MGallery Palazzo Tirso Hotel

Studio Marco Piva carries out the interior architecture and interior design of the new MGallery Palazzo Tirso. A change of use that preserves the historical value of the building.

An impressive new addition enriches Cagliari’s hotel scene with the opening of the new five-star Palazzo Tirso hotel. The historic and majestic building, dating from the 1920s and formerly the headquarters of the Società Elettrica Sarda, was acquired by the renowned Puddu Costruzioni Group, which assigned the interior architecture and design work to Studio Marco Piva.

This new development is the second assignment that Studio Marco Piva has completed in the city of Cagliari, one that provides guests with a unique and sophisticated experience.

The opening of the hotel took place at the end of May 2023 after a painstaking redevelopment involving a change of use that was careful to preserve the building’s historical identity. Palazzo Tirso is now part of the prestigious Accor chain.

The interior architectural and design work was supervised by Armando Bruno, Founding Partner & CEO of Studio Marco Piva, and Ferdinando Tedesco, Chief Interior Designer. Together they have succeeded in creating a design tailored to the authenticity of the location.

The design concept is based on maintaining a balance between the historical aspects of the building and the innovation of the new works. The design put forward creates a link to the building’s former existence, preserving and enhancing part of the original structure in a perspective of continuity. This approach enables guests to immerse themselves in the history and elegance of the Palazzo Tirso, while enjoying the modern comforts and technologies offered by a 5-star hotel.

The new hotel boasts a bespoke design, with most of the furniture and lighting custom-made and designed exclusively to harmonise with the design narrative.

This, combined with the expressive richness of the selected materials and the abundant cues from the local area, gives the work a strong and original personality.

In line with the new functionalities in the hotel sector, the spaces of the new MGallery Palazzo Tirso were designed to open up to the urban fabric, creating a place for interactions and comfort open to the city.

The communal areas of Palazzo Tirso have been designed dynamically, offering an environment that is suitable for both guests and citizens, thus creating additional opportunities for social exchanges without neglecting the traditional function of a hotel, which is enhanced to the fullest, thus ensuring that a stay is a unique experience.

Starting in the basement, there is a wellness area with an additional reception area, a gymnasium, a swimming pool with sauna and steam bath and three spacious treatment rooms.

The colours chosen maintain a strong link with the history of the area, favouring the use of stone materials. To comply with regulatory requirements, the building’s original beams were kept visible, camouflaging them within geometrical structures conceived by the designers and created using traditional finishing techniques.

The hotel reception, bar and Terra restaurant are located on the ground floor. Specific areas were laid out to meet their functional requirements, with a perimeter bench, tables and chairs in the restaurant and more informal tables in the bar area. Most of the furniture, including the bar and restaurant counters, was custom-made to a design by Studio Marco Piva.

The upper floors accommodate the 85 rooms, also fully custom-furnished, distributed over the first to the fourth floors. There are 14 types of standard rooms, ranging in size from 28 to 40 square metres. The fourth floor is set aside exclusively for the eight suites and the Presidential Suite, which are laid out over two levels and range in size from 70 to 120 square metres.

A feature of the design of Palazzo Tirso is the strong focus on the aesthetics of colour, which permeates all the spaces. The designers selected a wide range of colours during their surveys of the city, taking inspiration from the botanical garden, religious architecture of the past and the architectural works of the modern city. This selection of colours became the starting point for the design project, influencing the choice of materials and the furnishing of the spaces.

But the project is not limited to merely the visual; it emphasises above all the tactile aspect of the experience.

The surfaces of the materials used were treated to create new sensations in their use. This approach gives the design an emphasis on the tactile dimension, inviting guests to explore and interact with the environments in a more intimate way.

Finally, the idea of asymmetry emerges constantly in all the spaces and furnishings, evoking the building’s dual identity. This architectural language, completely original for a hotel building, results in a unique visual and spatial presentation. Asymmetry becomes a distinctive feature of the design, emphasising the unique personality of Palazzo Tirso.

Design: Studio Marco Piva
Design Team: Armando Bruno, Ferdinando Tedesco
Contractor: A.P.I.C.E Gruppo Puddu Costruzioni, Poltrona Frau
Photography: Andrea Martiradonna