Design
The Hotel as Neighborhood
What if a resort incorporated local coffee shops, restaurants, and stores into its very essence? Three architects in Vienna give it a go.
Last year, three young Viennese architects — Theresia Kohlmayr, Jonathan Lutter, and Christian Knapp — decided to take the concept of "boutique hotels" literally when they seized on the idea of turning empty storefronts in the city's 4th District into standalone guestrooms.
They've dubbed the project "Urbanauts," they say because the geography of the "hotel" encourages visitors to get out and explore the neighborhood. "Our 'breakfast room' is a traditional cafe around the corner, our 'spa' is the Moroccan hammam two streets away," says Kholmayr. "We've taken the hotel concept and made it horizontal, so the whole infrastructure of a four-star hotel is spread over the surrounding area."