Opened in 2016, the AWA boutique hotel lies in the eastern part of the small city of Puerto Varas, the tourist, cultural and social hot-spot of the lake region in Chile’s Zona Sur. Here – a good 1000 km from the capital Santiago– is where the endless expanses of Patagonia begin on the Chilean side of the continent and stretch far south to the Tierra del Fuego.

Situated directly on the picturesque Llanquihue Lake, the hotel without a doubt only has one aim with its architecture: the fantastic views of the Osorno Volcano, which is usually covered in snow and defines the panoramic view over the lake. As the climate in this region is moderately cold and rainy, it was important to optimise the utilisation of passive solar energy by means of the glazing. Of course, the view from every angle in the hotel also had to be as spectacular as possible. You first enter the building via a two-storey, glazed cube, and then reach the reception and public areas. Local timber as the door infill and floor covering on the staircases and natural stone from the surrounding area make up the surfaces here.

The public areas, restaurant and spa with an outward-facing pool all point towards the sun and the lake to the north. The hotel rooms are located on the upper floors. Thanks to the unusual arrangement of the rooms in the floor plan – they have been rotated by 90 degrees along the longitudinal axis of the long´ building – each of the square, north-facing rooms has two panoramic floor-to-ceiling glazing installations in different directions. The aluminium window system used is characterised by narrow profile face widths, making the glass areas as large as possible. As the outer frame completely covers the frame of the opening vent, the framing appears even narrower. The AWA Hotel plays with the contrasts between modern, contemporary materials such as glass and exposed concrete, while not losing sight of the original timber construction material and local traditions. Of course, the star of the show is definitely the picturesque view of the lake and the volcano.

Words: Eva Schönbrunner