Category: Hotel Design

Russian Lace for a new Amsterdam Hotel Design Concept

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I was just talking about the Dutch influencing the UK and the US in the 17nd century. But we also influenced the Russian Czar Peter the great who lived a couple of years in The Netherlands to learn the craft of ship building. The wooden Czar Peter house in Zaandam, north of Amsterdam where he lived is still a tourist attraction today.
This cultural bond with Russia has recently culminated in Russian president Medvedev opening the Amsterdam branch of the Russian St Petersburg Hermitage museum, the Hermitage Amsterdam together with our Queen Beatrix. In its first month it drew over 100,000 visitors, which is not bad for a medium sized museum.

Lace-Hotel-Amsterdam-by-Dim

Now I would like to introduce you to a young Russian Designer Dima Loginoff. He wants to bring Russian lace back to Amsterdam in the form of a concept of the Lace Hotel. I take it he has looked a bit to Dutch designer Marcel Wanders who also thinks lace. As I quoted in a prior “The future is back to knitting” and lace is the result of a sort of knitting isn’t it?

Lace-Hotel-Amsterdam-by-Dima Loginoff- Interior
Lace-Hotel-Amsterdam-by-Dima Loginoff- Interior

Dima’s concept won the prize “design without limits” at the Design Debut Contest 2008 in St. Petersburg, While Russian lace should cover the facade of a traditional Amsterdam canal house a textile ceiling is provided for in the lobby and restaurant, huge historical redesigned prints of Diane de Poitiers and Gabrielle d’Estrées. So the circle is full:-)

Dutch Design (39): Faux-Cardboard or Clochard Duvet Covers – Luxury for the Homeless

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We have seen myriads of faux trends for accessories and home furnishing, faux-wood, faux-leather or faux-fur, you name it.

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Luxury Faux-Cardboard Duvet Covers
Dutch copywriter Peggy van Neer, has not only created a great bed linen design, but also a way of marketing it Eco consciously. She opened the site Snurkbeddengoed (“which means as much as “Cool Snoring Bed Linen”). A significant part (40%) of the sales proceeds of the “Le Clochard” duvet cover go to a Dutch foundation for the young homeless. It uses the proceeds to fund housing projects which create jobs and education opportunities for the young Dutch homeless.

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Hotels that would use this bed linen could claim to be (a bit) more environmentally conscious.

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The cardboard lookalikes are made of 100% soft combed cotton and available in three sizes from Dutch By Design.

Via 2Modern Design Talk – Modern Furniture & Design Blog: Faux-cardboard Duvet Cover.

Dutch Design (37) : Marcel Wanders Designed Mondrian Miami Southbeach open

Recently the $200 million 335-room and condos hotel Mondrian Miami South Beach opened during Art Basel. Its design is by Dutch designer Marcel Wanders.

The Hotel site of the Mondrian starts wit the same video you can find on Youtube:

Luckily you can skip the intro. I do not like video’s on a Hotel website as a starter. First and foremost I like photos and lay out plans of rooms. For one reason or another the photos on the Mondrian Miami hotel site are still images from the design stadium…no real photos yet.

The video is part interview with Marcel Wanders. IMHO he should take some English presentation lessons.

An extensive interview in Fastcompany‘s online magazine gives more insight about Marcel Wanders, Fast Company’s designer of 2008.

Off course the opening party was enhanced by the Happy Hour Chandelier about which project I reported earlier here

I wonder Wanders, why didn’t he built on the name Mondrian? The Dutch Style Icon that was the inspiration for Morgan’s first Mondrian Hotel in L.A. Then maybe the plain outside of this Hotel at least could have been a bit more … flamboyant…or flashy

Before the LA Mondrian became a Morgan Hotel Group Hotel, it was family owned and featured a real Mondrian painting that inspired its name…probably lost underway…..

A piece of Frank Lloyd Wright art from the Tokyo Imperial Hotel

Recently a Frank Lloyd Wright ornament from the former Tokyo Hotel Imperial was put on sale at Chicago based auction house Wright20.

