Kitez Boutique Hotel
CHINATOWN, KUALA LUMPUR
In 2019, SSO Studio unveils the design of all-new-boutique hotel at Chinatown, Kuala Lumpur, the Kitez Hotel. The old building built in the 80s with a total area of 16,000 over square feet, comprising of several floors were refurbished with minimal changes to existing structure. The appreciation of the past is one of the values that SSO Studio practices. The urban chic boutique hotel fuses contemporary design with refashioned oriental elements where the play of quirky graphic elements tells a story, offering guests a glimpse of the local culture's past.
A sense of arrival -as guests ascend to the lobby, they are welcome by an oversize artwork portraying a Chinese opera lady in a quirky way. The existing stairs were only repainted in olive green and dark red to create the excitement during the transition while retaining old handrails and mosaics.
SSO Studio challenges the idea of a lobby, where typically a formal lobby is located on the ground floor, in this project, the lobby is however on the second level where the area was widened to dedicate more space to the lobby. The lobby doubles its function as social space where it accommodates a large communal table dipped in sharp oriental red - this is where guests mingle and linger, making connections with people from all around the world.
Inspired by Chinese blue porcelains, the guestrooms explore quirky artworks embedded on bedheads as a feature in a guestroom, continuing the similar language from the common areas.
Date Completed
Area
September 2019
16,390 sqft