Architect Daniela Colli on the Future of Hospitality Design

Architect Daniela Colli, founder of her eponymous Rome-based studio since 2009, discusses the transformation of hospitality design in an interview. She contrasts the systematic approach in London, where general managers and chefs are involved from early design stages, with Italy, where investors often lack hospitality expertise and involve professionals late. Colli emphasizes that good design alone cannot save a business. To meet modern travelers' demands for authentic sensory experiences, she designs hotels as 'other spaces' that create memorable, non-domestic experiences, complemented by wellness areas, terraces, and high-level restaurants. Key trends include the hybridization of living and working spaces and the risk of designing for Instagrammability, which she avoids by grounding projects in local culture and heritage. Her favorite projects include Vyta Covent Garden in London (a restaurant inspired by 1950s Italian architecture), Orazio Palace in Rome (a hotel open to the city with a rooftop restaurant), and Stripes, a pop-up 'design osteria' in London's Mayfair covered in 3M films and inspired by Memphis Group aesthetics. She admires Crosby Studios by Harry Nuriev for color blocking, Hotel A22 in Riga (Estonia) for its minimalist elegance, and Dorothée Melichzon's CHZON agency for blending local style with glamour. Her dream project is a hotel on a small Greek island by the sea.