Intercontinental Davos, one of Switzerland’s most prestigious hotels, now houses Studio Grigio – a 1500m² dining and lounge space occupying the entire top floor of the iconic building. Acclaimed international restaurant designer, Henry Chebaane, of Blue Sky Hospitality has artfully combined a gourmet restaurant, private dining area, cocktail bar, entertainment lounge and sky terrace into one stylish social space.
Henry Chebaane conceived the brand identity, scenography and interior design of this living room for the 21st century using a palette of 83 different black, white and grey tones inspired by the name of the region (Grisons/Graubünden) and its geology of granite, gneiss, slate, mica, feldpsar and quartz.
This innovative mineral concept is made sensuous and timelessly elegant with the use of refined materials from the fashion industry, such as fine merino wool and full-grain leathers in tones of pale ermine, dark mink, edelweiss white, black diamond and vintage silver as upholstery to classic furniture from Eero Saarinen, Mies van der Rohe and Warren Platner.
As guests walk through Studio Grigio, they are treated to an art gallery mixing references to ancient Alpine nature and modern urban culture.
The walls are lined with fragments of crystal, white marble and silver stone, reflecting endless sparkles in all directions. A specially grey-stained oak floor alternates with a sculpted anthracite carpet, using 3D technology to evoke mountain mineralogy.
Henry Chebaane is known for his whimsical sense of humour, which is reflected in quirky details such as the first-aid drinks cabinet shaped like a red cross on the back bar, the black cigar room with red lasers turning smoke into playful rings and the sound-reactive silver electric guitar he designed to sit on a huge piece of local granite that he called Davos Rock.
Henry also curated an eclectic and engaging collection of work from a broad range of artists spanning centuries from across the world. This includes sculptures inspired by the hare of Albrecht Dürer, the ermine from Da Vinci and the alien from H.R. Giger.
Each dining table has a unique mouth-blown glass mountain bird from artist Oiva Toikka, as well as fine shagreen porcelain with platinum detail, faceted cutlery, custom-woven napkins and water glasses by 1930’s Finnish artist Aino Aalto. Each seating booth is made more private by the presence of three silver Swiss gnomes covering their ears, eyes and mouth in ancient wisdom.
The dining, bar and lounge areas are dotted with surprising and thought-provoking references to the surrounding mountains and human responsibilities towards nature, using urban vinyl dolls as a communication medium. These conceptual art installations are light-hearted with a serious message, with such evocative names as ‘Last Steinbocks’, ‘Electric Yeti’, ‘Good Bat Spirits, and the largest at the entrance: ‘Warming Warning’: a group of African meerkats on reclaimed Swiss pine tree stumps.
