The newly renovated Holiday Inn in Vilnius offers a hi-tech blend of welcoming comfort and innovative design, thanks to the contemporary elegance of DuPont™ Corian®
In the heart of Vilnius, Lithuania’s capital, tourists and business travelers at the end of a busy day will be able to relax in an environment of inviting comfort and high-spec, adaptable design. Choosing a fresh look for the renovation of its guest rooms, the Holiday Inn hotel selected the refined sophistication of hi-tech DuPont™ Corian® for the vertical and horizontal surfaces in the majority of their refurbished rooms.
Holiday Inn hotel, Vilnius, Lithuania. Based on a connected ‘floating’ furniture system, most of the interior solutions in the guest rooms feature DuPont™ Corian®– from the bed base and headboard to the table and the curving partition/shower. Project by Arches; photo courtesy of Holiday Inn, all rights reserved.
The Holiday Inn in Vilnius is part of the renowned Intercontinental Hotel Groups chain, which has an extensive network worldwide, suitable for every type of guest, from families to business travelers. The historic city of Vilnius attracts visitors both for its architectural beauty and for its business centre: each year, increasingly, bookers for conferences, conventions, seminars and the incentive travel market target this emerging, modern, “can’t miss” European destination.
Naturally, the Vilnius Holiday Inn – located in the business district of the capital, ten minutes away from the historic city centre – wanted to offer its guests a memorable and enjoyable stay. Project management for the renovation of the 134 superior rooms was entrusted to Fulvio Cancelli from the company Spekas Ir Ko. The interior design was conceived by Arches architectural studio and the fabrication of DuPont™ Corian® was carried out by experts Gforma.
Mr. Geert Snaet, Holiday Inn general manager, comments on the choice to further enhance a hotel already well known for its hospitality, “Our idea was to create a guest room that stands out from the crowd, and we knew we had to take some risks. Most Holiday Inn clients may not remember the décor of their rooms, but these renovated rooms are daring and our clients have been giving us an overwhelmingly positive response. The use of DuPont™ Corian® has helped us to create a sensational business executive room that optimises and plays with light.”
The project’s central focus pivots on a creative use of light combined with the translucency of DuPont™ Corian® high-tech surface, as well as on a design that appears to seamlessly extend from the bedroom into the bathroom. Fulvio Cancelli explains, “The idea started about a year ago. We wanted a design that would distinguish the hotel in the minds of our guests, one that would ideally tie together the various decorative elements from the living and bathing areas into a continuous flow.”
Holiday Inn hotel, Vilnius, Lithuania. Based on a connected ‘floating’ furniture system, most of the interior solutions in the guest rooms feature DuPont™ Corian®– from the bed base and headboard to the table and the curving partition/shower. Project by Arches; photo courtesy of Holiday Inn, all rights reserved.
For this purpose, the architects created a scheme in which the purity of DuPont™ Corian® and its feeling of warmth form the common thread between the bedroom, the bathroom and the living room furniture.
The new bedrooms are equipped with a headboard made in DuPont™ Corian®, which frames twin beds that seem to be suspended. These have been installed with an ingenious sliding mechanism so that the beds can be joined together easily to make a double bed, or remain separate as twins. The base of the bed, also in DuPont™ Corian®, is joined seamlessly to the desk solution beside the bed.
Holiday Inn hotel, Vilnius, Lithuania. Based on a connected ‘floating’ furniture system, most of the interior solutions in the guest rooms feature DuPont™ Corian® – from the bed base and headboard to the table and the curving partition/shower. The beds are installed with a clever solution that allows them to slide together to create a double, or apart to form twins. Project by Arches; photo courtesy of Holiday Inn, all rights reserved.
Holiday Inn hotel, Vilnius, Lithuania. Based on a connected ‘floating’ furniture system, most of the interior solutions in the guest rooms feature DuPont™ Corian®– from the bed base and headboard to the table and the curving partition/shower. The bed frames can slide together to create a double if desired. Project by Arches; photo courtesy of Holiday Inn, all rights reserved.
In the living area of the executive suite, the snack table in DuPont™ Corian® incorporates a mini fridge, and is also connected to the shelves and the wall cladding which also integrates a TV screen. Each room is equipped with ‘intelligent home’ systems and LED lighting.
Holiday Inn hotel, Vilnius, Lithuania. Based on a connected floating furniture system, DuPont™ Corian® is used for most of the interior design furnishing solutions in the guest rooms. In the living area of the suite, the snack table in DuPont™ Corian® incorporates a little fridge, and is connected to the shelves and the wall cladding system that encloses the TV screen. Each room is equipped with ‘intelligent home’ systems and LED lighting; project by Arches; photo courtesy of Holiday Inn, all rights reserved.
