Ninth floor. Boxes of colours. Richard Gluckman.

The initial architectural concept derived from the capsule hotel notion of a ‘box within a box’.  This concept is used to organize the approach to the different kinds of activities that take place within the small space of the hotel room. Each room has a wall of translucent glass containing four methacrylate niches. Gluckman has differentiated the rooms by changing the colour of the niches. The half on the north side are blue, and the half facing south are yellow. The biggest box, in the middle of the room, houses the television. To the left is the telephone box, which also serves as a writing desk. To the right are two other boxes with different uses, such as for putting drinks, a notebook, glasses or wallet.

Another noteworthy feature of the interiors is decoration. Lobby and hallways have an industrial appearance. The hallways look as if they belong in a factory or a recently installed office, and, to reinforce this sensation, fibre cement has been used on the ceiling and walls. This industrial touch is continued in room design, but here it is a little more sophisticated. As Gluckman himself has explained, he has combined ‘rich’ materials, such as methacrylate and luxurious fabrics in metallic tones, with ‘poor’ materials, such as fibre cement board. In addition, natural substances like mica-flecked cement, felted-wool, and Spanish granite are used alongside artificial ones like acrylic and recycled plastic.

Tenth floor. Japanese tradition. Arata Isozaki.

The tenth floor of the Hotel Puerta América refers guests to the traditions of Japanese culture. Isozaki has brought plenty of oriental references into the interior, which guests discover as they undertake different activities within their room.

Contrast is the key idea for the lobby and hallways. The lobby is a decagon painted with a special white scraped paint and tiled in marble, in stark contrast with the dark grey paint used along the hallways, which is also rough to the touch, as well as the black chosen for the wool carpeting. The Japanese tradition in the home, featuring minimalism, tranquillity and well-being, seem to be the ideas governing the interior design of the rooms. Each detail transports the guest to a typical Japanese room. Dark colours predominate, although the area is nonetheless spacious and well-lit. Cool materials and colours contrast with the brightness and warmth of the bathroom. Isozaki has proposed a bathroom and shower made of hinoki wood, known for its light tones.

Eleventh floor. Good vibrations. Javier Mariscal and Fernando Salas.

‘Simple solutions without formal showiness or major technical complications; contained, functional, long-lasting, attempting to create visual perspectives in a habitat viewed as multifunctional, not as a mere bedroom.’ That is how Javier Mariscal himself defines the design of the eleventh floor of the Hotel Puerta América.

In the centre of the lobby there is a Cactus sculpture which is made out of coloured Corian and stands on a double platform of stainless steel and iron. In this area the carpet is orange, contrasting with the green chosen for the hallway, whose walls are covered with striped Formica. Throughout the hallway there are illuminated glass cabinets resembling transparent light boxes and displaying different objects also designed by Mariscal. The aim is to make the way to the rooms more engaging. Mariscal has designed the rooms of the eleventh floor as a temporary home for everyone who stays there. As the designer explains, the goal was to create a space that ‘can be used by a lot of people who might not have the same tastes or needs’. Precisely for this reason, Mariscal says that he has not tried to ‘perform an exercise in style, nor futurism. Quite the opposite – I have tried to achieve an anonymous character, without imposing the author’s signature too much so that it will age well’. Mariscal acknowledges that he has tried to convey ‘good vibrations, a sensation of being in a comfortable space’. His inspiration: ‘the functionalism of the 1950s, but without this having had too much influence afterwards’. Guests are presented with an area where the bathroom reigns supreme. The only enclosed area is the toilet booth, isolated by means of an ash wood trellis, which also simultaneously serves as a large lamp as it is backlit. At its back, the mirror supports the plasma TV screen. The white Corian work surface has a dual function; while in the bathroom it is used as a sink and general surface, in the living room it becomes a piece of furniture, finished in striped Formica and holding the bar, fridge and audiovisual equipment. Large-scale colourful flower prints predominate in the bedroom, covering the headboard and closets, hidden behind a panel. The bed is located against the window. In this way, natural light hits it from behind and permeates the whole room. One of the sides of the bedroom is finished with a backlit wooden trellis, giving guests the feeling of being outdoors.