projects

ReardonSmith was introduced to the opportunity to design a new hotel for Baku, capital of Azerbaijan, by the operator, Four Seasons. The client, Pasha Group, a leading local development company, already had a scheme in place but neither Pasha nor Four Seasons felt that it truly reflected their ambitions to create a jewel in the crown of Baku architecture and the most luxurious hotel in the city. Now, as the hotel nears completion the result can be seen – a magnificent classical building clad in cream–toned limestone from the local mountains, topped by a fabulous pre–patinated copper roof.

The site of the new hotel is prestigious. Located in the heart of the restored old city, with a designer boutique–lined seafront to one side and a newly landscaped public garden behind, the new building amply mirrors and re–states the significance of its immediate surroundings. Ottoman and Islamic styles meet European influences in Baku, and ReardonSmith, taking a specific design direction defined by the client, has created a building which draws its inspiration from the architecture of the late 19th century French Riviera. A grand porte–cochère, 10 metres high, provides a ceremonial driveway while letting light into the heart of the ground floor spaces. These have been planned, according to the preferred custom in Azerbaijan, to allow guests arriving for grand state and social occasions to promenade from the entrance through the public areas and onto the function rooms and private courtyard gardens at the rear. As befits Baku's most illustrious ballroom, there are no columns – requiring a feat of engineering design since Baku sits in an active earthquake zone. The spa is on the top, ninth floor with a pool on the fourth floor within a spectacular basilica beneath a gently domed glass roof. The spa, speciality restaurant and presidential suite between them occupy the turrets on each corner of the building offering 180° views across the capital and the Caspian Sea.