The bathrooms are characterised by an eye-catching shower enclosure that also acts as a partition between the bedroom and bathroom areas, and which is made with two different thicknesses of DuPont™ Corian® in the ultra-translucent Glacier Ice color. When the shower LED light is on this filters through the thinner band accents, and when showering, a suggestive illumination diffuses into the neighboring room that includes the glimpses of the silhouette of the person within. Also the vanity and shelves are made with Corian®, lending a harmonious ambience to the overall design concept and ensuring the finest quality furnishing solution by virtue of the material’s versatility, reliability and hygienic properties.
Holiday Inn hotel, Vilnius, Lithuania. Based on a connected floating furniture system, DuPont™ Corian® is used for most of the interior design furnishing solutions in the guest rooms. The bathroom is characterised by an eye-catching shower that acts as a partition between the bedroom and the bathroom, made up of two different thicknesses of DuPont™ Corian®, in the ultra-translucent Glacier Ice colour. Also the vanity and shelves are made with Corian®, lending a harmonious ambience to the overall design concept. Project by Arches; photo courtesy of Holiday Inn, all rights reserved.
In addition to these innovative and compellingly unique characteristics, the sheer quantity of DuPont™ Corian® used in the project, and the relatively brief time taken to complete the design, have been distinctive features of the renovation process. Jurgis Garmus, one of the owners of Gforma UAB, says, “Holiday Inn Vilnius represents one of our most successful projects, but also one of our most challenging because of short deadlines and the vast quantity of DuPont™ Corian® used. An interesting technical feature of the fabrication is that two separate thicknesses of DuPont™ Corian® were used (6 and 12 mm) for the construction of the shower columns. The hotel never closed during the refurbishment, so the work schedules were intensive and had to be completed in a short time frame of about 6 weeks, to ensure guest comfort and uninterrupted operations.”
Architect Edgaras Neniskis, one of the owners at Arches architectural studio elaborates on the design concept, “When we were commissioned to carry out the refurbishment of the Holiday Inn hotel in Vilnius, we aimed to create interiors that would be both comfortable and rational, because it is particularly a business hotel. Each room is organised as a single space in which the private environment for the bathroom is established by translucent partitions. The design is based on a clean, contemporary look and a connected floating furniture system made from what appears to be a single ribbon of DuPont™ Corian®. Thanks to the extreme versatility and homogenous properties of this material, we could use it to also create the functional bathroom furnishings, unifying them with the furniture.”
Holiday Inn hotel, Vilnius, Lithuania. Based on a connected floating furniture system, DuPont™ Corian® is fundamental and cohesive material and design solution in the guest rooms – from the bed base and headboard, to the integrated furniture and the curving partition/shower. Project by Arches; photo courtesy of Holiday Inn, all rights reserved.
Holiday Inn hotel, Vilnius, Lithuania. Based on a connected floating furniture system, DuPont™ Corian® is used for most of the interior design furnishing solutions in the guest rooms. The bathroom is characterized by an intriguing shower that also acts as a partition between the bedroom and the bathroom, and is made up of two different thicknesses of DuPont™ Corian®, in the ultra-translucent Glacier Ice color. Also the vanity and shelves are made with Corian®, lending coherence to the overall design concept; project by Arches; photo courtesy of Holiday Inn, all rights reserved.
“We applied the same concept of a unified furniture system made with DuPont™ Corian® high tech material to the living room area, creating sculptural yet functional furnishings and using the translucency of the material to enable elegant effects when illuminated. We have a great appreciation for Corian® because it is a very flexible material that perfectly suited our philosophy for this project,” concluded Edgaras Neniskis.
The many benefits of DuPont™ Corian®, which are of particular value to the hospitality sector, have led to the use of this advanced material over many years by architects and designers around the world; interior renovations grand and small are improved by the long-lasting functional solutions at a designer’s disposal when working with DuPont™ Corian®. This high-performance material is easy to clean, ensuring the highest levels of hygiene for guests and reduced cleaning times for hotel staff. Its ultra-versatility enables the creation of personalised shapes and solutions for unique creative interior schemes that are both beautiful and pleasantly warm and silky to the touch, offering an unforgettable sensory experience.
