Spotlighting British fashion designers
Not all projects are deep and thought provoking. This central London hotel just needed a soft refurbishment to their guestrooms and after discussing potential approaches we chose British fashion design and suggested some alternative ways guests could engage with the featured designers.
Spotlighting British fashion designers
People live out their lives in clothes and they can transport you to a time and place. Fashion can be used as a way to express yourself or to blend in with the crowd. This hotel’s character isn’t shy so we featured 3 confident designers to inspire the renovated rooms. This project only required a soft refurbishment to the guestrooms, they wanted to change the drapes, the furniture, carpets and wallcoverings to revamp the rooms with maximum impact. We chose established designers that many of the guests would recognise even if they didn’t know much about fashion.
It’s a popular design strategy to take inspiration from hyper local sources to create a strong identity. Designers often use nuanced details to create something specific to a part of a city or island, however, this luxury hotel was better suited to link to London as a whole rather than a specific district or subculture because this was close to many tourist sites and not many people live in the area full-time. Like other hotels before, including London’s famous Claridges Hotel and New York’s St Regis Hotel, we opted for fashion design as our design anchor because this would resonate with the hotel’s existing clientele.
The 3 designers selected based their careers in London and still have a presence in the city now. We were keen to make the experience more involved so we proposed in-room media, retail opportunities and events for the guests who want to learn more about the designers or want a more engaging time. A hotel stay is a great time to explore different styles, ideas and behaviours, it’s a short term commitment that can be tried on for size.
Vivienne Westwood - Known for her controversial designs and anarchic approach this provided an interesting antithesis to a traditional luxurious hotel. A striking contrast between traditionalist, provocateur, utterly contemporary, these rooms would be impactful and unexpected. Vivienne Westwood became well known as part of the London punk scene and she continues to use her notoriety to highlight ecological causes she is passionate about. Her subversive originality has influenced many other designers.
“I've constantly tried to provoke people into thinking afresh and for themselves, to escape their inhibitions and programming.” Vivienne Westwood
These rooms would capture her spirit and her creative idealism by creating an immersive space that utilises the walls, the furniture and even the ceiling to encapsulate her dynamism. Nothing would be out of bounds, the upholstery could reflect her exaggerated sculptural tailoring. Ideally some of her clothing items will be reused for the decoration of the rooms so that the fashion fabric has a second life in this hotel. Due to technical issues around fabric durability and fire resistance this may need to be limited to smaller items but every little helps to reduce waste. For this reason, some of the fabrics shown are from previous decades.
“With Westwood, what you see is what you get – pure fashion and signature style.”- Vogue
Her doodles and sketches should be incorporated on cushions and art but also in unexpected ways like on bathroom tiles or the bathroom mirror, or on a bed canopy or inside the wardrobe.
This space should have a traditional approach to a hotel guestrooms complete with writing desk, dressing table, wardrobe and lounge seating but they should be injected with Westwoods dynamism. The native south american design for wallcovering would be juxtaposed against punk references and against her 1982 medieval armour inspired designs, expressing a disregard for style ‘rules’. Westwood is an avid scholar of fashion history so this must be well researched.
More than 40 years into her career, Westwood has become a sort of avatar of herself. It’s an idea that she plays with by appearing in her own press materials and this room could be an extension of that.
While staying here, guests could watch her documentary, read one of her books in the room and if they want to take a copy home, just add it to the bill. Music could start as soon as the key-card activates the room for an immediate experience and playlists could featuring the New York Dolls, Sex Pistols, Mae West, Billy Fury and Dominik Emrich from her catwalk shows and her early stylist days. For special occasions there might be opportunities to try on clothes from the Vivienne Westwood stores in your room. If not, the porter can immediately order a taxi to her London stores.
Paul Smith - Synonymous with British tailoring. Paul’s first ambition was to become a professional racing cyclist. However, friends at the local art college and his experience at a clothing warehouse pointed him in a different direction after he was stopped from cycling.
Paul’s approach is more refined, he creates many designs that focus on a highly considered use of colour and repetition to either create block impact or to be understated but with a hint of hidden depths. Therefore the base palette and patterns would be simple and neutral with bold blocks of colourful patterns to inject vibrancy and animation. There would be small quirks and surprises for attentive guests like obscure statues or repurposed bike parts in the interior.
