Palazzo Tirso Hotel, Cagliari

An impressive new addition enriches Cagliari’s hotel scene with the opening of the new five-star Palazzo Tirso hotel. The historic and majestic building, dating from the 1920s and formerly the headquarters of the Società Elettrica Sarda, was acquired by the renowned Puddu Costruzioni Group, which assigned the interior architecture and design work to Studio Marco Piva.
This new development is the second assignment that Studio Marco Piva has completed in the city of Cagliari, one that provides guests with a unique and sophisticated experience. The opening of the hotel took place at the end of May 2023 after a painstaking redevelopment involving a change of use that was careful to preserve the building’s historical identity. Palazzo Tirso is now part of the prestigious Accor chain.

The interior architectural and design work was supervised by Armando Bruno, Founding Partner & CEO of Studio Marco Piva, and Ferdinando Tedesco, Chief Interior Designer. Together they have succeeded in creating a design tailored to the authenticity of the location. The design concept is based on maintaining a balance between the historical aspects of the building and the innovation of the new works. The design put forward creates a link to the building’s former existence, preserving and enhancing part of the original structure in a perspective of continuity. This approach enables guests to immerse themselves in the history and elegance of the Palazzo Tirso, while enjoying the modern comforts and technologies offered by a 5-star hotel.

The building’s redevelopment, already in itself representing a contribution in terms of sustainability and ethics, was part of a process for optimising and reducing, as far as possible, any impact on the environment: the choice of local or new-generation materials, LED lighting and the simplification of scenarios for reducing consumption, technology employed to optimise resources, and green architecture complementing the tradition of the area. The new hotel boasts a bespoke design, with most of the furniture and lighting custom-made and designed exclusively to harmonise with the design narrative.

This, combined with the expressive richness of the selected materials and the abundant cues from the local area, gives the work a strong and original personality. In line with the new functionalities in the hotel sector, the spaces of the new MGallery Palazzo Tirso were designed to open up to the urban fabric, creating a place for interactions and comfort open to the city.
The communal areas of Palazzo Tirso have been designed dynamically, offering an environment that is suitable for both guests and citizens, thus creating additional opportunities for social exchanges without neglecting the traditional function of a hotel, which is enhanced to the fullest, thus ensuring that a stay is a unique experience.

Starting in the basement, there is a wellness area with an additional reception area, a gymnasium, a swimming pool with sauna and steam bath and three spacious treatment rooms.

The colours chosen maintain a strong link with the history of the area, favouring the use of stone materials. To comply with regulatory requirements, the building’s original beams were kept visible, camouflaging them within geometrical structures conceived by the designers and created using traditional finishing techniques. The hotel reception, bar and Terra restaurant are located on the ground floor. Specific areas were laid out to meet their functional requirements, with a perimeter bench, tables and chairs in the restaurant and more informal tables in the bar area. Most of the furniture, including the bar and restaurant counters, was custom-made to a design by Studio Marco Piva.