25hours Zürich West Hotel, a signature hotel by Alfredo Häberli

The 25hours Hotel Zürich West was developed with the team of Alfredo Häberli Design Development. Zurich West was his first chance to completely design a hotel and combined his well-known products with new, exciting ideas, especially designed for 25hours. True to the 25hours motto “You know one, you know none,” the new hotel has made it a point to connect itself with the location.

Alfredo Häberli, Zurich designer with Argentinian roots was born in 1964 and was named Designer of the Year by Architektur & Wohnen magazine in 2009. He is responsible for countless designs for internationally famous brands like Camper, Iittala, Kvadrat, Luceplan, Georg Jensen, Vitra and Moroso.

The pointedly organized, timeless interior of the first 25hours Hotel in Switzerland greets its guests with its Zurich sophistication, including its generously sized hotel hall, elegant textiles and livable atmosphere. 25hours through and through, but also with its own little wink and a dip in the paint jar. As designer of the hotel, Alfredo Häberli creates surprise with double-entendre and value-added in the different room elements. Looking more carefully, one notices how he subtly questions familiar values and elicits a smile from the guests.

With the working title of “the smile of my hometown” the hotel is riddled with artistic and graphical interventions, which lead the guests out into the new home town of 25hours and into the favorite spots of the design team - beyond banks, chocolate and watches. On the one hand, Häberli and 25hours are declaring their love for Zurich, on the other hand, the hotel becomes a three dimensional city guide in the form of decorations, objects and quotes. The interior becomes a mirror of the city. A tilt of the head, a change in perspective, a look behind the curtains and a sharper view when walking through the rooms, there are surprises everywhere. All allusions “have to do with an elegant form of humor”, says Alfredo Häberli and means his guests, “who with their large eyes, marvel at things like kids.”

In the bar there is a mirror installation in tribute to Zurich's water, with ship models from the Limmat to the Lake. For whomever didn’t know that Lake Zurich has five islands, they can meet them here: Saffa, Ufenau, Lützelau, Schönenwirt and Haab-Inseli. On sideboards, models of the famous churches of the city: From Grossmünster church with windows from Sigmar Polke and Augusto Giacometti to the Fraumünster abbey with its Marc Chagall windows to the Wasserkirche and St. Peter's Church with the largest clock-face in Europe. 25hours ticks a little different and that becomes obvious at the latest in the reception area with a special hotel clock: The classic world clock constellation - New York, Los Angeles, Tokyo, Sidney - was summarily and creatively rechristened into the Swiss time zones. Häberli stages Zurich delicacies under glass bells - unfortunately only meant as some inspiring mini window shopping and in anticipation of a real culinary tour. Luxemburgli at Sprüngli? Or confections from Teuscher?.

Toblerone from the Duty-free shop, fondue at Le Dézaley by Grossmünster church or the best wurst in the city at Sternengrill? Häberli induces creative impulses and a walk through the hotel becomes an insider tour, always furnished with a playful twist.

On the first floor things continue: Meetings take place here in the modern interpretation of a patriarchal Zurich guild room. The wall is decorated with traditional coats-of-arms, but in typical Häberli manner, with irony and hand-drawn caricatures. Beyond this, the topic of drawing receives its own appearance, because for Alfredo Häberli, sketching is crucial to designing. His personal sketch books make up the wall ensemble and reveal derivations and allow participation in the creative work in progress. Once just a scribble, now prestigious and well-known products, after a long period of development, are now ready to be touched and put to use in the hotel.

Like none of the other current 25hours Hotels, Zurich West has a strong design emphasis and displays clear authorship. Häberli's signature determines the main aesthetic and almost all of the details. “I wanted to design everything from A to Z,” says Alfredo Häberli. With this he distanced himself considerably from the often negatively weighted term Design Hotel and continues: “I wanted to give the hotel a soul and not just a couple of pretty things to put in a building.” The fact that over 60 products were developed and designed for 25hours Hotel Zurich West proves that he took his job seriously. This was also made especially possible thanks to the collaboration with well-known manufacturers. “The fact that over the years we have been able to win the trust of the most important international companies, isn’t necessarily a given. Without their commitment, engagement and dedication the many products would not have been possible. That's why my big thanks goes to Alias, FSB, Hay, Kvadrat, Moroso and Tai Ping!” says Alfredo Häberli.

Daniela Aeberli, responsible for interior architechture at Team Häberli, remembers the unusual start of the planning: “Because of the preexisting project direction, the whole interior concept was developed around the design of the bathroom.”

Source: 25hours Zürich West Hotel

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