Inside Mix Brussels, a Hospitality Entity in a Historic Locale

Too often these days, hip luxury hotels offer guests stylish, but predictable, Instagram-ready interiors. What’s saved on the budget by relying on catalogue-selected furnishings made in China is lost when two months later they break. Or so argued Lionel Jadot when pitching his interiors concept for Mix Brussels, a new 250,000-square-foot hospitality project, comprising a 180-room hotel, three restaurants, a food market, coworking space, gym, and an auditorium. Jadot’s eponymous atelier won the competition to outfit the entire property, which occupies six floors in the 12-story, former headquarters of the Royale Belge insurance company, a beloved 1970 functionalist landmark by the Belgian architect René Stapels and his French partner Pierre Dufau.

Located in a 20-acre suburban park with an ornamental lake, the building comprises a two-story concrete base, an intermediate floor, and a cruciform nine-story tower, its bronze-glass curtain walls enveloped by an exposed load-bearing Corten superstructure—a pioneering use of the weathering steel in Europe. In 2018, the protected 420,000-square-foot building was acquired by a consortium, which assigned its transformation into a mixed-use facility to London-based Caruso St John Architects in collaboration with Antwerp-based Bovenbouw Architectuur and Brussels practice DDS+. Beyond upgrading the signature bronze glazing to meet current codes, the architects did as little as possible to the historic structure, making only one significant intervention: a new circular lobby with a sweeping curved staircase. The 70-foot-diameter, three-story space not only serves as common access point for Mix and the building’s other tenants but also mirrors the circular form of the ground-floor auditorium, its rounded exterior clad in copper panels.

How Lionel Jadot Approached the Interiors of Mix Brussels

When Jadot came to work on the Mix interiors, he was immediately captivated by the “honesty” of the structure’s form-follows-function architecture. “All the historical interventions are like sculpture, with the function inside,” he notes, citing the auditorium as a case in point. He imagined a decorative program in conversation with the existing building—respectful but not beholden to it. “I was looking to act big and make sculptures to house the kitchen, offices, meeting rooms,” he says. He also wanted the interior to serve as “a communications tool” to promote contemporary Belgian design. So, rather than conceive everything himself, Jadot collaborated with Zaventem Ateliers, a creative community he founded in 2018 comprising 24 artists and designers—weavers, woodworkers, metalsmiths, sculptors—that share studio space with him in an old brick paper mill outside Brussels. They, along with 21 other local firms, would make everything, from coat hooks and table lamps to dining chairs and the reception desk, turning Mix into what he calls “the largest collectible-design showroom in Belgium.”

Sculptural Shades Made from Salt 

The high-profile project, which took two years to complete, has been a game changer for the Zaventem group. Take Roxane Lahidji, a young designer who specializes in the development and application of salt as an ecological material. In a workshop-expanding commission, she produced more than 200 light fixtures with sculptural shades fashioned from the mineral mixed with natural resins and pigments for a marbleized effect. Siblings Alexandra and Grégoire Jonckers work in the tradition of their renowned sculptor father, Armand Jonckers, creating sensuously organic pieces of furniture out of bronze, clay, and resin. They used maillechort—an alloy of copper, nickel, and zinc—to forge the reception desk, a stunning assemblage of billowing forms that echoes the voluptuous curves of the auditorium.

Experimental textile artists Erika Schillebeeckx and Justine de Moriamé of KRJST Studio create boldly baroque modern tapestries and fabrics that combine traditional weaving techniques with digital printing and generative algorithms. Here, they conceived the patterns printed on the silk-and-cotton curtains in the restaurant and guest rooms, which were then produced in collaboration with fellow Zaventem textile studio Home Sails. The firms also worked together on a pair of large-scale lobby tapestries that, thanks to embedded sensors, are interactive, producing different lighting effects in response to the movement of guests.

Custom Designs Include the Lobby Fireplace

Explore Art and Design Inside Mix Brussels 

atelier lionel jadot: cristina gusano; pierrot deconinck; guillaume thilly; juliette geeraert; juliette moyersoen; julien croenen; louise michiels.

metzger et associés architecture: heritage architect.

atelier eole paysagistes: landscape architect.

ellyps nv: structural engineer.

rvr studiebureau van reeth: services engineer.

