Berlin’s Hotel Adlon Kempinski unveiled an expanded lobby that adds contemporary touches to the historic, circa-1907 property.
The expanded lobby, which was designed by Anna Maria Jagdfeld and made its debut this fall, widened the seating area, expanded the bar and created a reception “pavilion” that creates distance between the bustling of guests and luggage from the lobby’s lounge.
The elephant fountain, presented to the Adlon in 1930 by an Indian maharajah, remains the center of the lobby. It inspired Jagdfeld’s palette of gold, turquoise, blue-gray and silver for the fabrics on the couches, armchairs and pillows. The lobby lounge is executed in limestone, leather, brass and onyx and is covered by a classical glass and gold-leaf dome with more than 180 glass stars. At its center hangs a 1,700-pound, 12-foot-tall chandelier with 390 Murano glass prisms.
New art in the lobby of the hotel, which hosted U.S. President Barack Obama on two visits, including his last visit to Europe recently, includes a 12-foot-wide hand-crafted piece of glasswork by London artist Emma Peascod. The motifs of this verre églomisé are golden elephants, frogs and lotus flowers, echoing the central fountain. A gray carpet covers the marble staircase to the mezzanine. At its central landing hangs a triptych by Brazilian artist Luzia Simons from her famous series “Stockage” from 2010 – a colorful array of tulips on a black background.
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