When Faena Hotel Buenos Aires opened in 2004, it changed everything. Argentine entrepreneur Alan Faena had snapped up an old wheat mill in the dilapidated Puerto Madero neighbourhood, and with the help of architect Philippe Starck, turned it into a bold and energetic hotel where whimsy, fashion and luxury came together.
The former fashion designer then converted a nearby flour mill into the Faena Art Center and went on to work with Foster + Partners to launch the luxurious Faena Aleph Residences, heralding starchitect Norman Foster’s debut in South America. The result was an entire eco-system of creative hospitality ventures, with the hotel as an anchor, collectively turning one of the most neglected parts of Buenos Aires into the home of its most expensive real estate.
The place-making strategy was repeated in 2015 with the launch of Faena District Miami Beach, for which Faena brought together big names from the worlds of architecture, design, art and Hollywood – including Rem Koolhaas, Foster + Partners, Damien Hirst and director Baz Luhrmann and production designer wife Catherine Martin – to create an entire cultural district spanning four city blocks, with a pair of dazzling and vivacious hotels at its core.
Faena District Miami Beach once again breathed new life into a tired neighbourhood, leaving keen-eyed observers wondering where the visionary hotelier will next turn his attention. The wait is finally over, following the announcement that Alan Faena and group co-founder Len Blavatnik have teamed up with Accor to roll out the brand around the world, with their sights firmly fixed on Dubai as the location of the first project.
“As Faena expands, we plan to continue rethinking hospitality lifestyle and shaping the path for groundbreaking concepts, setting new industry standards in the creation of inimitable environments rooted in culture, positively transforming cities, shifting old paradigms and becoming new international cultural epicenters,” said Faena. “It has always been our dream to share the Faena ethos and artistic vision around the globe, and with Accor we are turning this dream into reality.”
Details of the new project had not been revealed at time of press, and under-utilised neighbourhoods are few and far between in a city as young, burgeoning and compact as Dubai. But if we had to take a guess, we might speculate that the industrial area of Al Quoz or the labyrinthine buildings of Old Dubai might just be the perfect spot for a Faena District that incorporates new cultural spaces, galleries and performance centres into a new neighbourhood anchored by a hotel and residences.
Accor, which now operates more than 5,000 properties around the world, already has a firm foothold in Dubai, including properties under its Raffles, Sofitel, Fairmont and Rixos brands, and will soon welcome SLS Dubai as the city’s newest lifestyle hub. The Faena partnership provides the French hotel giant the opportunity to move further into the integrated luxury lifestyle space.
“Alan Faena is a clear leader in the luxury lifestyle sector with his transformative concepts. Faena Districts are shifting the gravitational centers of the cities where they reside, making a true difference in their communities. These will serve as our model as we work hand-in-hand with the Faena team to help achieve their vision and global expansion ambitions,” said Sébastien Bazin, Accor chairman and CEO.
