Hotel at Marques de Riscal Winery
Elciego, Alava, Spain
Recognized as one of the finest new buildings of the last decade and inaugurated by the King of Spain, the Riscal Hotel formed one of Principal Andy Liu's two main works during his years at Frank Gehry. Set in a medieval village in the Rioja countryside, the Riscal Hotel was the Gehry office's much-anticipated follow-up to the seminal Bilbao Guggenheim Museum. With its flowing steel and titanium ribbons and elevated sandstone core, the Riscal Hotel took architectural expression (and the use of sheet metal) to a singular place in architectural history.
As Project Architect, Andy had a leading role from inception through construction. He collaborated with Gehry and Senior Partner Edwin Chan in creating the building's shapes. He directed the construction of the building's complex geometry, and he oversaw the changes to the building's program as it evolved from a private chateau to a 5-star hotel and resort complex. In addition to authoring the building's interiors and a 40-room annex, Andy also hand-picked the colored metal, developed the hotel's signage system, and even designed the winery's logo and commemorative bottle label. Importantly, as the lead architect and Gehry office's principal point of contact, he established the tone and interpersonal relationships that made this multi-continental collaboration between clients, architects, engineers, builders, suppliers, chefs, hoteliers, marketers, and landscape designers a success.