Sleeper sat down with Mark Bithrey, the founder of B3 Designers, to discuss providing multi-faceted hospitality design solutions, drawing on personal experience when designing, and the studio’s work on a new carbon-neutral hotel.
What design solutions do you offer to hospitality projects?
We transform businesses into thriving hospitality brands through strategic branding, captivating interiors and memorable guest experiences for optimal ROI. We do this in four stages: brand strategy, concept creation, technical and design administration, and finally through our brand stewardship. The final visual output can span from restaurant and hotel interiors to branded collateral such as menu and uniform design, through to content creation and social media management.
Where does your inspiration come from when designing?
We have a fantastic team with diverse backgrounds who draw on their individual cultures and experiences. We are also all passionate foodies at B3, constantly discovering and exploring new tastes and aesthetics on our travels. We’re a curious bunch…
How do you hope to make guests feel when they spend time in the spaces you design?
We work hard to create customer journeys that engage, delight and compel customers to return for more. Every space should be inspiring, exciting and transformational! We hope our designs create positive memories that people want to cherish and share.
Which part of the design process is the most challenging?
When we work with our clients from the very beginning of their journey to make sure their brand is fully developed and everyone is moving in the same direction, it really does make the process smooth and fulfilling. When a brand has not been fully thought through, even if it appears on the surface as though it has been when first presented to us, it can make the design process stall or be a lot trickier. We will usually find grey or confused areas present when we chip away at the perceived brand story and realise a lot of the foundation is missing.
And which part is the most exciting?
It’s always exciting conceptualising a new project, the team collaborating and bringing lots of creative ideas to the table. We have culture at B3 where it doesn’t matter your level or experience, all voices are heard, and that’s very inspiring for us all. There’s also nothing like seeing that concept you’ve created being realised on opening night with customers finally using the space… I don’t think that excitement will ever fade. It’s always very memorable.
What is your favourite space to bring to life in a hotel?
Being able to transform what could be a generic F&B space aimed at hotel guests only, to a destination with a successful offering and its own unique story, that is hugely enjoyable. So many hotels get this wrong – they just pick finishes, get a chef to pick a menu and expect guests to go. We’re asked quite regularly to help on projects where hotel restaurants aren’t working. And it always comes back to forming a proper strategy, honing a concept, improving branding and guest experience. We also recently designed some spa and fitness facilities which have had great success.
Tell us about a recent hospitality project and the design story you created?
We’ve just opened Brasserie des Pres in the heart of the Latin quarter of Paris, for Nouvelle Garde. Their fourth and largest site located where France’s original brasseries first existed, the area is a hub for artists, poets and literary greats, which provided the inspiration behind the concept we implemented.
The ground floor features bold panelled walls with bespoke illustrative tiles that create rhythm in the space, which continues into the dining area, where an abundant display of shelves finds home above a custom banquette. The dining space surrounds the bustling open kitchen, which is a key feature in all Nouvelle Garde brasseries.
The first floor is more bold in its design – on one side there are ruched curtains and soft furnishings with a tapestry-inspired backdrop, and on the other, a bric-a-brac display with antique mirror, blonde timber panelling and baroque lighting. The top floor meanwhile is home to a boutique all-day hangout lounge with vinyl record library. The final surprise in this space is through a set of velvet drapes, where guests find themselves in Grouvie, a 70s inspired pink and shiny bar.
What can you share about any upcoming projects?
We have some fantastic projects currently in development in Berlin, Dublin and Lyon. We also are developing a carbon-neutral hotel concept in the UK. I cannot say more on that currently other than it’s been challenging but extremely educational and very exciting!