Smith has also created many artworks which would be featured in the guestroom alongside photographs of some of the striped art cars created over the years.
These are spacious rooms so there would be no compromises required on storage space or lounge areas within the rooms. Some larger furniture items, like the wardrobe would be of the late Victorian style to match the age of the hotel but the looser pieces like lounge furniture would have clean lines, simple forms and would be very comfortable.
Multiple iconic stripe patterns and the Albermarle pattern inspired by the designer store would be used throughout the rooms for upholstered furniture and for cushions and throws.
Guests could hIre a Paul Smith Mercian cycle via the hotel for a bike tour around London or they could book a deck chair at Hyde park round the corner (a designer deck chair was created by Paul Smith for London’s Royal Parks charity in 2010) Guests could take home the Paul Smith wash bag in the bathroom for an additional fee or even order one of the artwork prints for their home. Tea could be served in the guestroom in the Thomas Goode tea set designed by Paul too. He has collaborated with many brands like Anglepoise, Leica, Globe-Trotter and Caran d-Ache, however, some hotel guests have stickier fingers than others so featuring the ballpoint pen (£35) that Paul developed with them might be too tempting.
Henry Holland
After working as a stylist and fashion editor, Henry launched House of Holland in the mid-2000s and became a high street name when his slogan t-shirts were shown at London’s Fashion Week 2007 after the last collection was shown. Originally designed for himself and friends, these became a big hit with the public with their 80’s inspired style and rhyming slogans. Holland stands out in order to be noticed and therefore, so must these guestrooms.
The rooms should feature some of this trademark typography with cheeky phrases on artwork, menus, fire escape plans, etc.
Using block colours for the wall finishes in neutral off-whites, dark green and teal tones would create a strong backdrop for the vibrant artwork, lighting, upholstery and accessories. While respecting the structure of the building these vibrant features would attract the eye and make the space feel contemporary. The rooms would keep the traditional late Victorian mouldings, windows and doors. They would be cleaned and repaired before matt paint colours would be added.
Holland’s bold patterns would feature prominently in the rooms creating an energetic feeling with a hint of chaos.
Henry’s 2018 collection was shot against Albert Irvins artwork. It would be nice to honour the mutual appreciation they had for each other’s work by including references to Irvins work in the guestrooms if the Estate of Albert Irvin agreed.
If guests would like to replicate the hotel guestroom in their own home some of the furniture is on sale at a London department store. They could order the exact same pieces to be delivered to their house.
Or if guests would prefer to take a smaller token home as a memento, then a notebook Holland developed with Papier would be in each room as a complimentary gift, also available to guests are the tote bags he developed with Primark. If guests wish to purchase small gifts some Le Specs sunglasses would be available for people to try as well as the Six Scents fragrances. These were both collaborations with the House of Holland too. Although the House of Holland has recently ceased trading Henry continues to design and collaborate with other brands.
This was a quick process with minimal back and forth with the client. Not all projects need a complex narrative or a deep understanding of social behaviour, sometimes they are just looking for some aesthetic flair and talking points to help the staff to engage with the guests and vice versa. Depending on the client, the location, the scope and the hotel guests it’s important to find the right fit for the project. Discussions at the start of a project can identify the opportunities and restrictions. Once the concept is agreed we typically produce plans, elevations, samples and visuals for approval and costing before developing the technical specifications and drawings.
These rooms would make guests feel to these London based designers, help them feel ‘in the know’ and maybe learn or experience something new during their stay too. The individual rooms can have very different styles but they need to compliment the style of the public area by using deep jewel tones, warm neutrals and a careful curation of traditional and modern style furniture.
Collaborators were Gurtake Singh, Philip Twiss, Dan Craner and Anjana Pandya. If the project had not gone on hold while we were developing these ideas we would’ve collaborated with a wider group.
The values and behaviour of curious and collaborative city explorers
It’s important to know your guest. When asked to create a hotel for a niche group of guests who are curious, experimental and irrevocably collaborative we spent time discussing their individual values, likes and dislikes and we identified our first crucial challenge - They wouldn’t stay in a hotel.
