‘Jean Nouvel has created a ceiling for the city, in the form of gigantic artworks by Pipilotti Rist which cover the ceilings of the top floor restaurant and atrium of his Sofitel tower’
The Postmodern hotel has been called an anti-urban typology, arrogantly detached from its surroundings and substituting a simulacrum for the city. WOHA was able to counteract this by literally opening its building to the surroundings, but Viennese winters do not encourage sky gardens. Instead, Jean Nouvel has created a ceiling for the city, in the form of gigantic artworks by Pipilotti Rist which cover the ceilings of the top floor restaurant and atrium of his Sofitel tower. These artworks are, thanks to the design of the tower, clearly visible from the street, providing a link between interior and exterior that bursts through the otherwise opaque facade. This idea takes its cue from Richard Kelly’s lighting design for the Seagram Building – those glowing ceilings visible from the street that continue the grid of the facade deep into the building – while simultaneously nodding to the coloured tiles of St Stephen’s across the square.
Sofitel vienna plans
