Hotel
Moinhos 1903
Development
Melnick + Grêmio FBPA
Program
Hospitality
Location
Porto Alegre, RS, BR
Status
Built
Year
2017 - 2021
Located in one of the most traditional neighborhoods of Porto Alegre, the Park Plaza Moinhos 1903 hotel project faced the challenge of creating a building that would house one of the most victorious football clubs in history, Grêmio Foot-Ball Porto Alegrense, while also serving the general public.
Through a subdued and timeless volumetry, the building's form is conceived as a rectangular prism that creates a cantilever at its ground-level entrance. Two lateral planes define the volume: the front and rear elevations feature large recessed openings, with their floors marked by concrete eaves and alternating gray brise soleil. On the side walls, windows are positioned variably, providing different fenestrations for the apartments.
The program is clearly distributed: the base and the rooftop house social and support areas, while eight typical floors contain a total of 144 apartments. On the ground floor, near the entrance, there is a restaurant and bar that generate constant movement at the pedestrian scale.
The rooftop features a space conducive to gatherings on match days: a bar with a thematic club museum enjoys unobstructed views of the city and movable zenithal openings that allow flexibility in using the floor as an uncovered area when needed.
When developing the Furniture, Fixtures & Equipment (FFE) project, care was taken to avoid sports caricatures or excessive symbolism. The aim was to convey the feeling of being in a special place for the club, without sacrificing the subtlety required by a hotel like this.
Horizontal circulation areas are designed with dark tones and occasional blue accents tied to soft lighting. This palette is also applied to the millwork in the units, where white walls create an antithesis to the corridor.