People: Curious, collaborative explorers
A hotel inspired by specific guest values.
This sketch shows a reinvention of what hotel typology could be. Illustration by Sacha Bennett-Ford
Place: A city Hotel
In our current age of blurred boundaries, designing for individuals becomes even more important. Greater flexibility in working and private lives, changes to classic family structures and digitalisation of day to day living have led to societies becoming more complex and more subcultures evolving and overlapping. In order to really reach people, it’s not good enough to picture people in terms of age, occupation and income. We must know and understand their values, goals in life, lifestyles and attitudes. We must make the effort to know them as individuals, then we can design for them. The users set the ethics of the hotel rather than the owner or the operator.
We were asked to create a hotel concept for a particular group of like-minded people. This group are highly social, experimental expeditionists who feel responsible for the world around them and they like to embed themselves in communities. To understand more about what motivates them and influences their decisions we met social scientists at Sinus Institut before considering ideas about what type of hotel would suit them. Their values and ideals may have been niche in 2016 when this was developed but 5 years later many of their preferences have a wider appeal and can be seen in more mainstream markets now.
(12 min read)
Sinus Institut are a market and social research institute whose expertise in psychology, social science and market research allow them to provide holistic and accurate descriptions of social and target group typology. So they can document basic values, lifestyles and goals as well as everyday attitudes, aspirations, anxieties and expectations for the future to understand what moves like-minded groups of people to choose one item or experience over another. They provide an authentic picture of society instead of a statistical construct and their documents are constantly being updated as society changes. Over recent decades we have seen an accelerated rate of increase in the consumer culture, individualism and globalisation which has resulted in some traditionalist values declining and some rapid growth in the modern values like collaboration and responsibility for the planet.
By understanding how members of a group perceive themselves and their environment - what they do and don’t like, how they live, how they think, how they feel and how they make judgements helps us to build environments that appeal to their rational and ethical values as well as engage with the groups aesthetic, sensuous and emotional preferences.
What motivates our target guest?
The group of like-minded individuals we focus on for this project are a niche group, approx 8% of the population. They value individualism, creativity and mobility. They perceive themselves as mobile of mind and of body and they are motivated to travel for long periods of time, to explore and to connect with people. Their lifestyle is highly social and they love to share ideas, recommendations, resources and experiences. When they travel, they like to immerse themselves in the cities they visit, hang out with locals and feel what it’s like to live in the city day to day. These individuals care about the depletion of natural resources, they adapt their behaviour to reduce the impact on the environment and encourage others to do the same. They don’t fill their homes with possessions or trophies and they only lightly impact the space they inhabit. They are likely to have second hand furniture or pieces that are adaptable and original artwork, often just leaning against the wall. A great internet connection is essential because they are digitally enabled and use this as a way to connect with likeminded people across the world. They were named ‘digital avantguardes’ but we thought that conjured up the wrong image so we dropped the title.
To make sure we kept thinking of our future hotel guests as individuals and didn’t fall into stereotypes, we personified them. We gave them names, a back story and personal likes and dislikes.
Ebba and Lucas were our imaginary guests. Here’s a link to get to know them a bit better if you’d like.
It soon became clear that crucially, these individuals don’t stay in Hotels because it would limit their opportunity to immerse themselves in city life. So, as well as understanding the culture of these people we also needed to objectively look at the existing culture of hotels.
What values and behaviour do we associate with hotels?
Hotels and brands vary greatly in terms of values, service and experience. For example, if you enjoy being social and like to work flexibly you might stay at a Citizen M or an Ace Hotel and relax in their lounges and graze on snacks. If you like fine dining and traditional service you might stay at the Langham or The Edition where the doorman will greet you and the Maitre D’ will organise your table. As much as hotels can vary dramatically, we identified key aspects that nearly all hotels have in common:
Hotels typically provide an escape from daily life, they are a place to retreat to for a couple of hours and be taken care of. The staff cook and clean for you and they bring you drinks. Many can arrange theatre tickets for you and some might even carry your bags and park your car. The intention is usually to make the guests stay as easy, relaxing and special as possible and very little initiative is required from the guest.
