Interview with Gerardo Mingo

“This hotel generates emotions, sensations, atmospheres.
But with an eye on profitability, conservation, durability. That’s what makes it all real.”

A residential building from the beginning of the 20th century, partly protected, which has been transformed into a hotel. How does that legacy coexist with a new project? Looking towards the origins of the building and making them up-to-date. The combination between roots and universality is always present.

One of the elements which has been protected and restored was the staircase. It is made of Soria pine and is already a hundred years old and yet it looks impeccable now. We treat it with great care, without using any chemicals. The entire railing was also restored to leave it as it was originally. The unit as a whole is a great historical asset for the building.

For you, a building has to be integrated into its surroundings. If you don’t achieve the symbiosis of the outside atmosphere with that which is created inside, there is dissonance and you lose the basic essence of what you are building.

For you, a building has to be integrated into its surroundings.

If you don’t achieve the symbiosis of the outside atmosphere with that which is created inside, there is dissonance and you lose the basic essence of what you are building.

Your favourite space and why?

The restaurant on the ground floor. We have combined lodging and catering and they work very well together. In the restaurant, that connection with the exterior is very noticeable whilst you talk or enjoy the food. The bar is another of my favourite spaces with its amazing zenithal lighting.

And finally the room…

You seek out the surprise, the initial emotion brought about by the atmosphere. That is the degree of satisfaction. You have to get that person back to the hotel, propose an experience to them.

In the room, in such a small space, you set up different scenarios, which are not physically separated, but which are in your mind. That’s why they must be treated spatially, superficially and emotionally. The experience is cumulative.

Can emotions and profitability go together?

It’s the only way for a hotel to work. We generate sensations and spectacular atmospheres, but if it is not profitable it is a failure. It is very important to see the very entrails of a hotel right from the outset: the facilities, the conservation, the durability.

Define this building.

It is a building that behaves in a perfect, simple and straightforward fashion. I like the way it works and how well the circulation flows of people are distributed

“My favourite spot is the restaurant, its inside-outside connection. I like to see people walk by and the fact that they can see me if they feel like it.”