Acro Suites, a Clifftop Resort, Wows in Crete

Nearly 4,000 years ago, on the Greek island of Crete, the Minoans, one of the few societies believed to have been matriarchal, birthed the first advanced civilization in Europe. It’s an achievement worth mulling over when savoring a glass of kotsifali, a red wine made from grapes native to the island, and looking out onto the Sea of Crete from the terrace of the bar at Acro Suites, a new wellness resort near the fishing village of Agia Pelagia. While the stunning property, conceived by two local sisters, Danae and Konstantina Orfanaki, may not represent the birth of a more advanced civilization, it surely heralds the dawn of a more enlightened and environmentally responsible approach to Aegean hospitality design.

The siblings, cofounders of the firm Afoi Orfanaki, have hospitality in their blood. They grew up at their parent’s nearby resort, learning the business while developing ideas about what a next-gen Cretan destination should be. After studying hospitality management and interning at top hotels abroad, the two young women returned home and set about renovating a few sections of the family property to show off their novel ideas. Impressed, their father gave them free reign at a new hotel venture he was developing on 20 clifftop acres above Mononafatis Bay.

Acro Suites Reflects the Beauty of Crete

Orfanaki Sr. and local architect Stavros Peppas, who had already begun the project, envisioned “a small Santorini with all-white buildings,” Danae says, but the concept for the space shifted to seamlessly meld with the surroundings. “Our desire was to promote the site’s raw, natural beauty with a design that was as organic as we could make it.” This new vision required modifying the partly built resort where possible—a task the sisters assigned Alexandros Kolovos, copartner, with civil engineer Vassiliki Exarchou, of Athens-based CMH Architecture, a firm known for its respect for nature. Sensitive to both the privileged setting and the island’s ecology, the completed hotel comprises a stepped chain of one- and two-story structures—45 suites, four villas, a wellness center, restaurant, and the terraced bar—perched along the cliff. Constructed of local timber and stone, some of it excavated on-site, the earth-toned complex blends in with its rugged surroundings. Although rustic in appearance, the property is powered by a geothermal system and a photovoltaic park, and guest facilities incorporate smart technologies to reduce electricity consumption wherever possible.

How a Cliffside Locale Lends Itself to Sustainable Design

It took about four years to develop the final form of Acro Suites, the name being a play on the Greek akros, meaning on the edge, a nod to the way the hotel hugs the bluff, affording spectacular views of the jagged rocks and roiling surf below. “Standing on those cliffs, I felt like a seagull nesting on the rocky slope,” Kolovos says. “The views from the rooms were to give that exact same feeling.” Along with those panoramic vistas, each suite and villa boast an extended terrace and private saltwater pool. The suites encompass four typologies—Loft, Wave, Gaia, and Cave—the most remarkable being the last, which are carved out of the cliff face, their craggy open mouths framing the splendid seascape. Floor-to-ceiling glass fronts let light into the grottolike spaces, the walls a mix of exposed and plaster-covered living rock face, the furniture and millwork rendered in local timber, stone, and marble from ancient Phaistos. Being subterranean naturally modulates these suites’ interior temperature, reducing the need for heating or air-conditioning. “If the resort layout hadn’t already been established, we would have made the whole thing underground,” Danae admits. “But Alexandros topped the buildings with arches and domes to simulate the landscape.”

The Orfanaki sisters are already at work on a new ecologically minded Cretan destination. “It’s impossible to make a resort that is 100 percent sustainable, but we want the next one to take it to the max, while still being luxurious,” Danae says, before adding, “It’s going to take some years.” Until then, for planet-loving sybarites, there is Acro Suites.

An Inside Look at Acro Suites in Crete 

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anastasios tserpelis: utopia hotel design

peppas n architects: architect of record

dimitris karameris: landscape consultant

manos kypritidis: graphics consultant

woodline: woodwork

edifice: structural engineer

regeon renewable energy systems: mep

gervasoni: pendant fixtures (reception)

fiori: vase (reception), baskets (bathhouse)

fantini rubinetti: shower fittings (gaia bathroom)

vasilis perogamvrakis: custom mirror (acroterra bathroom)

fabbrica: custom sofa (gaia lounge)

riva 1920: stool (wave)

platakis: stone sinks (bathhouse)