Hotels have a routine to the day and general rules of conduct. Check-in and check-out times are standard, there are allocated times for breakfast, lunch and dinner and even a time for your room to be cleaned. It is made clear which members of staff make your drink, or organise a taxi or clean your room and these roles rarely overlap. There is also a routine or typical order to the spaces. When you arrive you expect to see reception first, adjacent to a lounge or bar, from here you are often close to lifts that can take you straight to your guestroom. These all create behavioural structure and order. There are usually fixed protocols too. The beds are made in a specific fashion, guests are greeted with a particular phrase, the lighting settings are pre-set and the mini-bar is stocked in the same order in every room. There is consistency and familiarity.
Social interaction with other hotel guests is often minimal. Typically, if people eat at the hotel they dine with their family, friends or colleagues or they order food to their room. The lounge and dining spaces are designed for small clusters of people who either know each other and there’s limited flexibility. Recently public spaces in Hotels have become much more social and vibrant but there is limited interaction with strangers in most hotels. Often the service has become much less formal but staff rarely strike up big conversations with guests, they offer service and professionalism rather than deep engagement and interactions are often fleeting.
Most of these institutional normalities are the antithesis of what our target guest enjoys. So if we wanted to attract them we needed to redefine what it could mean to be a hotel.
We addressed 4 key behavioural aspects in the development of this new hotel model for our guests.
Summary by Simon Nowroz
We created a fictional hotel to focus and develop our concept. Then we would build a physical space to explain and demonstrate the ideas to others.
A hotel for people who wouldn’t stay in a hotel
We based our hotel concept in SE London and discussed ways to fully immerse it in the local area, to become an anchor for the local creative community. The sketch at the top of this article illustrates the proposal.
Firstly, the host role is very fluid. Instead of a formal receptionist or manager your host would be available to chat with you, organise a key for your room, but they are not standing still waiting for you to need them. It’s important that the host is creative themselves. In this case our host, Carl, might be sketching or reading or talking to one of the guests about the new restaurant he just tried. He will always be available when needed, but instead of waiting and anticipating guests he is relaxed and in the moment. These more fluid staff-guest relationships would impact some of the hotel layout and the typical divide between public space, private space and back-of-house space is blurred allowing for more initiative and choice.
You can see above that locals would be encouraged inside every day to work, teach, socialise or eat, therefore, creating a place to build long friendships with people or just have a great conversation. Inspired by a sharing economy; materials and equipment could be shared or hired and teachings could be traded. It’s easy for large groups of people to eat together and cook together at this hotel and the guests feel empowered to take control of the environment.
The culture is always evolving - the people who stay here leave their mark, either through recommendations, through art they made while they were there or through recipes or books they left behind. On any given day, the hotel is only that specific environment because of the people. The connection you feel to the hotel depends on the people who were there before you and at the same time as you. Guest ‘A’ might’ve found an amazing guitar repair shop to recommend and Guest ‘B’ might’ve pinned up a sketch of Carl the host or their photographs of some interesting protestors last week. Guest ‘C’ might have an infectious laugh. In a more static environment you are only interacting with the space and the staff, here it’s the other guests that make the space unique.
Demonstrating the concept
The last part of the challenge was to build a physical environment to demonstrate the hotel concept. We had a 4m x 7m exhibition space to do this. Our hotel concept needed to be as committed and passionate as its guests, it must convey the key issues.
Firstly, this is an inclusive space. People often hesitate when they see a threshold or a defined entrance, deciding whether to cross it or not. Our hotel should feel inviting and accessible to all people so we broke up the boundary line of the space. By not having a threshold we could entice people in without hesitation.
We used individual pods to represent the guestroom, a private shower room, the social spaces and the public bathroom to provide a snapshot of the entire hotel in one small space.
We put a communal table at the heart of the space and invited makers and creatives to work there, talk to each other and talk to the guests as you can see below.
This communal table used induction cooking tech so in the evening we could warm drinks on it or cook on it and eat together, showing how this table has many uses and the guests determine how it is used.
