PERSPECTIVE

INTERIORS W Hotel / Taipei

From chicto sleek

034 035PERSPECTIVE

W Hotel’s effervescent arrival in Taipei adds a new dimension tothe hospitality world with a bit of fashion and a lot of fun

ast year, Taiwan experienced booming

tourist arrivals, with 2011 promising an

even greater surge in the number of

visitors heading for the culturally and

geographical ly diverse island. With

W Hotels making its debut in Taipei earlier this

year, Taiwan is demonstrating to the world that

change is very definitely in the air.

It’s all about timing. Taipei, by and large,

attracts a diverse range of visitors drawn to its

cultural activities, gardens and countrysides,

famous night markets (Taipei is a foodie paradise),

beaches, hill tribes and so much more. What has

been something of a hindrance to this enthusiasm

thus far, however, has been a shortage of five-

star, design-led visitor accommodation.

Located in the bustling central business

district of Xinyi, W Taipei aims to set a new tone

for the city by offering a more fashion-led look

than other longstanding hotels there. It is, in

short, aiming to be a destination hotel that

offers a blend of contemporary design, modern

comfort and innovative style.

UK architectural firm GA Design International

was appointed chief designer for the 31-floor

hotel, encased in radiant glass — W Taipei is, in

fact, the only hotel in the city to claim a view over

the über-hip, vibrant Xinyi district and the iconic

101 Tower, one of the world’s tallest buildings,

soaring more than 500m into the sky.

GA Design bel ieves the hotel is an

intel l igent, reasoned reflection of a city

adjusting to high density and scale: “It sits

among the towers of downtown and provides a

gentle upgrading in the transition between the

lower buildings and the ultimate scale of 101

Tower. The podium design also relates on a

more human scale to the surrounding buildings

and minimises the impact of the tower from the

street, providing a comfortable street scale,”

says Terence McGinnity, managing director of

GA Design.

Like any other urban mecca, Taipei is

equipped with every attraction a modern city

should have; that said, its strong connection to

nature continues to influence its culture. GA

Design adopted the idea of ‘nature-electrify’, a

theme which aimed to infuse natural elements

complementing the city’s urban ‘wow’ factors

into the design of W Taipei. “W is a lifestyle hotel

brand that believes in telling a story about the

city that it is in. The challenge was trying to distil

the elements of Taipei and to see where that led

us in design terms,” says McGinnity. “Luckily,

Taipei is a wonderful city with a rich heritage

that gave us a wealth of things to think about.” text : teresa chowphotography : courtesy of w taipei

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037PERSPECTIVE036 PERSPECTIVE

INTERIORS W Hotel / Taipei

Upon arriving at the hotel, the welcome

experience begins at The Chain. Constructed of

stainless steel with a mirrored finish, as well as a

gigantic green wall fi l led with plants, the

structure is both sculptural and practical. “It

appears to be trying to anchor the building. From

there we move through to the interior, which is a

direct reflection of Taipei’s relationship to nature

and the environment, at the same time as being

incredibly advanced in the field of technology.

It’s a great reflection on Taiwan that both these

aspects hold importance and this is reflected in

the ‘electric nature’ design.”

Up in the 405 guestrooms and suites, warm-

coloured stone, burnished wood and lush floral

carpeting contrast with modern, subtle lighting

inspired by Chinese lantern boxes. Every

guestroom features an interior relaxation terrace

with a ‘played’ area, and the signature W Bed.

Perched at the very top of W Taipei on the

31st floor, are the Yen Cantonese restaurant

and Yen bar, which embrace spectacular views

of the 101 Tower and are set to become

premiere late-night destination spots. The

hotel ’s design concept is given the ful l

treatment on the 10th floor, featuring the

signature W Living Room, Wet Skydeck, WooBar,

swimming pool and Kitchen Table restaurant. “I

love the outside terrace on that floor, which

allows the building to breathe at a high level and

provides a fantastic external entertainment and

relaxation venue,” McGinnity says.