creta pergola: canopy (yoga)

tsakirelis: pendant fixture shades

linea interiors: sheets, blankets, curtains

simmons: mattresses

kopidakis: sunbeds, sofas

home & hotel deco: sofa pillows

technoart: rock

genitsaridis marble: custom coffee tables

artglass neopoulos: windows

novamix: paint

A São Paulo Abode by FCstudio Prioritizes Outdoor Living

2022 Best of Year Winner for Small City House

If you live in São Paulo, a city with a subtropical climate, you want as much outdoor living space as possible. Which is exactly why Casa Bento was commissioned. Its owners, a fortysomething couple who also work together, were frustrated by the limitations of their previous residence. A traditional house with conventional rooms, there was no flow between the various domestic spaces, much less with the surrounding garden. The couple, who have two young daughters, now 10 and 6 years old, dreamed of a home where they could indulge their love of entertaining family and friends—indoors and out.

Enter architect Flavio Castro, who founded his firm FCstudio with the conviction that architecture should be responsive to the ways people live—and that those ways are always changing. The clients had acquired a lot for their dream house on Rua Bento de Andrade—hence the name Casa Bento—the very street where both had grown up, in the highly de­sirable Jardim Paulista neighborhood. It’s a verdant section of the city, but also a busy and crowded one. So chief among Castro’s initial concerns was to conceive a plan that would exclude the bustle of the street and views of adjacent neighbors, while still feeling open, airy, and fully integrated into a lushly landscaped property.

FCstudio designs an airy, urban retreat

The architect’s solution, a 4,560-square-foot, two-story structure that sits in the middle of the walled lot, resembles a metal box perched on thick board-formed concrete sidewalls. The ground-floor end facades are fully glazed, a transparency that visually links the entry hall with the parking courtyard in the front and merges the indoor and outdoor living areas in the back. The second story, by contrast, is clad in folded steel lamina—the same material used for the street fence, a large part of which pivots upward like a giant garage door to admit cars—and topped with a narrow clerestory. During the day, the upper level presents a blank face to passersby, but at night it’s crowned by a halolike band of light.

The metal box opens up at the back, however, where a continuous ribbon of sliding glass windows runs across most of the rear facade before turning the corner to extend along part of the sidewall. The glazing encloses the main bedroom, admitting abundant natural light along with views of the green garden oasis below. The windows are fitted with enormous shutters that form a striking brise-soleil, which not only deflects the often-intense sun but also provides complete privacy and quiet when fully closed. The structure’s pivoting vanes are made of Cor-Ten steel—as is the front door—a favorite material of Castro’s since it’s honest, weathers well in the local climate, and has a handsome texture and color that harmonize with the house’s concrete, steel, and surrounding greenery.

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A spacious patio for entertaining outdoors

The São Paulo home offers plenty of space to play

A long corridor down the side of the house leads to the daughters’ bedrooms and the main suite beyond. Each of the girls’ rooms features a platform bed playfully enclosed by a painted-steel frame in the form of a gable roof; built-in storage closets and drawers line the opposite wall. The children also have a play area in the basement, which is reached by a floating concrete stair as strikingly sculptural as its steel counterpart on the floor above. Staff quarters, service areas, and storage spaces are also found on this level.

Casa Bento may have been named for its street address, but the house has more than a little in common with the traditional Japanese lunch box its moniker evokes. Both achieve a masterful balance of the functional and the aesthetic—each a microcosm in which every element has its perfectly judged place.

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fcstudio: joão felipe falqueto; leonardo rosa; erica miranda

creatto: woodwork

mezas: table (patio)

indiodacosta: chairs

Luminii: pendant fixtures (dining area)

dpot: chairs (dining area), bench (living area)

by kami: rug (living area)

casual móveis: table lamp (kitchen), side table (garden), floor lamp (theater)

casual exteriores: lounges (garden)

vitra: elephant stool (child’s room)

tapetah: rugs (child’s room, theater)

estúdio líder design: armchair, ottoman (main bedroom)

braston: cement floor tile

taúna: wood flooring

suvinil: paint

esquadralum: windows

This Horse Farm in Brazil Features Design Standouts by Studio Arthur Casas

You might call the fascination humans have for horses “primal.” After all, we have been captivated by them ever since we were cave dwellers and painted their images on the rock walls. Over the ages, they have remained a source of inspiration for artists—and architects. In fact, there may be no more iconic work of Latin American modernism than Cuadra San Cristóbal, a private residence and stable outside Mexico City designed in the 1960s by Luis Barragán, himself an avid equestrian. Stunning as the austere white house is, it’s the stable with its punched-out walls in rosy hues, trough waterfall, and L-shape exercise pool that most beguiles. The spare, artful arrangement of mass, space, and color brilliantly showcases the horses as if they were living sculpture. 

