The Urban Design Hotel in the historic town centre of Trieste is built over Roman ruins dating back to the first century, and on the inside is a blend of contemporary taste and ancient settings. The lighting installed involved the clever use of ultra-modern LED lamps and lighting fixtures, that succeeded in showing off the materials and colours to their best advantage.
In the entrance hall, next to the large sculpture by Simon Benetton, and above the reception desk, a 3-metre Sospesa lamp has been installed, that was made to measure and according to a nautical design. In contrast with the even light produced by this lamp are the lighting effects produced by the ceiling lamps and recessed spotlights from the Zen collection, in the corridors, while the recessed LED lamps from the Cricket collection enhance the original stone wall and ancient architectural relics. The bar counter is also illuminated with the same high-output LED spotlights, which produce a cold light, which contrasts with the colour of the Motion wall lamp and the four original Dono wall lamps with ‘drinking glass’ diffusers, which create unusual light reflections on the walls. In the guest rooms, all fitted with ultra-modern technology and furnished in a minimalist style to resemble the cabins of a luxury cruise ship, the irregularity of the shapes is enhanced by the asymmetry of the Motion wall lamps above the bedside tables.

Arch. Mauro Olivetti
Ph. Andrea Pancino
2007