Hospitality Atmospheres explores the spatial, material, and sensory qualities that shape experiences of welcome. Through carefully selected projects, the series examines how architecture frames comfort, encounter, and ritual thus revealing hospitality not as a program, but as an atmosphere shaped by light, texture, proportion, and use.
Jordi Herrero Campo and Eduardo García Acuña transform Can Oliver, a layered 12th-century palace in Palma de Mallorca, into the five-star Nobis Hotel Palma by adapting its hospitality programme to the existing architecture. Protected elements -including an Arabic coffered ceiling, Gothic wall paintings, the Majorcan staircase and courtyards- are preserved alongside newly revealed openings. While reversible black steel-and-glass insertions accommodate contemporary functions. The interior design by Wingårdhs complements the historic architecture with bespoke furnishings and a warm, tactile palette.
The project involved the transformation of this former palace into the 5-star boutique Nobis Hotel Palma while preserving the spatial and material identity that defines the building.
At the time the commission was received, several hotel conversion proposals in Palma’s historic center had been rejected by the City Council for excessively altering the original structures.
The project pursued the following strategy: bringing the hotel into Can Oliver.
The intervention began with an exhaustive survey and analysis of the existing building. The objective was to identify protected elements, such as the Arabic coffered ceiling, Gothic wall paintings, the Majorcan staircase, and the sequence of courtyards. Also, a main goal was to understand the value of the spaces themselves, their proportions, textures, and traces accumulated over time.
Instead of imposing a uniform architectural language, the project developed through highly specific responses derived from the opportunities offered by the existing structure.
Original walls revealed traces of former arches, windows, and passages once uncovered. These discoveries were preserved and incorporated into the final intervention, allowing the building’s history to remain visible.
The project also sought to preserve the perception of the original rooms.
Conventional compartmentalization was avoided wherever possible.
Bathrooms were conceived as independent steel-and-glass volumes inserted within the rooms, minimizing their impact on the spatial continuity of the historic interiors.
Mechanical systems were integrated into these elements, while sinks and furniture were treated as autonomous pieces.
Materially, the intervention is based on contrast.
Layers of recent rendering were removed to expose the essential character of the original stone walls and surfaces. New architectural additions were executed in black steel using dry and reversible construction systems, clearly distinguishing contemporary interventions from the historic fabric while allowing future transformations.
Particular attention was also given to natural light.
In the attic rooms, traditional skylights were avoided due to their excessive heat and harsh light conditions. Instead, narrow courtyards were carved into the roof, introducing vegetation, filtered light, and natural ventilation.
The interior design, developed by the Swedish studio Wingårdhs, introduced a softer and more tactile atmosphere through textiles, custom wooden furniture, vegetation, and carefully designed lighting.
The result is a project built upon coexistence and balance: ancient and contemporary, heavy and light, austere and luxurious.
A building that preserves the passage of time while remaining open to future transformation.
Facts & Credits
Project title: Can Oliver / Nobis Hotel Palma
Project type: Hospitality Architectrure
Architecture: Jordi Herrero Campo & Eduardo García Acuña
Interior design: Wingårdhs
Project location: Palma de Mallorca, Spain
Quantity surveyor: Jorge Gómez
Archaeologist: Rafael Turatti
Structrural engineering: Fernando Purroy
Installations engineering: Reolid Consulting
Lighting design: Elektroshields
Landscape Architecture: Eugenia Corcoy
Constructor: Akko Building
Photography: José Hevia