New York studio Rockwell Group has mixed references to traditional Japanese crafts and the work of Catalan architect Antonio Gaudi in its interior design for this hotel in Barcelona by American hospitality brand Nobu. Located in the former Gran Hotel Torre de Catalunya near Barcelona's main train station, the 250-room hotel is topped with a Nobu sushi restaurant on the 23rd floor as well as incorporating a pool, spa, meeting rooms and event spaces.

The Spanish outpost marks the thirteenth hotel opening from Nobu, which started as an upscale Japanese fusion eatery in New York in 1994 but quickly expanded into a celebrated chain of restaurants and hotels spanning five continents.

In Barcelona, Nobu sought to create a location that blends the best design features of its restaurants with nods to the city's architectural heritage. In response, Rockwell Group created a "collage of materials, textures and spaces" within the hotel, paying homage to the colourful mosaics in Gaudi's Park Güell as well as the traditional Japanese craft of kintsugi, which involves mending broken pottery using metallic lacquers.

The fusion of these two arts felt natural and makes the property feel truly unique and grounded in its place," Rockwell Group envision the environment as an abstract landscape, in which every element and detail is crafted in an unusual and unexpected way, much like Nobu's cuisine.

From the street, the hotel's entrance is framed by tall bamboo trees set behind a wall of rammed earth. A bright orange woven screen designed to evoke Japanese Shinto gates wraps the entry vestibule and continues inside to create a connection between the hotel's interior and exterior.

The screen leads guests into a double-height lobby lined with textured limestone and wood. The space is anchored by a dramatic brushstroke artwork – a recurring feature in Nobu's interiors – that hangs behind the check-in desk. Off to the side, a grand spiral staircase connects all of the hotel's public areas including the ballroom, lobby and meeting rooms.