Alitalia’s recently opened lounge at Rome’s Leonardo da Vinci – Fiumicino Airport is named “Dolce Vita” as a tribute to Italian cinema. The lounge, designed by the Robilant practice, is a comprehensive restyling of the old Bramante lounge. This time the goal was not merely to provide an opportunity to relax while waiting for a flight, but to offer a genuine flagship store of Italian excellence.
The entire project was entrusted to Paolo Castelli and he took just two months to complete everything.The re-use and alteration of plane parts for furnishings infuses the lounge with a sense of travel. Spinners have been turned into free- standing lamps and an MD80 radome is now a swinging lamp. The welcome desk and the multi-touch screen station were fashioned from an engine air intake.
It is clear that the details are fundamental. An undulating wall has a mosaic decoration that recalls Alitalia’s colours and walls, while the bar and check-in counters have been shaped in Corian and polished stainless steel to allude to Italian craftsmanship. The other notable elements are the satin finish crystal wall, the white Corian ceiling, the black Corian columns and walls, the resin floor with durmast parquet inserts, the round bathrooms with sliding doors, the Laminam surfaces and the fireproof leather loungers.
The combination of these elements exalts the careful choice of materials and the overall unity of the design. The links between the lounge and the world of air travel are reinforced through the placement of a simplified flight simulator that allows travellers to experience the thrill of what it is like to pilot a plane in a Boeing cockpit.
Challenge: Less then 2 months for a total makeover of 800 SM, providing the usual standar of high quality.