24 DIGS.NET | 3.24.23
A
GEOMETRIC
MASTERPIECE
Designed by renowned architect DAVID TENNESON RICH, the Los Angeles estate
previously owned by basketball legend Wilt Chamberlain is on the market.
A
R
C
H
I
T
E
C
T
U
R
E
+
D
E
S
I
G
N
J O U R N E Y S | C I G N O H O T E L
convey the history of the architecture and
its close and enduring connection with
the popular La Ermita neighborhood just
beyond its cool-blue, amply columned
exterior walls.
It would be a shame to go all the way to
a city as cosmopolitan Mérida and stay
inside your hotel. And yet, no one would
scoff at that notion here. Cigno Hotel
is exactly that type of refuge, with fresh,
beautifully edited 10 rooms and suites,
a lush courtyard and upper terrace pool
evoking Mexico cenotes, a serene library
and Cocina restaurant serving local flavors.
A traditional cistern discovered during
the restoration process, meanwhile, was
reimagined as a two-room wine cellar.
All makes for a hotel that feels like a secret
world. It is certainly the best-kept secret
in Mérida. Soon, everyone will be talking.
cignohotel.com
tone that dominates the property's exterior."
The most conspicuous consideration of
local culture in the project is the use of
chukum, an ancient technique for working
with stucco used in Mayan pyramids,
and deployed here for organic honesty
to blends in with the structure's original
friezes and moldings. Among these is a
mural from La Ermita de Santa Isabel , or
the Church of Our Lady of Safe Travels.
Straddling both New and Old Worlds in
exquisitely finished ease, the interior of
the hotel presents as if it came from the tip
of an artist's brush. It's a painterly scene,
rich in aesthetic detail, with an invigorating
palette of blue and terracotta tones and
lush, wall-climbing exotica that, combined,
both calm and excite the senses. Lustrous
wood, natural textures, hand-honed
pieces, exclusive to the hotel, and a
textured tapestry of motifs and tile make
for an intoxicating cocktail of elements that
