Surfaces as a language of contemporary hospitality

The interior design project for VIA Antwerp, by Merav Bustan Design, interprets the hotel as a social space that engages with the city. Within this 176-room property, the intervention focuses specifically on the 600-square-metre communal areas – transforming them into a vibrant hub for meeting and conviviality. The ground floor spaces serve as the heart of the experience – not merely transitional zones, but a genuine social hub where hospitality, gastronomy, art and music coexist.

The core objective was to create a spatial experience that reveals itself progressively. Each environment has its own distinctive atmosphere while maintaining a strong visual coherence through organic lines, layered textures, calibrated colour palettes and meticulous attention to detail. In the design of these communal spaces, ceramics serve as both a narrative and a functional tool. Products from Tonalite were selected for their ability to adapt to a dynamic hospitality setting where aesthetics, durability and ease of maintenance must coexist without compromise.

The surfaces help to articulate the various zones on the ground floor – accompanying the transition between lobby, bar, restaurant and bathrooms through chromatic variations and patterns that strengthen the identity of each space without losing overall coherence. The breadth of the Tonalite range allowed the designers to treat modularity, size and finish as active project elements. Rather than simple coverings, these are active surfaces that dialogue with light, furniture and artworks, supporting the vision of a hotel as a welcoming social space.

In the reception and bar areas, the Nero and Latte colours from the Nuance collection are juxtaposed to create a graphic, sophisticated flooring design. In the bathrooms, the Elevenuance collection in colours Rosa and Blu clads both the floors and walls to create a bold aesthetic. Finally, in the restaurant and bar, the Senren collection in the colour Terracotta adds warmth and depth as both a backsplash and wall cladding beneath the windows.

As the designer Merav Bustan explains: “The project is conceived as a sequence of spaces that reveal themselves gradually. A good hospitality project should function like a conversation: inviting, layered and rich in small details that emerge over time.”

The use of ceramics also reflects a clear focus on sustainability. Ceramic tiles were chosen for their longevity and ability to withstand intensive use, in line with the goal of creating long-lasting interiors that are not driven by fleeting trends but maintain their long-term aesthetic and functional quality.