JPA banks on a classical look for Taj Cape Town hotel interiors

James Park Associates is designing the interiors of Taj Cape Town, a five-star hotel overlooking South Africa’s Table Mountain.

JPA says it was appointed to work on the hotel in October 2007 on the strength of its previous work with hotel group Taj Hotels Resorts and Palaces, which is operating the hotel. JPA is currently working on the refurbishment of Mumbai’s Taj Mahal Palace & Tower, which was hit by the terrorist attack in the Indian capital in November 2008 (DW 12 November).

The 166-room Cape Town hotel occupies a tower and two former bank buildings, one of which used to house the South African Reserve Bank, says David Edwards, managing director of JPA’s Singapore office.

The bank buildings will contain what Edwards calls ‘a very grand hotel foyer’ in the original banking hall, as well as a conference facility, brasserie, restaurant, cigar bar, oyster bar and ‘a few heritage bedrooms’.

‘One very important task has been to make the strong, masculine architecture of the bank building feel much more welcoming,’ says Edwards. ‘We really had to soften the bank’s look without hiding its striking original features.’

The heritage bedrooms will feature aquamarine, green and blue colour schemes, to reflect Cape Town’s coastal position. However, most of the bedrooms will be housed in the 16-storey tower that rises from the historic bank buildings. Many of the tower rooms will have panoramic views of Table Mountain. For these, JPA has chosen colours inspired by sunsets.

The public areas will feature what Edwards calls a ‘royal palette’, while the Bombay Brasserie (pictured) will be decorated in iridescent colours inspired by peacock feathers.

‘We are avoiding any South African theme in the hotel,’ says Edwards. ‘There will be no zebra skins, and we are remaining true to the classical, original interiors.’
Taj Cape Town opens on 15 January 2010.

 

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