Carbon

Genk

Genk is a rural commune located in Limbourg, the easternmost province in Flanders with magnificent natural scenery including forests of pine, heather, prairies, orchards and numerous trails. Although the city itself doesn’t provide much in the way of distraction, it’s located within easy access of Boknijk, a superb reconstruction of a 19^th century country village whose authentic buildings have been assembled on the domain, making it the largest open air museum in Europe. The Europlanetarium on the domain of Kattenvennen is the main attraction of the commune and definitely worth a visit. The more animated city of Hasselt, the province’s capital, is a shopper’s delight with a great many luxury brands and well-known creators. The province of Limbourg, which does not get very many tourists, provides magnificent nature walks or bicycle rides to through its preserved countryside.

A monochrome and design hotel

Around Genk’s main square, near the city’s largest shopping mall, the hotel Carbon, a design establishment, reveals its all black, sober and mineral structure. A vestige of the golden age of Limbourg’s mining industry, of which a number of coal mines remained active until the 1980s. The hotel, known for its modern interior décor, bears the names of famous Limbourg designers including fashion designer, Stijn Helsen. Helsen, a costume designer and a favorite of a number of Hollywood stars, designed the Carbon’s beds, and the crockery of the hotel’s Carbon Taste restaurant, a masterpiece of refinement which contains the work of one of the grand masters of fine porcelain and champion of Flemish culture, Piet Stockmans. The porcelain collection, designed for the hotel, was entirely created according to the traditional methods employed in the artist’s studio. The Modus Vivendi bowls in the collection are wonderful examples of elegance and finesse with their primitive exterior and their shiny craftsman-like porcelain interiors.

Although cold tones dominate the design of the hotel, the di Legno parquet adds a luminous and warm touch, creating a superb contrast, according to architect Peter Cornoedus.

Architect Peter Cornoedus sums up his conception of the hotel Carbon: The guest is looking for a unique concept, for something exciting. After spending twenty years staying in numerous traditional hotels, he wants innovation, an idea that’s ahead of its time. If one had to define the theme of the hotel, I would say that it’s essentially monochrome in reference to the history of the region’s exploitation of the mines.” (From an interview with Peter Cornoedus in World Interior Design Work magazine, April, 2009)