Amy Frearson

French-German designer Tatjana von Stein designed hundreds of bespoke lights and furnishings for this hotel in Munich, drawing on the city's art nouveau style and its exuberant nightlife history. The Dean Munich is the latest offering from the Irish hotel chain, with 281 rooms and suites, three bars, and a signature Japanese restaurant named Ibasho. The design blends influences from art nouveau and 1980s nightclubs The project saw von Stein revamp an existing hotel in the city's Westend neighbourhood, with a design where shades of gold and red extend across velvet furniture, floral carpets, stained-glass windows and ornamental lamps. The project allowed the interior designer to dig into the design history of the city where she was born. Her scheme blends the city's distinct Jugendstil style, the manifestation of art nouveau in Bavaria, with the decadent nightclubs that proliferated in the 1980s. The lobby features a restored floor of black stone chevron tiles "This is a city rooted in history but always drawn to reinvention," said von Stein. "I wanted to capture that tension, somewhere between elegance and exuberance, and let it guide every surface, object and gesture." "The design also brings to life a side of Munich only locals truly know – its rich musical and cultural spirit, quietly woven into the character of the city." On a raised platform, a wrap-around bar is set below a circular ceiling recess The most radical interventions are in the communal areas on the ground floor, which were completely reorganised. They begin