Westin Chosun Seoul. Situated in Seoul’s thriving business district, The Westin Chosun was the first western-style hotel in Korea when the original hotel opened in 1914. The premier hotel is a source of national pride as the symbol of Korean hospitality, and was the only hotel in Korea to be named one of the ‘World’s Best Hotels’ on Condé Nast Traveler’s 2008 ‘Gold List’. With the hotel’s commitment to luxury in mind, Tihany Design redesigned the entire ground floor and basement levels including: the lobby, the famed specialty restaurant, the Ninth Gate, the café, the bar lounge, the deli café, the contemporary all day dining Aria, and the ballroom.

The lower level, encompassing Aria Restaurant and the Vecchia e Nuovo café, was completed in May 2008. The all-day dining restaurant Aria seats 214 people and features a unique dining experience. 10 exhibition cooking stations, resembling luxurious residential kitchens, offer a variety of global fare which is prepared to order. The contemporary design consists of suspended ceiling panels which interact on different levels adding a sense of depth to the space. A contrast to the contemporary aesthetic, a specially commissioned series of nature videos by New York-based artist Bram Tihany is shown on five screens suspended throughout the restaurant. These videos, along with the overall restaurant lighting, change depending on the time of day, altering the mood of the space from day to night.

Elegant and contemporary, the lower lobby with its Vecchia e Nuovo café and take-out, welcomes guests with light travertine stone floors and columns, and refined limed oak paneling covering the walls. With the redesign, an atrium has been created by opening up a space between the lower and main lobbies and connecting them via a grand travertine stone staircase. Outside the lower lobby, a new outdoor arrival place has been shaped with an impressive canopy overhead. In keeping with the contemporary theme of the hotel, a geometric cracked pattern in the overhang provides lighting. This pattern is mimicked by the water channels in the garden above, which can be viewed from the main lobby. Tihany Design also conceived a fresh landscaping concept with trees and a garden, providing a natural barrier and a perfect escape from the bustling city beyond.