About Arches (www.arches.lt) – The first steps of the architectural studio were taken in 1993. Graduates of Vilnius Gediminas technical university, Rolandas Liola, Arūnas Liola and Tomas Grunskis came together to create the studio. In 1995, Edgaras Neniškis joined the team, which eventually evolved into the jointly owned practice of R.Liola, A.Liola, E.Neniškis. In the beginning, the studio worked on small architectural objects and interiors and at the same time cooperated on and implemented projects with the sculptor Ignas Šimelis. In 1998, Eugenijus Januškevičius joined the collective. In 2000, the studio transferred to the city of Vilnius. The JSC “Architektūros estetikos studija” was established in 2002. The range of design projects expanded: individual houses, interiors, recreational buildings, public, commercial and urban projects. From 2002 to 2004 the studio cooperated with Liutauras Nekrošius. The studio projects expanded to Latvia, Estonia, Ukraine, Russia, Germany, Montenegro. The studio won architectural competitions and in 2007 changed its name to “Arches”. Many young and visionary people have since joined the collective and it is now a dynamic and creative studio of architecture.
About Holiday Inn (www.holidayinnvilnius.lt) – Holiday Inn Vilnius is a 4 star hotel situated in a convenient location adjacent to the city’s commercial hub and atmospheric Old Town. Vilnius Old Town’s heady mix of European architecture can be seen from the windows of the inviting guest rooms at Holiday Inn Vilnius. The Holiday Inn Vilnius hotel offers 134 light-filled, elegant, comfortable and functional rooms: 92 standard rooms, including one for disabled guests, 41 executive rooms and one suite. All rooms are equipped with modern amenities.
About Spekas Ir Ko (www.spekas.lt) – Spekas Ir Ko, UAB has been implementing the ideas of public and private clients since 1998. Having a solid working foundation, a particularly good relationship with product suppliers and manufacturers, an irreproachable reputation and a passion for its work, the company can realize a project starting from technical solutions, design, materials, interior elements and furniture selection to the full completion of construction works. Besides furniture for restaurants, cafes, offices or hotels, the company also offers general contracting services and can manage all of the processes related to interior installation. The company’s trained professionals can take care of all the issues and nuances, and so will save the client’s time and money. Spekas Ir Ko, UAB activities are not limited to the Lithuanian border. The company can boast projects implemented in Kamchatka, Almaty, Omsk, Luck, Minsk, Brussels and other Eastern and Western European cities.
About Gforma (www.gforma.lt) – Gforma UAB is the leading solid surfaces manufacturing company in Lithuania. It was established in 2008 by Jurgis Garmus and Romualdas Miglinas, since then, it has been consistently expanding. In 2010, Gforma UAB has become a member of the “DuPont™ Corian® Quality Network (certificate number 0891), which includes companies which are specialised in the fabrication of Corian®, which have received technical training from DuPont and whose technical skills are reviewed and certified by DuPont. Starting the Company with just a handful employees Gforma UAB quickly became known as one of the predominant solid surfaces manufacturers in Lithuania. Over the years the Company rapidly grew and accomplished numerous successful projects not only in Lithuania, but also internationally. Since 2011, Gforma UAB has expanded its range of activities realising many public projects (e.g. restaurants, nightclubs, bars, etc.,), took the role and responsibilities of a General Contractor and successfully implemented a multiple complex projects in various European countries. Gforma UAB looks toward the future with passion and belief that the products we manufacture and the services we provide are truly unequalled. We strive to further strengthen our positions in the domestic market as well as continue to develop foreign partnerships, to expand the range of proposed materials and to apply all our accumulated experience for the implementation of non-standard projects.
About DuPont™ Corian® – First created as a high performance material for kitchen and bathroom worktops, DuPont™ Corian® is now – thanks to its unique combination of functionality, versatility and beauty – a leading global brand among surfacing materials for interior design and architecture. Over the years, DuPont has transformed DuPont™ Corian® solid surface into an exceptional design tool for every application you can imagine. Kitchens, bathrooms, lighting, furnishing, facades, seating, radiators, home automation, touch control surfaces: today, DuPont™ Corian® can be found almost everywhere in commercial, residential and public space environments.
About DuPont – DuPont has been bringing world-class science and engineering to the global marketplace in the form of innovative products, materials, and services since 1802. The company believes that by collaborating with customers, governments, NGOs, and thought leaders we can help find solutions to such global challenges as providing enough healthy food for people everywhere, decreasing dependence on fossil fuels, and protecting life and the environment. For additional information about DuPont and its commitment to inclusive innovation, please visit www.dupont.com