Qatar-based international investment fund has acquired the hotel and intends to convert it into a 5-star luxury hotel. Studio Marco Piva is appointed to carry out the interior design project, while the structural and plant projects were assigned to Arup.

The new project is divided into two separate phases. The first phase includes the restoration and functional recovery of the 1930s building, the Excelsior Hotel Gallia. The building is decorated with caryatids and mascarons made by using a moulding technique with a mixture of cement and aggregates. These decorative elements, like all the historic façades, have been completely restored. The steel structures built in the 1990s have been restored to accommodate an exclusive restaurant, an event space, and a Royal Suite with a private spa.

The new building is being developed adjacent to the historic building, and will replace the four structures that had previously been located at the side of the hotel. It will be built around an internal courtyard and will be a single morphological structure extending harmoniously along three sides, creating a ground-floor area which is functionally interrelated with its surroundings.

A second main entrance to the hotel has been created along Via Filzi, permitting the historic interior façade of the building to be restored. This new entrance offers direct access to a large foyer, an “interior square” covered by a glass roof between the mezzanine and the first floor. The foyer will provide access to the conference and meeting rooms.

The new building will include a centre for meetings, conferences and exhibitions on the ground floor, and a large spa on the sixth and seventh floors, with swimming pool, gym, saunas, hammam and a wellness centre. The seventh floor will also have a bar with a panoramic terrace. The sixth and seventh floors will be located inside a light glass space, a glass curtain which will light up spectacularly in the evening.

The interiors of the hotel will feature the Milanese lifestyle with a nod to the timeless elegance of Art Deco being added in the shapes and ambiences. The hotel will be equipped with LED lighting systems for both the exteriors and interiors. The façade of the new building will consist of 142 cm wide modules, divided into three sections with two blind sides and an opening glass panel, which will have an inner glass balaustrade to transmit light. This element has been introduced to evoke the small balconies, almost flush with the façades, that can be found in many historical buildings in Milan.

The impact of the frame of the building will be reduced to a minimum, and the uprights will be concealed so as to provide continuity of the façade. The ground floor will have floor-to-ceiling windows to convey a sense of transparency and to offer optimal levels of interaction with the city and the surroundings. All the wood window frames in the old wing will be replaced with wood and bronze-coloured aluminium frames to keep the existing colour scheme and improvements in both thermal and acoustic performance and maintenance. Since the heights of the various storeys of the historic building are different, in order to maintain the same internal levels, the new building will include compensation bands so that the façade is modulated based on the existing structural alignments. The interior façades of the new building will be lined with basalt facings.

In line with the ongoing renewal of Piazza Duca D’Aosta, a landscaping project has also been created to redevelop the entire block, with particular attention being paid to green areas, pavements in stone, pedestrian pathways protected by a large glass and steel canopy, and parking areas.

The 5 Star luxury hotel will provide 235 rooms, of which 188 will be standard, plus 45 suites; one Presidential Suite; and one Royal Suite. The site area is spread over 4,273 square metres with the built area of 30,840 gross square metres.

The hotel is expected to open in early 2014.