Architecture
Hotel Sin Nombre
The hotel’s “deft mixture of restrained interiors and bold flourishes.” (courtesy of Surface Magazine)
Image courtesy of: Scramblyn
Hotel Sin Nombre might be called a “Hotel With No Name,” however it has everything else. The hotel is the brainchild of a local artist and California transplant, Elliott Coon. In collaboration with the Portuguese artist Joao Goto Caerio, the hotel’s beauty overflows even though the exterior is rather nondescript.
Near Oaxaca’s main central square, the boutique 24-room hotel maintains an old-world spirit that fits perfectly in the colonial city that is the Mexican state’s capital. Oaxaca is known as a place that melds the past and the present; the new hotel is a fitting example of both.
The light-filled, organic interior.
Image courtesy of: Hotel Sin Nombre
The new hotel resides inside a 17th-century colonial house with beautiful original bones. In order to highlight the former dwelling’s originality, Boto Caerio used limestone and earth-toned paints in addition to cantera, a local limestone, for the flooring and columns. As a material that is indigenous to the region, cantera is found in many houses and it is a perfect example of “Oaxacan architecture.”
The stone columns were refurbished rather than replaced… a process that would have probably been much simpler. Over the past few decades, the columns had been painted over multiple times. Boto Caerio removed the layers of paint to reveal an original stone which was truly gorgeous. In keeping with an environmentalist spirit, the columns that could not be salvaged were turned into new limestone forms and carved to matching dimensions.
The black-and-white photography throughout the hotel is by the Spanish photographer Alberto Ibanez.
Image courtesy of: The Spaces
Wood endemic to southern Mexico was incorporated into the sophisticated design. Nopo, Pino, and Pucte woods were used for support beams, furniture, and other detailing. The original structure relied on wooden support beams that needed to be replaced for safety reasons… the same indigenous wood was used for this purpose also.
Most important to Coon and Boto Caeiro was to honor the structure’s (courtesy of archilovers), “traditional and vernacular architecture.” The original layout of public areas and guest rooms was honored even though the proportions were not always ideal in size and dimension. Coon said, “… through maintaining original floor-plans, one is also able to experience the holistic essence of the building.”
Cacti were placed throughout the common areas to strengthen the connection between the indoors and the outdoors.
Image courtesy of: The Spaces
The hotel’s highlight is the central courtyard, an area full of white tones and flooded with natural light from the glass roof above. The arches, quarry stone floors, and columns propose a feeling of calm. Throughout, there are elements of Moroccan design such as lanterns and the Oaxacan spirit is alive and well with the legacy of the region’s rich textile industry represented by comfortable hand-embroidered floor cushions and handmade rugs. Looking up and seeing the glass cupola is breathtaking. However it is a combination every detail, that brings forth the sense of serenity… a place where time seems to fades away.
From above…
Image courtesy of: Hotel Sin Nombre
Coon hopes that a stay, or even just a visit, to Hotel Sin Nombre will bring about calm. Talk about bad timing… the hotel opened in early March 2020, just as the world was about to shut down due to the impending pandemic. Luckily, Coon remained resolved. The owner fully believes that luxury travel will commence. She says, “The primary motivation behind travel will be to engage a new place and the intricate fiber of its culture and history instead of the old concept of ‘vacation’ to disconnect and disengage.” We can’t wait to visit!
