Architecture & History

The Legacy of Sigurd Lewerentz

In 1930, the world-renowned architect Sigurd Lewerentz designed an office building and warehouse for Philips on Gävlegatan. Today, in close collaboration with Wingårdhs under the leadership of star architect Gert Wingårdh, we have had the honor of creating a hotel in that very building, whose design concept is rooted in Lewerentz’s history and the legacy he left behind.

This distinctive warehouse is a beautiful concrete building with a strictly repetitive façade and several small windows. The building was designed in the 1930s by Sigurd Lewerentz, one of Sweden’s most celebrated architects of all time, who was a master at capturing both modernity and a century of history.

Today, nearly 50 years after Lewerentz’s passing, international interest in his architecture is growing. His attention to detail and ability to strip away the superfluous fascinate architecture enthusiasts around the world. Simplicity, elegance, a clear design language, and a focus on material selection are hallmarks of Lewerentz’s buildings.

One of Lewerentz’s most famous works is Skogskyrkogården in Enskede, Stockholm, which he designed in his early years together with his friend and colleague Gunnar Asplund. Other works whose reputation has spread beyond Sweden’s borders include Markuskyrkan in Björkhagen, St. Petrikyrkan in Klippan, and the chapels of St. Gertrud and St. Knut at Malmö Östra Cemetery—names that can now be found within the walls of Blique Nobis. As a tribute to Lewerentz, we have chosen to name all our meeting and event rooms after his works.

Lewerentz is also a visual presence throughout our graphic identity, including the typeface he designed himself for the 1930 World’s Fair in Stockholm, which is now featured in the hotel’s logo and printed materials.

Sweco’s architects were responsible for the renovation and conversion of the block into a hotel. Working closely with architectural historians, the architects have highlighted the buildings’ qualities and the design that Lewerentz created when the first building was constructed. In 2020, Sweco Architects received the Design S Awards for their work in preserving the building’s original character through their work on the window sections.

In addition to Philips AB’s former warehouse and office building designed by Lewerentz, Alenius Silfverhielm Åhlund also designed a building on the property in 1990. This building features a curved, gently rounded façade that allows plenty of natural light to enter. It houses approximately half of our hotel rooms.