An Urban Retreat with History: The Florentin Hotel in Frankfurt am Main
The Florentin by Althoff Collection, set within the historic Villa Speyer (1901) and complemented by later extensions, opens as a new luxury five-star hotel and urban retreat in Frankfurt following an extensive transformation. A member of The Leading Hotels of the World, the project unites heritage architecture and contemporary layers into a carefully balanced ensemble shaped by contrasting interior design approaches. The lighting design supports this dialogue, translating architectural intent and materiality into a cohesive atmospheric language of light.
The Florentin comprises 147 rooms and suites, including nine Signature Suites located within the historic villa, as well as restaurants, bars, meeting spaces and a spa spanning four levels. The interior design follows two distinct approaches. While main public spaces, guestrooms and spa areas by Unscripted Design are guided by a minimalist aesthetic defined by clear lines, natural materials and colors, and sensorial textures, the historic villa interiors, as well as the restaurant The Dune and the Cigar Lounge by Atelier Zürich adopt a more expressive, character-driven language rooted in the building’s heritage. The lighting design follows this duality by maintaining a consistent technical approach throughout the hotel. Warm color temperatures form the basis of the concept, with soft, diffuse ambient light realized through illuminated surfaces, indirect coves, backlit elements and integrated linear lighting, combined with precise accents for orientation, task lighting and accentuation. Furniture-integrated lighting and vertical illumination enhance spatial depth and visual comfort, while custom luminaires and illuminated objects provide localized emphasis without competing with the architecture. Selected existing luminaires from the building were retained and upgraded to LED technology, integrating elements of the site’s history into the new lighting concept.
In areas with varying daylight availability and changing use patterns, tunable white lighting allows transitions from warmer daytime settings down to amber tones, particularly in public and wellness areas, resulting in a calm, controlled and coherent lighting environment.