年，台灣旅遊業喜嚐甘露，遊台旅客

都被台灣豐富多變的文化及地理景象

所吸引，展望新一年的暢旺繼往開來，估計旅客

數目會相繼遞升。適逢W

飯店於今年初進駐台

北，牽動台灣酒店業新一輪的變化。

時勢造英雄，W

台北飯店選擇了最好的時機

出場。台灣風韻萬千，有形形式式的文化盛事、

山明水秀的天然景致、不可錯過的夜市及著名地

道街頭小吃、細沙軟綿的海灘和傳統山地部落，

旅客總不愁沒有好選擇。唯一美中不足是欠缺以

設計為主流的型格五星級飯店。

W

台北位於人氣旺盛的信義區，主打時尚設

計、推崇舒適的生活主義及創新的風格，如此跳

脫的設計比傳統的酒店更有神采，令附近一帶頓

時活躍熱鬧起來。

室內設計由英國建築事務所G

AD

es

ign

Intern

ation

al

負責的W

台北，樓高三十一層、外

蓋反光擋風玻璃，是區內唯一坐擁潮流熱點信義

區及地標10

1

大樓懾人美景的高樓。樓高五百米

的台北10

1

更是世界最高的摩天大廈之一，從酒

店可欣賞它的擎天入雲。

正當台北努力擴張摩天大廈於市內的版圖，

GA

De

sig

n

認為W

台北飯店正生得逢時。G

A

Desig

n

常務董事T

erence

McG

inn

ity

稱：﹁位處

市中心的W

台北在一座座矮矮的大廈突圍而出，

直追台北10

1

。而酒店裙樓的高度設計與四周環

境的關係不會誇張得不成比例，大樓不會像龐然

大物空降街道，人們更容易融入這樣的環境。﹂

台北各式其式的現代城市風貌跟其他大都會

無異；與此同時，又跟大自然息息相關，從中影

響到文化的表達，因而啟發n

atu

re-e

lectrify

的

設計主題，結合自然元素和現代科技，把台北城

市驚艷的一面帶進飯店的設計裡。T

ere

nce

說：

﹁W

飯店本身就是時尚名牌，設計任務是誘發當

地城市氣質。我們最大的挑戰無非是捕捉台北難

以言喻的魅力，整個項目就以此為落筆點。最驚

喜是台北的多采多姿，豐富的文化遺產為我們帶

來源源不絕的創作靈感。﹂

抵達W

台北飯店大門，一定旋即被T

heC

hain

藝術裝置深深迷倒。這件不�鋼製、鏡面精緻加

工的作品座落飯店大堂門口外，門外還有綠草叢

生的巨型綠化牆，整體充滿藝術氣派，也實際地

有助環保。T

ere

nce

續說：﹁這個藝術裝置儼然

是遊走整座建築的起點，踏足飯店，卻又能領悟

到台灣大自然與城市的密切關係，還有緊貼先進

的現代科技，這種種正是當下台灣的一面鏡子，

三者竟不排斥，反而和諧共生。因此我們的設計

都著眼於大自然的憩靜、與城市猶如充了電的活

潑節奏。﹂

四百零五間客房著重柔和舒適的格調，採

用了暖色石材、色澤光亮的木材及厚厚的花系

地毯，正好跟充滿時代感而細緻的中國燈籠盒

子作個對比。每間客房設有一個﹁室內露台﹂，

放上一張W

別注臥床，給客人一個舒展筋骨的

好地方。

W

台北飯店頂層三十一樓是Y

en

廣東菜廳及

Ye

n

酒吧，面臨台北10

1

的廣闊景致，是夜蒲人

士的最佳潮點。而飯店的聚焦點集中在十樓，設

有WL

iving

Ro

om

、We

tS

kyde

ck

、Wo

oB

ar

、

泳池及K

itche

nT

ab

le

餐廳。T

ere

nce

說：﹁我

最喜歡這裡的露台，整座建築就像自由無阻地呼

吸空氣，來這裡是最佳的戶外消遣。﹂

萬眾期待的W

飯店終於隆重登陸台北，

台灣酒店業從此多一份青春朝氣

火熱登場

撰文：te

resa

chow

攝影：由台灣w

飯店提供

去