London, 15 February 2017 –
It was the first time that there was no motto set for the participating designers of the well-known „Sleep Set competion“ at Europe’s most important fair for hotel design in London. Instead, they were asked to develop the ideal hotel room for five different target groups under the title „The science auf tribes“. Based on the „Sinus-Meta-Milieus“ target group model, which was created by the Sinus Institute in Heidelberg, Studio Proof, Aukett Swankee and Gensler UK from London as well as WOW from Singapur and Mitsui Designtec from Tokyo Studio created five rooms, showcased them in original on the fair and were awarded by a jury. The presented rooms showed the varying demands of the different target groups in the future. www.sinus-institut.de/sleep-event
Digital avant-garde
The architectural office Gensler won the competition with their innovative concept for the Milieu „digital avant-garde“. The winning team especially impressed the jury with their modular and adaptable room concept, which will particularly meet the demands of a globally linked and cosmopolitan target group. The hotel room addresses to the Milieu’s continual search for inspiration and enables the guest to become part of the local subculture. The wallpapers show the city map with highlights from the urban art scene. The room itself consists of converging sub-rooms with different functions: they can either be used as place of retreat, as a social space to interact with friends or as a creative workspace instead. Therewith, the rooms become a stage for creative people designed by creative people. The lively mix of hand made furniture and innovative design accessories make the guests’ stay far more than just a comfortable place to sleep.
Established
In contrast to Gensler, Mitsui Designtec from Tokyo targeted their hotel room concept to the Milieu of the “established” people. As this Milieu refers to upper class people with highly traditional values, hotel operators need to fulfil distinguished consumer tastes and the high expectations towards timeless, classical luxury. The designers from Japan created a harmonious hotel room, in which there is no clear boundary anymore between the inside and outside, the living space and nature. A wooden bathtub is placed in the middle of the room. Mitsui Designtec therewith responds to a basic need of this target group: the appreciation of consistency, tradition and culture, being integrated into an elegant, Japanese-influenced room concept, equipped with the finest of materials. The room leaves nothing to be desired for the relevant Milieu, considering their need for exclusiveness and unique experience of pleasure.
Performer
The team of Studio Proof decided to deal with the target group of the “performer”. This Milieu is characterised by their high commitment to career and success as well as a strong focus on performance (professional or private). The team took the position of a typical representative of this Milieu in his everyday life and created an ideal room, which perfectly adapts to the strict timetable of a business traveller. The room seems austere and modern with many details included to efficiently satisfy the different needs of this specific kind of traveller. Every element and shape is focused on perfection and has a certain function. This demanding customer should not be distracted by anything standing in his way.
Intellectuals
An architectural office from Singapore created the hotel room of the future for the target group of the “intellectuals”. Because this target group has a high affinity towards culture and arts, WOW Architects developed an inspirational and creative room, which is supposed to create space to activate the guests’ inner world of thoughts and emotions. Their draft erodes any kind of classical design law and places the dialectic method in the forefront with the aim of questioning everything. The bathtub, equipped with a manual typewriter, is the centre of the room – a place for contemplation and recovery. The toilet is a library and the bed is mounted to the ceiling and appears to normally stand in the room through the perspective of a concave mirror on the wall. This is how Wow Architects enables the guests to stay at a reflexive place for recovery, which offers them a unique experience with changes in perspective.
Sensation-Oriented
The London-based architectural office Aukett Swankee focused on the “sensation-oriented” target group and developed a completely new interpretation of what a hotel room usually offers. Sensation-oriented people rather refuse traditional and social standards and conventions and search for experiences and adventures within their peer group. Aukett Swankee decided to address to this leisure- and escapism-searching Milieu and created a draft, which rather reminds of a fantastic environment, cave or modular tent than a hotel room. The guest is supposed to completely dive or submerge into his very own world of experiences. The hotel room becomes a `Bivouac` with modifiable room shape and indirect lighting and can adapt to the guests’ emotional states, activity levels and moods. It is therefore suitable as temporary housing for conventions, music festivals or a variety of subcultural events, visited by the respective target group.