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Press Release
EQUIP Xavier Claramunt
HOTEL HOSPES GRANADA
(Spain)

EQUIP XAVIER CLARAMUNT CONTRACTED TO DESIGN HOTEL HOSPES PALACIO DE LOS PATOS IN GRANADA
 
The extension to this 19th century palace features 22 exclusive rooms

The façade is covered by a spectacular alabaster curtain wall

Barcelona, July 2007 -  Barcelona-based company EQUIP Xavier Claramunt designed the recent extension to the Hotel Hospes Palacio de los Patos in Granada. Built over 18 months, the new building means the hotel now features 22 new, exclusive rooms in addition to the 20 already in existence.
The recently completed, 7,100 square-metre annex is located next to the 19th-century palace and stands out due to the impressive alabaster wall covering its façade.  EQUIP Xavier Claramunt created a visual strategy for this project with the design offering a play on perspective.
“Instead of merely extending the Palacio de los Patos, a series of lattice works have been erected to achieve densities designed to segregate different uses and activities. Instead of building a solid mass, a set of curtains, hangings and lattice works were raised through which the palace can be coyly observed from the new areas.  On the one side there is the historic building, playing a leading role once more, and on the other a superposition of lattice works, planes and densities straining to look at the palace across a garden merged into the same lattice work which extends horizontally around the building, delineating the garden and its shadows.”
Situated in the heart of Granada’s commercial district, the Hotel Hospes Palacio de los Patos comprises three very different areas: the restaurant, the spa baths and the rooms.  The restaurant is conceived as an extension to the adjacent garden and vice versa.  The spa area consists of several spa rooms lit by natural light from above. Located on the upper floors, the rooms all overlook the palace in its capacity as the central, revered object in this project.

Multidisciplinary team
EQUIP Xavier Claramunt was founded in Barcelona in 1990 and operates in three areas: architecture, industrial design and jewellery. It specialises in unique buildings for the hotel sector and comprises a group of thirty professionals with backgrounds in a variety of disciplines.  In 2005, the company opened its own office in China, where it is carrying out several projects.  Its clients include renowned companies such as Hospes, Cosmic, Damm, Bra or Faces (Ferran Adrià).