Construction works for two Accor Hotels, a Novotel and an adagio, have begun in Abidjian, Ivory Coast. The project was designed and developed by Lebanese architecture and design firm Bits to Atoms led by Architect Guillaume Credoz, in collaboration with Claude Missir interiors (interior design), Fouad Hanna and Gilbert Tambourji (MEP) and Rodolphe Matar (structure).
Given the location, climate and geographical parameters, the development will feature a large courtyard where part of adagio’s 14-floor exterior will be turned into an immense vertical forest bursting with a lush variety of local trees. As for Novotel’s choice of rooms, the hotel will offer guests either a sea view on the avenue side or a lush forest on the courtyard side.
The country’s climate and the amount of sunlight the hotel would enjoy necessitated the creation of a unique shading system that runs over the entire Novotel facade. The bold, parametric, massive white concrete louvers protect the building from harmful sun rays all year round, as well as lend the hotel structure iconic status. The courtyard, between the two hotels constitutes an urban haven, one where the two structures appear to be in dialogue.
The bold contrast emphasizes Novotel’s mineral facades of modular parametric concrete elements, which follow the sun’s orientation, protect the rooms from extreme sun exposure and direct the viewers’ gaze towards the ocean.
Upon completion, the complex will house a total of 350 rooms divided between luxury rooms, suites and furnished apartments. Both hotels benefit from the common central courtyard, an infinity pool, deck and lounge area as well as a 300 sqm ballroom for special events and celebrations. A sharp glowing yellow glass box perched at Novotel’s 11th floor houses the hotel’s signature restaurant, breakfast area, lounge and terrace spaces. The hotel is slated for completion by 2022, ACC being the general contractor in charge of the construction works.
The company is a research and creation lab for architecture and design in Beirut, Lebanon. It focuses on creative thinking, bringing advanced architecture and design solutions that provide clients all the benefits of digital conception and fabrication. Bits to Atoms has the largest research lab in the Middle East with a 7-axis robotic arm and industrial 3D printers, which it uses to design and craft innovative parametric architectures and designs. Deeply rooted in fabrication know-how and fueled by constant research of materials and techniques, the Lab’s creations are continuously-introducing new possibilities and objects. With a multidimensional practice and cross disciplinary technical knowledge, the office and workshop’s strength lies in the design and fabrication techniques where coding and computing bring to fabrication new design experiences for the users and new opportunities for the developers.
Rita Ghantous is a hospitality aficionado and a passionate writer with over 9 years’ experience in journalism and 5 years experience in the hospitality sector.
Her passion for the performance arts and writing, started early. At 10 years old she was praised for her solo performance of the Beatles song “All My Love” accompanied by a guitarist, and was approached by a French talent scout during her school play. However, her love for writing was stronger. Fresh out of school, she became a freelance journalist for Noun Magazine and was awarded the Silver Award Cup for Outstanding Poetry, by The International Library of Poetry (Washington DC).
She studied Business Management and earned a Masters degree from Saint Joseph University (USJ), her thesis was published in the Proche-Orient, Études en Management book.
She then pursued a career in the hospitality industry but didn’t give up writing, that is why she launched the Four Points by Sheraton Le Verdun Newsletter.
Her love for the industry and journalism led her to Hospitality Services - the organizers of the HORECA trade show in Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan, as well as Salon Du Chocolat, Beirut Cooking Festival, Whisky Live and other regional shows. She is currently the Publications Executive of Hospitality News Middle East, Taste & Flavors and Lebanon Traveler.
It is with ultimate devotion for her magazines that she demonstrates her hospitality savoir-faire.
