Sleep + Eat unveils roomsets
Sleep + Eat has revealed a first glimpse into the Sleep Set schemes under development by the four architectural and design companies involved this year. Responding to the recent trend of lifestyle brands entering the hospitality space, the competition is inspired by a theme of collaborating with unlikely brand partners.
HBA London is working with the Natural History Museum; Denton Corker Marshall is tackling West Ham United Football Club; Yasmine Mahmoudieh has paired with Penguin Books; and AB Concept is collaborating with Maison Pierre Hermé Paris. Innovative and engaging, these sets will be based on each brand’s aesthetics and values and will seek to facilitate new and imaginative ways for visitors to interact with the pairing.
As part of its evolution, Sleep + Eat is also expanding its interactive offering to include the Eat Sets – three more installations based on F&B spaces, namely a restaurant designed by Echo Architecture, a café from 3Stories and a nightclub by Shalini Misra.
Ed Ng and Terence Ngan have taken inspiration from Fetish – one of celebrated French patissier-chocolatier Pierre Hermé’s seasonal collections – to develop the sensual and provocative Fetish Suite, a safe haven for guests to indulge in their guilty pleasures. Throughout a space of coquettish hide-and-reveals, a sense of voyeurism will be created through the use of frosted or reflective mirrors and hidden spaces, adding to the experience as visitors journey through the room.
Awakening the curious explorer in us all, HBA London will be inviting visitors to discover the unexpected in the most immediate of surroundings. Stimulated by the beauty of the natural world and the importance of a connection with it through design, the set will encourage the uncovering of treasures, the examination of exciting specimens and the drive to learn.
Inspired by literary themes of happiness, love and wisdom, Yasmine Mahmoudieh has created a narrative for her Sleep Set based on three different Penguin Books from diverse authors and varying points in history: Plato’s The Symposium, Selected Poems of Rumi, and Elizabeth and Her German Garden by Elizabeth Von Arnim. Each area within the room set will take its cue from a specific book, bringing leitmotifs to life and giving thoughtful visual expression to canonical written material.
To belong to West Ham United is to belong to a community deeply entrenched in history and ritual; a group of unique individuals unified in a collective by moments in time – this is the driving force behind Denton Corker Marshall’s Sleep Set design. Exploring the transition between collective and individual space whilst reflecting on the history and ritual of the club, the studio’s concept will offer moments to engage and reflect, creating new personal experiences for each guest.
Taking on the concept of multisensory dining, Echo Architecture will transport visitors to the Cornish seaside, combining physical design with intelligent lighting, soundscapes and olfactory stimuli. The restaurant setting draws inspiration from the landscape of Cornwall and the atmosphere will change with the time of day, creating a range of experiences that returning visitors can enjoy.
With the recent demise of many clubbing venues in the UK, Shalini Misra aims to provide people with a place to party. Inspired by the bright colours, bold and playful patterns and pop music of the 1980s, the designer will pair nostalgia with new technologies to present a hedonistic escape within the Sleep + Eat event. Expect glossy surfaces, neon colours and compelling optical illusions.
3Stories will challenge guests with a familiar play on the traditional British café concept, updating the iconic model to fit the new age of digital sociability and transposing luxury materials into an everyday space. In the spirit of ‘the caff’, the designers will work to foster a sense of community for Sleep + Eat’s exhibitors and attendees, displaying constantly updating, unfiltered communication on a café style menu board for all to see.
