When Wingårdhs lead architect Helena Toresson first visited the centuries-old building in Palma de Mallorca that was to become the latest Nobis hotel designed by the Swedish firm, the long-abandoned structure “seemed to house all the pigeons on the island,” she jokes. Just a month later, several slabs caved, leaving gaps in the roof and elsewhere. “Still,” she says, “there were bits and pieces that were really beautiful and had potential.”
Top on that list was the incredible vaulted ceiling, constructed of local sandstone, in the ground-floor space, which was carefully cleaned and restored. Part of the four-story, 25,000- square-foot edifice dates back to 1576, with later additions into the 19th century. At one point a soap factory, the building had more recently contained retail and restaurants at street level, with apartments upstairs.
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