Continuing in that tradition is a new recreation complex that architect Arthur Casas recently completed at Coudelaria Rocas do Vouga, one of Brazil’s leading Lusitano horse studs, in the old colonial municipality of Itu, northwest of Saõ Paulo. The Lusitano is a majestic breed of ancient Portuguese origin, once prized as a war charger and now sought after for competitive sport and personal equitation. Casas’s brief encompassed indoor and outdoor spaces where the client could not only parade his purebreds but also entertain, hold meetings, and provide accommodations for visiting family, friends, and prospective buyers. 

The architect, who is known for fusing modernist and contemporary styles with tropical flair, responded with a comprehensive scheme that gives a nod to the Mexican master, while being wholly his own. “I always wanted to one day create a work where horses—for me the most beautiful animals—could be part of the scenery,” he confides.  

The Studio Arthur Casas principal is a longtime proponent of sustainable architecture. “If I could, I would create invisible works,” he says, “leaving nature to take the lead.” He studied the site carefully to optimize his plan’s potential for cross ventilation and natural illumination, reducing the need for air conditioning and artificial light. Quick construction was also of the essence, so Casas chose prefabricated steel frames for the structures, shortening building time to a mere 10 months and keeping waste to a minimum. 

Like his horses, the client is of Portuguese descent, and he continues to have strong ties to his ancestral country. With that heritage in mind, Casas conceived the complex as a pair of simple, low-slung buildings—a 9,700-square-foot entertainment pavilion and a 5,400-square-foot guesthouse—replete with courtyards and water features, classic elements in Portugal’s romantic old quintas. While the pavilion and guesthouse are strikingly contemporary in appearance, the materials used inside and out are evocative of those Iberian rural estates, with their stone walls, timber columns and beams, and azulejos, the flamboyantly patterned blue-and-white tin-glazed tiles seen throughout the country. Keen that the complex also blend with the landscape, Casas sourced many of his materials locally and adhered to a palette of earthy tones. The different textures and hues of the rough stone, carbonized pine, and burnt concrete are what gives his design a rustic, yet sophisticated character. 

Handsome as the complex is by day, it’s even more stunning as night falls. Ground-level spotlights bathe the exterior stone walls, accentuating their surface textures, while recessed floodlights in the ceiling softly illuminate the interior, with table and floor lamps providing an additional warm glow. When a fire blazes in the central hearth and the Lusitanos are put through their paces in the gathering dusk outside, guests may well experience the same primal stirrings of wonder that our ancestors must have felt when the flickering firelight played across the horses painted on their cave walls. 

Studio Arthur Casas: nara telles, rafael palombo, gabriel leitão, paulina tabet, camila dalloca, marcos retzer, raul valadão, amanda tamburus

renata rilli paisagismo: landscape consultant

mingrone iluminação: lighting consultant

osborne construtora: general contractor

viúva lamego: wall tile (entry)

etel design: coffee tables (sitting area), center tables (home theater)

micasa: sofas (sitting area, home theater)

boobam: folded-steel side tables (sitting area, home theater)

dpot: armchair (sitting area), side chairs, bar stool (dining area)

herança cultural design art gallery: lounge chair, ottoman (sitting area), round tables (dining area), table lamp (guest room)

studio objeto: table lamp (sitting area), bench (guest room)

blackball: pool table (games area)

arquivo vivo: caster chairs (dining area)

oswaldo antiques: armchair (guest room)

BY KAMY: RUG

curtains emporium: custom headboard

arthur casas for trousseau: bed cover

deca: sink, sink fittings (bathroom)

l’oeil: chaise longues, side table (swimming pool)

corcovado, kvadratt, uniflex: upholstery and curtain fabric

la novitá: upholstery leather