Lot 140
Frank Lloyd Wright
Concrete block from the Imperial Hotel

1915
Cast concrete

A testament to Wright’s engineering; in the great Kanto earthquake of 1923, the Imperial Hotel was the only building standing for many blocks. The hotel was later torn down in 1968 as land in Tokyo rapidly increased in value. Artifacts from this commission are very scarce.

Estimate: $5000-7000

2008 Sleeper Magazine European Design Award of the Year for citizenM (Dutch Design 33)

CitizenM

I would have loved to attend the Sleepers Magazine London Sleep Event, but luckily this morning a press release in my mailbox got me up to date:

Some excerpts:

London, 7 November 2008.

The European Hotel Design Awards, presented by Sleeper Magazine on Thursday, 6 November 2008, is the premier celebration of outstanding innovations in the hospitality industry and hotel design in Europe.

“This was perhaps the most hotly contested decision I have seen the judging panel have to make in the six years I have been involved in these awards. But I think it is fair to say that the eventual winner is a hotel that stood out from the competition in all aspects of its conception. Not just it’s design and architecture, but also its use of technology, it’s marketing, its future development potential and most importantly, the seamless integration of all these into a product that offers the guest a rewarding experience. The winning project was acknowledged by the panel to be a radically new hotel concept that will have considerable influence on others in the industry for years to come.”

Says Matt Turner, editor in chief of Sleeper Magazine.

The Dutch hotel group citizenM has won the grand prize: The European Hotel Design Award of the Year.

and three awards in the categories:

THE INNOVATION AWARD
“The judges looked at the added value for the guest, the concept design, various use within the hotel, the building, the property, guest experience, use of information database, to check out and unanimously award the hotel who has accomplished to achieve this within all aspects of a hotel.”

Ahmed Akudi, International Projects Director, Grohe AG

THE TECHNOLOGY AWARD
“… We’ve seen moving facades. The innovation of this hotel gives a scope and a degree of innovation… There’s one clear winner.. citizenM hotels!” Guy Dittrich, journalist.

THE GRAPHIC DESIGN AWARD
“The art within hotel design illustrates a choice, a brand, an unique website, an experience recognisable through website, brochures and overall decor…” Juliet Kinsman, editor in chief, Mr & Mrs Smith.

michael-levie
Michael Levie

We are thrilled by the recognition of the European Hotel Design Awards jury. Our team and partners worked hard to create an innovative, contemporary hotel for the cost conscious traveller. We looked at every business process to enhance and improve the stay of a guest in our hotels. The result citizenM hotels has made is a quantum leap in innovation, which now is prestigiously recognised by hotel industry professionals from all over the world. says Michael Levie, CEO citizenM hotels.

My observations:

citizenM hotels opened their first hotel in June 2008 at Amsterdam Schiphol Airport. The second hotel, close to Amsterdam’s city center, will open in April 2009. A third property in Glasgow will also open its doors next year. citizenM hotels plans to open 20 hotels in the coming 5 years in all major capital cities of Europe.

I have covered CitizenM extensively:

  1. Third Pod Hotel Concept for Amsterdam Revealed
  2. Amstelveen: Citizen M and the Neighbourhood
  3. Amsterdam CitizenM Opening (1)
  4. CitizenM Hotel Amsterdam Airport Schiphol Opening (2): The Room
  5. CitizenM Hotel Amsterdam Schiphol Airport Opening (3) Final Observations

I publish this for completeness sake.

However, although I admire and like the various design features and concepts and am proud that a Dutch brand is getting so much Kudos, I do believe the German chain Motel One is doing a much better job with less design features…….

The main reasons for my observation:

  1. Motel One has perfect parking facilities for those traveling by car.
  2. Motel One has rooms you can occupy with two persons rather than one. This has to do with the place of the double bed of a citizenM room: You can’t enter your bed without crawling over your partner or have him / her crawling over you.
  3. Motel One has a separate perfectly designed fully fledged bathroom opposed to the citizenM bath “sphere”.
  4. Motel One has windows you can open.

Also interesting see a Mr & Mrs Smith representative in the jury…. I wonder if the distinguished members of the jury have had the honor of sleeping in a citizenM room….

A final question: Would you expect so much online coverage for a Hotel chain from an agency with such website :Birgit Schmoltner?