Boutique Urban Oasis: Hotel El Zarzo in Medellín by ALH Taller de Arquitectura

Introduction: Hospitality Meets Residential Ideals

Amid Medellín’s dynamic urban transformation, Hotel El Zarzo by ALH Taller de Arquitectura exemplifies a growing architectural ethos: using the intimacy and material richness of residential design to elevate commercial hospitality. Situated in the heart of Provenza—a neighborhood characterized by vibrant nightlife, tourism, and density—El Zarzo avoids the cold functionality of commodified hotel chains. Instead, it presents an architectural typology that resonates with the comforts of a high-end urban home, scaled and configured for collective experience.

This 1,114 m², seven-story structure blurs typological boundaries. While officially a boutique hotel, its atmosphere recalls that of an urban sanctuary: tactile, warm, adaptable, and deeply contextualized. For architects, urban developers, and homeowners alike, El Zarzo stands as a case study in cross-programmatic learning—where hospitality draws from residential architecture’s most successful methods to serve the psychological and spatial needs of the modern urban dweller.

Historical and Urban Context: A Response to Provenza’s Evolution

Provenza, a subdistrict within Medellín’s leafy El Poblado sector, has undergone a radical transformation over the past decade. Once characterized by low-rise homes and informal commercial spaces, it has evolved into a high-demand destination for travelers due to its walkability, nightlife, and cultural offerings.

In this context, ALH Taller de Arquitectura was commissioned to deliver not more capacity, but more quality. Recognizing the limitations of large-scale hospitality in tight urban grids, the firm proposed a boutique design ethos: “a small oasis in the middle of the city.” Their response, Hotel El Zarzo, eschews conventional hospitality models by prioritizing warmth, material character, and emotional resonance.

Site Strategy and Program Distribution

Constrained by party walls on east and west sides—an urban condition familiar to residential infill architects worldwide—ALH responded with a vertical stacking strategy visible in many multi-family or townhouse designs globally.

Program Summary:

• Subterranean floor: Technical and mechanical systems
• Ground floor: Restaurant area, reception lobby
• Levels 2–5: Boutique guest rooms
• Rooftop: Bar and terrace with retractable pergola

With only two façades admitting light, ALH employed intelligent sectioning, integrated services, and lighting design strategies to maintain spatial comfort—techniques that closely echo those used in party-wall row homes and narrow European townhouses.

Design Intent: Human Scale, Texture, and Warmth

Interior Architecture by 5 Sólidos

The interior design—developed collaboratively with 5 Sólidos—channels the sensibilities of high-end residences. Small room counts allow for greater attention to acoustic shielding, lighting ambiance, and individuality. Finishes include textured concrete, polished stone, supple leathers, soft woods, and copper fixtures—each contributing to a tactile and acoustically gentle environment.

Material Composition:

• Warm wood paneling for lateral walls and ceilings
• Stone cladding and accents in wet zones and public areas
• Copper details on framing and hardware with natural patina development
• Exposed concrete softened with timber textures and coatings

This palette creates continuity with luxury residential projects across North America and Australia, where material minimalism and textural depth define architecture aimed at comfort and longevity rather than spectacle.

Lighting and Ventilation: Managing Dense Urban Conditions

Natural light and airflow are precious commodities in buildings hemmed in by neighboring structures. El Zarzo’s design embraces strategic artificial lighting and mechanical optimization to compensate for restricted exposure. Some strategies include:

• Layered artificial lighting responsive to daylight intensity
• Window systems that maximize ventilation on eastern/western fronts
• Sound insulation integrated into walls and flooring systems

This mirrors approaches used in urban infill rowhouses across Europe and the United States, where limited façade access requires aggressive planning for daylight harvesting and thermal comfort—often through light wells, borrowed light corridors, and ventilated cores.

Rooftop Retreat: Indoor-Outdoor Fusion

The hotel culminates in a rooftop bar and lounge sheltered by a retractable fabric pergola—enabling use in both dry and rainy conditions. These adaptable outdoor systems are increasingly found in residential architecture, especially in the Australian market where indoor-outdoor living is a climatic and cultural imperative.

The pergola’s motorized mechanism allows the bar to transform from sun-soaked lounging space to intimate evening venue. This typology—flexible communal outdoor living—is a strong transferable model for multifamily residential terraces, roof gardens, and apartment transitions globally.

Technical Configuration and Envelope Strategy

Though exact structural spans remain unpublished, the layout suggests a tight grid optimized for vertical MEP (mechanical, electrical, and plumbing) distribution, in line with typical hotel and multifamily logistical strategies.

Envelope and Systems:

• East/west fenestration: Maximizes limited façade potential with high-performance glazing
• Envelope materials: Thermal-mass stone and wood reduce heat absorption and ambient noise
• HVAC systems: Centrally located in the basement level to release upper floors for spatial and acoustic comfort
• Shading strategy: Adjustable rooftop pergola moderates solar gain

Once again, we see strategies typically used in residential schemes turning up in commercial application—in particular the conscious placement of systems outside of living zones to promote tranquility, a strategy essential in high-end residential planning.

Global Residential Parallels: From Medellín to Melbourne

Practical Takeaways for Architects and Homeowners

• Quality over quantity: Fewer, better-designed spaces often serve both guests and homeowners more successfully than maximizing units or rooms.
• Rethink services layout: Situating technical systems below or behind living zones improves acoustics, air quality, and spatial clarity.
• Material narrative matters: Layering textures—rather than colors or ornamentation—creates warmth and richness.
• Light as architecture: When windows are limited, thoughtful lighting becomes structural in role and emotional impact.
• Outdoor flexibility: Residential rooftop or terrace systems that adapt to weather can become key lifestyle features—especially with retractable shading or enclosures.

Conclusion: El Zarzo and the Emergence of Urban Residential Hospitality

Hotel El Zarzo succeeds not only as a commercial project but as a model for contemporary urban living. For architects engaged in both hospitality and residential sectors, it offers a compelling study in how design lessons translate. If the future of urban living prioritizes mental respite, material sensation, and spatial quality over sheer density, then El Zarzo offers both inspiration and technical precedent.

From Provenza to Brooklyn, Melbourne, or Madrid—the principles embodied here are global, actionable, and replicable. Architects and homeowners alike can pull from its design strategies to foster sanctuaries of peace amid dense urban surroundings.