hospitalitystyle.com

(Winter 2011) posted on Tue Dec 20, 2011 EST

Waste Not: It’s what’s left out of Márcio Kogan’s bold architectural interiors that makes Portugal’s L’And Vineyards Resort simply luxurious.

By Mary Scoviak

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L’And Vineyards Resort in Montemor-o-Novo is the aesthetic equivalent of haiku. Nothing is extraneous in this 22-suite deluxe hotel set in a development of exclusive private residences, each with its own vineyard. Brazil’s minimalist “starchitect” Márcio Kogan, founder of Studio mk27, continues his battle against “fireworks” and extravagance by telling a five-star story in a clear framework of horizontal lines and natural materials. It’s all part of his mission to ensure that “simplicity regains its just value” in design.

There aren’t any tchotchkes to help guests connect the dots. The essentials do that. Walls of rough-hewn brick or rich wood paneling reference the local viniculture. Glass fronts blur the suites’ indoor/outdoor connection, adding sparkle to the pristine white that washes the inside and outside of the hotel. Though most of the public and guest spaces are strongly horizontal, Kogan floats a sail-like ceiling above the indoor swimming pool, then extends it beyond the exterior wall to shelter a deck made for lounging.

Achieving true luxury requires drama and surprise. Studio mk27 delivers both with an amenity that will be new to even jaded high-spenders: retractable roofs on 12 of the suites. They can thank the client for that. “When I went to my family’s home in the Algarve during the summers when I was a preteen, I used to take my mattress and sleep under the stars on the patio roof. I wanted to let guests ‘feel’ the night sky of the Alentejo and observe the cosmos as I did. We’re fortunate that this region still has one of the lowest light pollution levels in Europe. So why not showcase that?” says José Cunhal Sendim, ceo, L’And Resorts. “The idea also ties in with the concept of sense of place in that it re-interprets the courtyard of the classical Roman/Mediterranean home.”

Cunhal Sendim prioritized taking a natural sensuality throughout the resort. He asked Kogan to use indirect or softened lighting wherever possible to set an elegant mood. So the focal point of one of the Caudalie Vinotherapie Spa’s treatment spaces is a stand of delicate, living greenery rooted in an uplighted stream. A table on an outdoor patio is lighted from beneath, not only brightening the tabletop but seemingly illuminating the white chair cushions. The vanilla-hued Taste restaurant has two window walls that allow for natural light and panoramic views. In the evening, four modern chandeliers and a shower of globular pendants shine with a candlelit quality.

As with most deluxe retreats, this Small Luxury Hotels of the World member integrates sustainability into its design and operations. It’s the first project in Portugal to seek certification under the BRE-Environmental Assessment Method standard, which measures the environmental performance of buildings in terms of energy consumption, pollution, materials used (in terms of toxicity and recyclable nature), water, ecology, land use and welfare. “Effective environmental sustainability is a fundamental characteristic of our identity,” says L’And’s ceo. That shapes not only the design, with its outdoor patios and LEDs, but also infrastructural components such as a micro electrical generation unit and integrated solar energy.

Kogan’s approach to the FF&E package pushes past the usual luxe formula of residential elegance. He purposefully avoids what he sees as unnecessary adornments that add cost, not impact. Instead, guests are treated to a few important statements in each area: an oversized fire pit rather than the expected fireplace in the lounge; wall-sized murals in the suites where the usual commissioned art would be; and singularly beautiful stone soaking tubs positioned in front of a downlighted wood wall, making marble feel bourgeois.

The stone, slate and wood may celebrate the surroundings, but Kogan wasn’t afraid to introduce other influences to shake up the definition of modern luxury, says Cunhal Sendim. Interiors mix reissues of 1970s-era Scandinavian furniture (particularly Danish designs) with works by Vladimir Kagan, Nakashima, Jorge Zalzuspin and Tom Dixon (who did the vases and lamps). All of the other pieces, including the rugs and chandeliers, were designed exclusively for the hotel by Portuguese architects (including a collection of chairs designed by one of Portugal’s young lions, architect João Serôdio), artisans and Kogan himself, “to enhance the hotel’s identity,” says Cunhal Sendim. “We invested in some elements, such as the art in the lobby by Michael Biberstein and some of the exclusive furnishings,” says L’And’s ceo. “We plan to recoup part of that by selling the furniture online and in the L’And Store.”

Overall, Cunhal Sendim sees the resort’s solution as sober luxury. “It has an atmosphere that is carved out by the quality of natural materials. It’s modern, simple, sensual,” he says. “We wanted the feel of a retreat, not a hotel. For us, the luxury elements are natural—the sky, water and fire. These are things that make an experience unique and discreet.”