• Source Interior Brand Architects: 021 418 1929, www.sourceiba.co.za
