Mamilla Hotel / Safdie Architects

Architects: Safdie Architects
Location: Jerusalem, Israel
Client: Alrov Luxury Hotels
Interior Design: Piero Lissoni
Total Cost: US $60 million
Completion: 2009
Photographs: Timothy Hursley, Ardon Bar Hama, Courtesy of Mamilla Hotel

Located in what was once the no-man’s land between the Israeli and Jordanian sectors of Jerusalem, the Mamilla district forms the connection between the old and new cities. Within this district, the Mamilla Hotel is a quintessentially urban place, rising out of the network of alleys that connect the walled and the new cities of Jerusalem.

The design of the Mamilla Hotel combines the pattern of the old with cutting-edge modernity, a strategy representative of its location between the old and new city. The walls of the hotel are rendered in traditional Jerusalem limestone and the roofs are terra-cotta tile, creating a material continuity with the surrounding historic buildings.

Inside the hotel a paired-back, minimalist aesthetic contextualizes and frames the historic Jerusalem architecture. Traditional rough-faced running-bond masonry walls meet walls of the same material rendered in large, smooth blocks. By contrast, a bold, sculptural metal staircase moves through the skylit central atria between concrete floors. The 194-room hotel was designed in conjunction with the renowned Italian designer Piero Lissoni.