Most of the ideas encouraged socialising but not all spaces are social. We considered the public bathroom to be semi-private because at times people have great talks in public bathrooms (below, centre image) We decided the shower room was the most private space so the shower area was raised off the floor to demonstrate this. (below, left)
We consider the guestrooms in this hotel to be more sociable and open than usual so we created a clear view from the bedroom to the public spaces to act like a window and allow the energy of the public space to flow into the guestrooms. We also proposed guestrooms that could flex to have more or less guests on any given night as they have friends join them. To show this flexibility the double bed in our space converted into a single bed and even into a sofa, similar to the image below.
The design of the space was really well received. It became animated really quickly and people understood the approach before we explained it.
The most thrilling time for us was about 30 minutes after the 3 day exhibition had opened. The ideas were coming to life. People were making themselves at home in the space.
This just kept increasing with time, people started adding their recommendations, talking to the makers we had in the space, learning new skills, reading about and talking about all the collaborators. People would come and work in the space too. When designing any interiors you create behavioural prompts through spatial volumes and materials, furniture arrangement, lighting and accessories but it’s only once people use the space that you see if people behave as you expected. It was great when our concept was awarded first prize in the competition but the real joy was seeing people use the space in the way we’d hoped.
We took a highly collaborative approach to the design, this was complicated to direct and manage but resulted in a very stimulating environment. (More information about the design approach can be seen here.) One aspect that made the collaborations simpler was that we had chosen to be experimental and by embracing this it became OK for this to not be ‘perfect’. There can be no innovation without tolerance of failure. Besides, if it was ‘perfect’ on day one then people wouldn’t feel comfortable to develop and adapt it and we would’ve missed the entire objective.
It can be a little nerve wracking to aim a design at a precise group and it can feel safer to appeal to the masses but when you target a niche group design appeals not only to those individuals but also people who aspire to be like them or who want to try it on for size and what better place to try out an alternative lifestyle than in a hotel.
It was fantastic to work with Sinus Institute, they have been collecting data since the late 1980s and their research is always evolving. Recently they have been comparing transnational similarities against local values which is fascinating to understand as globalisation increases. As part of this they explain how regional culture, traditions and customs are slow to change and I’m hopeful that embracing this will lead to more depth in more localised and authentic design. You can find out more on their website.
Influencers and collaborators were Joanna Varettas, Anna Kirkham, Nicola Law, Dunia Tigris, Florent Duperrin, Ieva Buthietka, Dan Craner, Jose Sirera, Khue Thuy Tran, Matthias Arnold, Peter Martin Thomas, Joel Butler, Leanne de Barros, Gemma Seitzer, Harry Owen, Tortie Hoare, Simon Nowroz, Claudine O’Sullivan.
Designing to a human scale
Large spaces can be awe inspiring but they can also lack a human touch and the feeling of warmth, comfort and connection that people desire. Different strategies and design techniques can make people feel at home in these spaces, like in this adapted Kenzo Tange building in Saudi Arabia
Designing to a human scale
Large internal spaces can be powerful and awe inspiring but they can also lack a human touch, a feeling of warmth and a connection.
It’s important to feel welcome and comfortable, especially in hotels. By focussing on tactile materials and layered lighting, by using dimensions and details that relate to the size of a human body and by introducing visual breaks we can create spaces where people can relax after a long journey.
Photograph: Approaching Shadow, by Fan Ho from Fan Ho - Forget Me Not .com
We were appointed to convert an office and residential building into a luxury hotel. The biggest challenge the building presented was to find ways people can feel at home in the main atrium space and feel connected to other people in the hotel. We needed to create a warm welcome in a space that currently prided itself on efficiency, privacy and separation of functions.
Existing Kenzo Tange office, conference centre, gym and residential building completed approx 1982. To be converted into a luxury hotel.
first impression
This is a powerful and bold building. Guests will have seen the image above from the road, the taxi will then arrive on the road to the right and the first impression people have when they walk through the door needs to be equally as strong as the one from outside.
We explored 2 different experiences. The first one is calm, private and full of promise. The second one is animated, more informal and inclusive.
