NEWH - Summer 2021 - 68

PROJECT | CANOPY BY HILTON CANCUN LA ISLA

Local Touch
HBA designs a vibrant, art-filled Mexican getaway
By Alia Akkam
Photography by Will Pryce

T

ourism drives Cancún. Its pulsating strip of beachfront resorts and
nightlife venues only started sprouting in the 1970s, fast becoming
a choice Mexican backdrop to spring break revelry. But, when
designing the Canopy by Hilton Cancun La Isla, HBA's San Francisco office was
determined to uncover and illuminate the young city's local cancunense culture.
Located in the Zona Hotelera, the 174-room property is as animated as its
surroundings, a vibe that is especially felt at Wander, the rooftop pool and

lounge. Overlooking the Nichupté Lagoon and Caribbean Sea from every angle,
it is kitted out with hanging chairs and touches of neon.
To balance this pizzazz with an historic narrative, HBA dove into research
mode. " We found incredible murals made by local artists on almost any blank
wall you could find outside of the hotel zone, " says HBA senior associate Brooke
Copani, noting how the images often " depicted inspiring mythical creatures "
that still resonate today.
These street-art discoveries were a creative springboard. Establishing a
sense of wonder at reception is the ceiling sculpture that nods to the mystical,
mischievous Mayan Aluxes. Developed by the design firm in tandem with a
team of artists as an offering to these guardians of the forest, " it was time
consuming, " says HBA partner Meghann Day, " but in the end it features
exquisite braiding work, vibrant colored fibers, and carved wood details
reminiscent of corn cobs. "
There is a spiritual aura in the guestrooms, too. An expansive wild jungle
vignette by muralist Marisol D'Estrabeau is applied over the beds via
customized stencils. Ladders suggestively leading down to cenotes, the
sinkholes deemed sacred by the ancient Mayans, are also painted in the
rooms' corners.
In the lobby, a wood vine trellis stretching across the ceiling and casting
a pattern onto the polished granite floor of Azulinda Café & Bar further
references a cenote, mimicking the hanging greenery that reflects against
the water. Above the bar another mural, this time a collaboration between
D'Estrabeau and fellow Cancún artist Sleepwalck, is rendered on an industrial
background of concrete blocks and stars a coyote investigating a mess of
tropical blooms.
Additional blocks serve as banquette dividers in the café, meshing well with
earthy limestone, tzalam wood, terracotta, and a dominant aqueous hue. " We
coined the term Cenote Blue, " explains HBA senior project designer Brittany
Spinner. " The bright, vivid tones accented against the materials native to the
region, " she adds, both anchor guests in their setting and " progress the telling
of our story. "

This page: A bright hue, dubbed Cenote Blue by the
designers as a nod to water, accents native materials in the
Canopy by Hilton Cancun La Isla's central lounge.

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