This concept hotel room – named ‘Bivouac’ – was developed for the 2016 Sleep Event hotel design show. Aukett Swanke were one of five international design studios invited to take part. This was an opportunity for the team to test ideas in a full scale mock-up which responded to an unusual brief without the usual constraints that designing a real hotel room brings. The freedom allowed the design team to experiment with concepts, materials and processes. To challenge the very idea of what a hotel room could be. The brief was based on new market segmentation research by the German research company, the Sinus Institute, which examines market segments, defined as ‘tribes’, based on lifestyle and values Aukett Swanke was asked to design a room for the ‘Sensation-Oriented’ Tribe. This segment, a mainly a group of young people who consider their life on holiday to be their real life, in contrast to their everyday life. They also travel in groups, with friends and peers, to festivals and event-based experiences and often identify with social subcultures.
Aukett Swanke teamed up with Susan Lake Lighting Design to work on the lighting design and controls system to support their interior concept. The lighting both emphasizes and compliments the design of the space. It helps create a relaxed welcoming environment for the guests. Architectural FX supplied the Integrate 3535 RGBW linear system. Working closely with Susan, we explored the power of colour temperature to shape mood and atmosphere. Blending design, technology, and experience for the lighting to complement the flow of the space. This turned the experience of the rooms into a constantly changing and responsive one. All the elements play with guests’ spatial and sensory perception of the space, making them hyper aware of their experience in it.
This was an exciting concept to work on and a pleasure to partner again with Susan Lake.