The first option focussed on building suspense. As you walk in from the heat and the bright sunshine you detect the cooling air and low-level lights, they let you know you have arrived somewhere exclusive. The heavy textured plaster walls on each side are grazed with light and they focus your view ahead to reception. The space is calm but on either side there are glimpses into relaxing intimate lounges where you can socialise with drinks and lite bites.
The animation and brighter lights of reception ahead allows you to know instinctively where to go and as you get closer the whole space opens up in front of you to reveal a stunning arrivals desk and the impressive atrium volume. This approach is sophisticated with heavy, high quality materials providing a sense of arrival. The drama builds as you move through the space like the opening credits to a film, slowly preparing you for the main event.
In contrast, the second option brought liveliness to the forefront. This time, as you enter through the main doors you are greeted by a wide, bright comfortable lounge space with a refreshment display counter at the centre. We would loosen up the seating groups and this space would be animated with people, art and music.
Both perspectives by Illustrator Nigel Donovan
As your bags are taken by the bellboy you can collect a drink and rest for a while or continue straight ahead to reception in front of you.
We discussed abolishing reception pods in favour of mobile check-in greeters for this option but the more traditional guests who will frequent here prefer formal service. The main atrium space is slightly calmer with water features and smaller seating groups where people can talk privately.
Both options used different approaches to volume, space, light, privacy, and service style to create very different experiences.
Layout and navigation
When you arrive after a long journey, the navigation should be instinctive. You should know where reception is without having to read any signs.
Many layouts were tested to see what would meet operational needs, suit the building form and create the right emotional journey of the guest. A traditional guest may prefer formal zones for seating or dining away from reception. An adventurous guest might like to find hidden gems. A sociable guest might like to be in the limelight as much as possible and all of these impact the layout. Placement of screens and furniture within a large space can have a large impact on the ambience.
We explored fragmenting the space to make it more informal, blurring boundaries to encourage interaction and interspersing circulation routes with lounge areas to find solutions that work experientially and operationally. We traced guest journeys from the entrance via reception and up to the guestrooms and on to the restaurants, ballroom, gym, etc and we explored how staff could serve drinks and food discretely from the kitchen. Layouts are drawn in 2D but the space is always imagined in 3D. It’s imperative to understand the environment you need to create as the plans are developed, the plan and the atmosphere need to be developed together. As a result of these studies we suggested fairly significant architectural changes.
One of approx 12 layout sketches
It also became clear that the best location for reception was in the 25m high atrium, at the heart of the space. The hotel operator was clear about how they wanted the guests to be greeted, they wanted low desks that encourage the guests to sit while they check-in so we concentrated on creating more intimacy here through lighting, a warm backdrop and by floating a ceiling above.
This formal style of service was preferred by the operator so we needed desks rather than pods or IPads and we needed to provide a contemporary backdrop for attentive, impeccable service.
Atrium Space
The size of this space was the biggest challenge and it’s a large proportion of the public space. In order to make guests feel relaxed and welcome the atrium space needed large interventions as well as good placing of materials and furniture. The 3D models allowed us to test ideas. The existing space was impressive but inhospitable and the facade glazing resulted in imbalanced lighting, it was very bright at either end and very dark in the centre of the space.
Test: Opening up the space - By stripping out all the internal glazing and partitions at low level, opening up the balconies people can connect with each other and have clear lines of sight. The guestroom corridors were opened to the atrium and all the balcony facades were tapered to make them more engaging.
Test: Diffusing light and creating shadows - The lighting designer studied the light levels and explored using taut fabric sails to diffuse the natural light and to create shadows. Guests can easily relate to the shadows on the ground and feel like they are under a tree canopy
Test: Adding restaurant pavilions and key features - Not only do these animate the space with the activity of cooking and ordering food but also adding single story structures within the larger volume makes the scale of the space easier to comprehend and relate to. It provides a respite from the high spaces.
