With planning consent for an office complex and works already started, on a prestigious site on the banks of the Dnipro River in the heart of Kiev’s Podol area; the owners had a last minute change of heart and worked with Ayala to transform the project into a grand hotel.
The project involved acquiring adjacent sites at the rear of the building and building a book depository on behalf of the city to create a suitable footprint for the new project which incorporated the partly completed office structure.
Ayala’s atrium design allowed for 420 guestrooms, which was subsequently reduced to 280 when Fairmont was brought on board to manage the property and suggested fewer but larger rooms of approximately 50 m² each.
Ayala then worked with local architects Babushkin & Partners to create the classic façade of the new hotel and on the layouts of all front and back of house areas. The first floor atrium with its glazed roof and large banqueting facilities on the street level below were key criteria in the design concept.
Ayala then worked together with Fairmont’s own interior designer and the client’s own in-house construction team to prepare the detailed design drawings and specification of the interior. The hotel was completed by the client’s own contracting company and opened its doors on March, 2012.