Designers compete to capture ‘Spirit of the Sixties’ at Sleep Hotel
Dubbed the ‘catwalk of hotel design’, Sleep Hotel will bring together some of the industry’s best-known designers with several newer names that are making their mark on the sector. Kelly Hoppen, BDP, The Hickson Design Partnership and Purpose Design will each collaborate with fit-out specialists and product suppliers of their choice to build a concept for Sleep Hotel.
This year, the brief is inspired by the widespread interest in, and nostalgia for, the 1960s, and is asking designers to redesign a junior suite in a fictitious hotel originally built during the heyday of Pop Art, translating the radical spirit of this cultural movement into a contemporary experience that is relevant today.
An exciting added dimension to Sleep Hotel 2013 is that the Barbican, London’s leading multi-arts venue which will be running a major exhibition Pop Art Design between 22nd October 2013 – 9th February 2014, has joined forces with Sleep. As a result, the Barbican exhibition curator Catherine Ince will be selecting the winning room set at the event with fellow judges Anthony Ingham, Starwood’s Vice President of Luxury and Design Brands EMEA, and Conrad Smith, Managing Director of ReardonSmith Architects.
“Sleep Hotel provides a great platform for designers, with their fit-out team and suppliers, to show just how imaginative they can be,” says Smith. “As a judge last year, I was so impressed by the talent, enthusiasm and attention to detail that all the contenders demonstrated, and by the fact that the sets weren’t just showbiz. They were rooms with great ideas for real hotels”.
Nous Design is creating another much favoured room set located in the Sleep Hotel space – the bar. “We will be creating a dynamic social experience,” promises Nir Gilad, Creative Director at Nous. “Without giving too much away at this point, think taps flowing with champagne and ice trays exuding mist!”
The Sleep Hotel challenge last year was the creation of a five-star bedroom and bathroom within a 23m2 space. This stimulated a collection of highly innovative and stylish room sets, all constructed to an astonishingly high quality despite the constraint of a mere one day to set-up. The winning room was Shaded White designed by Scott Brownrigg and built by Wilmott Dixon Interiors. Speaking of the achievement, Una Barac, Director at Scott Brownrigg, says: “It was an incredible experience and we thoroughly enjoyed the teamwork with Wilmott Dixon Interiors and an excellent set of suppliers. The marketing and profile that the practice has received following the award has been invaluable and led to some very interesting opportunities.”
Sleep Hotel forms part of Sleep, Europe’s leading hotel design destination held annually at London’s Business Design Centre. The event also comprises The European Hotel Design Awards, a design and development conference, and a major exhibition. Together, they attract over 4,000 visitors from across Europe, the Middle East and North America making Sleep the number one networking opportunity for the hotel design, development and supply community.