These tests allowed us to select the best direction for the design together. Now the planning approach and the large scale interior architecture had been explored it was time to create a final layout and spacial design then focus on the the details.
layering materials and lighting
Lighting is key when developing warmth and connection in a space, in such a large space it needed to be layered and considered and we worked closely with the lighting designers. By using films to filter the natural daylight as it comes into the building but also using ceiling louvres to filter interior lighting we could balance the space and make the building feel less weighty. Behind the decorative ceiling louvres we used colour changing lights to mimic the colour temperature of the natural light outside, they would provide a cooler white light in the morning and a warmer white light in the afternoon giving people the sense that real daylight was coming from above and creating shadows within the space. Next, by washing surfaces with warm light we could draw attention to particular surfaces, like behind the reception area, enticing people to gravitate toward the lit surface. Spotlighting was introduced as required to light navigation paths and to light key items then decorative lighting was added to create focus above the reception area and to provide intimacy in the form of table lamps and floor lamps.
Examples of filtered light, shadow, translucent materials, washing light on surfaces and feature lighting.
The operator wanted a calm, warm and refined space so the materials and lighting were carefully selected. Instead of making the whole space opulent we focussed attention on the materials you touch and see up close. People rarely appreciate materials until they get close to them so this approach made sense. We focussed on developing sophisticated screen details, door pulls and feature lights as seen below.
We also started to introduce planting on the corridor balconies and in the restaurant. All these decorative features relate to the size of a person and wouldn’t look out of place in a single story space. They make the space more intimate, feel luxurious to touch and show people care about the attention to detail which in turn make people feel valued.
The images below show how some of these techniques were applied. You can see a warm timber and decorative mesh feature wall washed with scalloped light behind reception to entice guests to come closer. This goes up to the underside of a 10m high bridge link we added to the guestroom floor above and creates a backdrop for the decorative pendant lights. We opened the guestroom balconies to the atrium and clad the underside of the balconies with acoustic timber panels, we washed the guestroom corridor ceiling planes with light to make them more intimate and by introducing this light wash at every level it made the building feel less heavy. We introduced new angled and stepped planes to conceal light fixtures and air conditioning grills. Most of the materials used here have warm tones and are tactile. Finishes like walnut, polished plaster, natural stone, metal resins and textiles add visual and physical comfort. Tinted mirrors reflect the animation of the other guests and slatted timber finishes reduce the scale of the space.
Image Credits: Gensler
Many surfaces have been pulled away from the structure and layered to create shadow gaps creating the illusion of light, free-standing protective pavilions within the larger space and in general. To build on this intimacy most of the lighting is below 2.4m high to focus guests eyes at a comfortable and relatable height and to highlight the texture of the materials. Only occasional spot lights are in the 5.5m high ceiling.
The result of using these techniques is a warm, inviting space where people can socialise. These can be applied to designs that have very different styling. It’s about considering scale, volumes, light, privacy, navigation and material application and many examples can be found in museums, art galleries, libraries, malls, airports and stadia as well as hotels.
One of the interesting challenges of developing this large space was the acoustics. A space can be designed to look inviting and intimate but if there is too much echo when you walk through or if it feels so quiet that you are wary of making noise the atmosphere is ruined. We worked closely with the acoustic engineers on this project. In the end we incorporated 2 water features, equally spaced, to provide pink noise and we specified an acoustic render for the upper balcony facades to reduce reverberation and we specified acoustic timber panelling for all the ceilings to make voices in the lounge areas more intelligible. We also needed to address heating and cooling, because we had removed the glazing on the balconies, the air conditioning strategy was made more complicated and because this was such a clean and simple building we wanted to avoid placing large air grills everywhere to rebalance the air flow. We worked closely with the mechanical engineers to incorporate recessed linear air grills air around the perimeter of the space at approx 4m high and to incorporate recessed linear supply and return air grills along the open corridors. Everyone worked together well to achieve a clean design.
Collaborators were Emma Williams, Graeme Davidson, Dan Craner, Marcel Ortmans, Jose Sirera, Nicola Law, Scott Farrar, Ieva Butkeviciute, Khue Tran, Maeve Larkin, Simone Schlueter, Armando Iarussi, Helen Sheldon, Peter Veale.
Atrium hotels referenced during concept: The Opposite House, Beijing, Mandarin Oriental, Barcelona, Atlanta Marriott Marquis Hotel, Westin Hotel, Xi’an and others.