Nestled on the bank of the Ziller river, MalisGarten Green Spa Hotel sprouted out of the lavish Austrian nature of the Schwaz district with a specific principle in mind: To offer a place of therapeutic solace which, more than simply corresponds with the nature surrounding it, refers to it for inspiration.
In order to achieve this goal, the entrepreneurs, Christina Binder-Egger and Reinhard Binder, contracted none other than the renowned Italian architect and designer Matteo Thun. Together, their vision of constructing a spa hotel made entirely out of wood had grown into a reality. Amalgamating different kinds of wood, such as oak, maple and pine, the structure features wood proudly and thoughtfully, treating it less as a construction material, but rather as the star of the project. The reason behind this was clear from the outset: The belief that wood contains an organic, therapeutic quality that is both mental and physical. From its texture to its visual aesthetics and even its smell, wood has a natural, calming effect on us, one that is highly-sought after and difficult to reproduce with other materials. This conviction is also apparent when considering the interior of MalisGarten. The creative minds behind the project approached the designer Harald Margreiter to make certain that the soothing organic aesthetics are maintained throughout the hotel. The result is indeed stunning, yet also innovative, since despite being such an old, natural material, wood has only recently started to be rediscovered. One example of the unique interior design can be found in the hotel’s collaboration with kenko, a small yet promising studio from Berlin. Headed by Andreas Bachmann and Fritz Grospietsch, the studio creates designer sport equipment out of natural materials. Their motto, “a return to natural form,” not only refers to our natural form as people, to which we all strive to return, but also to the materials used in the pieces themselves. Each room in the MalisGarten is fitted with a customized wall cabinet from kenko, featuring an expander and a set of aerobic dumbbells, made out of walnut, brass, iron and velvet. The recurrence of maple corresponds with the skeleton of the hotel, while the core principle is also echoed once more: The use of natural materials, in this case wood, conveys a relaxing, welcoming atmosphere. Just like the hotel itself, kenko’s pieces invite you to touch them, to experience them, in a way that is first and foremost therapeutic. These are not just weights for working out, these are natural objects that foster relaxation and aesthetic peace of mind. Similarly, MalisGarten is not just another hotel or resort, but a place for healing, giving weight and meaning to the epithet “green spa”.