[semi-serious wednesdays] square nine hotel, belgrade.

my university studies have quickly come and gone (i can't believe it's already been four years)...and regretfully there's a lot i don't recall about my schooling other than my momentous social calender...but even that is quickly fading.

however, like many of you there's one statement, one factor, one instance that has become definitive of your life, even to this day.

for me, that particular occurrence happened during one of my architecture courses as my professor [speaking of architectural design, construction and operations] explained the importance of responding to one's natural environment and surroundings.

so how does this relate to the square nine hotel? well, just as my professor emphasized in his lecture - lead architect on on the project, isay weinfeld, executed.

the concept for weinfeld's design "was born from the owner's desire to be part of belgrade's renovation, impressing a luxurious, but more familiar character to the city, where in the last two decades only big hotels from international chains, not committed with the city's identity came to sight - square nine hotel is a contemporary construction which integrates with the neighborhood by matching colors and respecting height of the surrounding buildings".

so often us designers jump the gun when it comes to concepting and planning, when in reality we should take a little more time, slow down a bit and position ourselves in the environment we're working on. the surrounding elements such as sights, smells, colors and sounds all play a specific and vital role in the end product - and when we stop and respond to those elements running throughout the site, we end up creating more of an artpiece rather than simply put - 'just another building down the street'.

beauteous i tell you.