Art, brutalism and a hotel

Take an old brutalist building and humanize it with art: this is the formula undertaken by London-based Universal Design Studio in one of Stockholm’s main squares.

Universal Design Studio, At Six hotel, Stockholm, 2017
London-based architecture practice Universal Design Studio designed a 343-rooms hotel in Stockholm’s Brunkebergstorg Square housing one of Europe’s most ambitious contemporary art collections within a hotel. The building, a brutalist high-rise structure, was originally designed in the 1970s by Swedish architects Boijsen & Efervgren.
Universal Design Studio, At Six hotel, Stockholm, 2017
Universal Design Studio, At Six hotel, Stockholm, 2017
Originally built as a hotel, the building functioned ultimately as the Head Quarters of Swedbank, never fulfilling its original intent. This is one of four of buildings that occupy the square, each built during a government initiative aimed at replacing much of the city centre’s belle époque grandeur with brutal modernity. As part of a wider regeneration programme, Brunkebergstorg Square will return to its place as one of the city’s vibrant, social hubs as it was in the late in the 19th Century.
Universal Design Studio, At Six hotel, Stockholm, 2017
Universal Design Studio, At Six hotel, Stockholm, 2017
Universal Design Studio has reinterpreted the brutalist aesthetic of the building and the immediate architectural landscape of the square through a complete interior renovation and the design of a new entrance facade. A palette of sawn stone, blackened steel, fine timber and polished granite lends a sense of permanence and authenticity to the new interior. Universal’s design focused on humanising the architecture, bringing a sense of desirability and luxury to a brutalist building not often associated with these traits, thus turning the hotel into a contemporary version of a metropolitan grand hotel.
Universal Design Studio, At Six hotel, Stockholm, 2017
Universal Design Studio, At Six hotel, Stockholm, 2017
Original artwork by Jaume Plensa, Olafur Eliasson, Julian Opie, Sol Le Witt, Tacita Dean, Spencer Finch, Richard Long and Marijke van Warmerdam will be displayed within the public spaces as well as individual artworks by Kristina Matousch in the guest rooms. Works by Swedish photographer Dawid complete the hotel art collection. At Six is owned and operated by Petter Stordalen of Nordic Hotels & Resorts and curated by Sune Nordgren, formerly of the BALTIC Centre for Contemporary Art.
Universal Design Studio, At Six hotel, Stockholm, 2017
Universal Design Studio, At Six hotel, Stockholm, 2017

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