Archives for posts with tag: Architect

Shooting for the stars

June 1, 12 //
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By Stephan Post, Launch General Manager Palacio Nazarenas

Only a few days to go now! Things are gathering pace, and yes, the hotel really is happening. This was brought home to me a couple of weeks ago when a team came over from our Orient-Express head office in London to do our pre-launch photo shoot. You can see a selection of their images on our new website.

Two Adrians (Adrian Houston, Photographer, and Adrian Hulf, Creative Director) led the charge. They were joined by our Peru team. Carlos Gonzalez, who runs our Orient-Express Peru tours, deserves a special mention. He soon proved that escorting our guests requires similar skills to organising a shoot—an absolute determination to overcome hurdles and pull everything together.

Photographer Adrian Houston (far left) and his team.

Photographer Adrian Houston (far left) and his team.

The hotel was a hard hat site, so our first challenge was to arrange permission for our models to lounge by the pool without blue helmets on their heads. The builders were still tiling the pool while the team were setting up tracks for the movie camera. But they finished just in time, the water went in—and just visit the website to see the result. This was the moment that I realised that everything is falling into place—and how wonderful the pool area will be when guests arrive and bring it to life.

All photo shoots seem to take forever, but this one took even longer! Whenever someone asked for a couple of glasses to go on a table, we couldn’t just go to the restaurant and fetch them. We had to find them in the store, dig them out of packing cases and polish them up. I can hardly believe it is only a few days now before they are all actually in use.

But do visit our website and as you’ll see from our photographs, we’re nearly there. And come 15 June, we will be. Perhaps you’ll be with us too?

The clean up begins

May 7, 12 //
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By Enrique Palacio, Principal Architect

We’ve now completed the major building works at Palacio Nazarenas, and have begun cleaning the façade, using fresh water and soft materials to avoid any damage to the original stone. We have also cleaned the ancient fountain in the main cloister.

Enrique Palacio and Jorge Zavaleta in front of the main entrance of Palacio Nazarenas.

Helping us with this project is a professional team, led by Jorge Zavaleta (pictured with me at the main entrance). The original name of Palacio Nazarenas is La Casa de las Sierpes and you can see why: there are a lot of snakes carved into the stones, including two big ones—one with a moustache!—above the main door.

The image of a snake carved into the facade of Palacio Nazarenas.

During the cleaning process we have discovered that former owners of this building painted it in a variety of different colours, although we don’t know exactly when each layer was added. Amazingly, it looks as if they also used gold leaf in certain areas. We may even apply this finish again in some places—watch this space!

History is coming to life

March 2, 12 //
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By Janna Rapaport, Interior designer

Restoration work is proceeding at Palacio Nazarenas and we are beginning to see many major features of the building emerge from their protective wraps. This picture shows me with our restoration coordinator Ximena Vasquez de Velasco, standing in front of a beautiful antique frame covered in gold leaf. It dates from colonial times and is a superb example of the local craftsman’s art.

Standing with restoration coordinator Ximena at Palacio Nazarenas.

Other historic features are found in certain deluxe guest suites, which we are calling our Z Collection. Book one of these special suites and you may find yourself sleeping beneath a colonial ceiling or beside an Inca wall. It’s a very special opportunity to live and breathe Cuzco’s great heritage.

The balcony is complete!

January 27, 12 //
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By Enrique Palacio, Principal Architect

This Cuzco-style balcony in local wood marks a key step forward in the completion of Palacio Nazarenas.

It forms part of a suite and that has fabulous views out over the city rooftops and the Andes beyond. The carving and joinery was done by local craftsmen working under the direction of heritage consultant architect, Roberto Samanez. If you stroll around Plaza de Armas, the central square close by the hotel, you’ll see many similar balconies.

Watch Palacio Nazarenas come to life

September 19, 11 //
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You’ve read the blog, now watch the film!

Our video charts the restoration of Palacio Nazarenas, as it continues to unfold.

 

Spotlight on small details

August 10, 11 //
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By Enrique Palacio, Principal Architect

All the major structural work on Palacio Nazarenas is now more or less complete. A ventilation system is set up to pipe oxygen into guest suites to combat altitude sickness and we’ve installed under-floor heating beneath the Peruvian travertine marble floors. Archaeological finds such as ancient paths, water channels and colonial fountains are already restored. It’s been quite a feat to do this without disturbing the original, historic building.

Handcrafted furniture, made in Peru for Palacio Nazarenas

So now we’re focusing on the details. We are restoring some of the original doors and windows and they will be placed in public areas such as treatment rooms in the spa.

We’ve spent months working out exactly how guests will use furniture such as mini bars, bedside tables and seating. We’ve tested innumerable chairs to find designs representative of Peru yet ideally suited to guests’ needs.

Local artisans are now hard at work. New pieces of furniture are being handcrafted in Peru especially for the hotel. More than 90 percent of our workforce is local and when the hotel’s doors open we want them all to be proud of what they’ve achieved.

Palacio Nazarenas: an extraordinary project

July 13, 11 //
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By Manuel Panduro, Architect

Palacio Nazarenas is an extraordinary project—unlike anything I’ve worked on before. We are restoring the old convent and building a new section without any big machinery (which is not permitted in Cuzco’s historic downtown area).

All the foundations in the historic area have been reinforced, by replacing some stones and adding proper mortar. During this work we found sections of Prehispanic walls: the stones have been carefully documented, numbered and cleaned, and then put back in the same place. The creation of a new basement and swimming pool involved excavating thousands of cubic metres of earth by hand. Throughout the building we have carefully examined the paintwork and, where appropriate, restored the original colours.

Restoration work includes cleaning, documenting, numbering and replacing every stone.

There are many features that date back to colonial times. The corner suite, with a view over the square, has an interesting coffered ceiling with colourful rosettes, which has been restored by expert carpenters and painters. The convent’s two main doors date back to its earliest days, as can be seen from the type of wood—Peruvian aliso—which is no longer found today. Just inside, set into a wall, is a turntable originally used by the nuns to sell sweets that they made themselves. Visitors could buy the sweets without the nuns being seen.

An Architect’s View

June 13, 11 //
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By Enrique Palacio, Principal Architect

There are two dates in my working life that I will never forget. One is July 20th, 2000, when we first met the authorities to begin the Nazarenas project and the other is April 14th, 2011, when I felt we had solved all the technical issues and realised a design that can now go full steam ahead. What has happened in between? Without a doubt this has been the most complex work I have ever undertaken – I’m a lucky man! – but it has also been an exceptional experience to work in such detail on a structure that is so important and historic.

Stone carving of twin creatures with a shield above the main entrance of Palacio Nazarenas.

We’ve gone down to the most basic structural elements. We even removed and restored the foundations, working with tools like spoons so as not to disturb a thing. And we’ve made so many finds that it seems like every minute we’ve hit a stone and it’s been “Stop the work. Bring a brush!” It is hugely important to preserve the archaeology of the site. And everywhere you dig you find something.

Fascinating finds include pre-Inca and Inca walls, some of which will become part of guest rooms, or made visible under glass. There are centuries-old wall paintings, superb arches of bricks and magnificent wooden doors. I’ll tell you more about these, and how they will form striking features within our contemporary design plan, as we work on them over the weeks to come.