Design is about offering authentic experiences to an audience, for this same reason, most design events display thought-provoking and challenging pieces. The European organisation, Sleep Event, praises itself on that same concept, especially in regards to hospitality design. It has been active for eleven years and has made quite the impact on the industry. It started in a smaller and intimate venue and is now based on one of the most beloved and historical venues in London, the Business Design Centre. The event was held from the 22nd to the 23rd of November. Throughout the article, you will be able to see a few pieces (in ambience settings) that were featured at the event.
Source: Decca London
Since Sleep event first steps, the values of this Hotel tribe are the aim to create something more than an exhibition: a space to think , to inspire design hotel and a place to experience it. A place to predict future!
There is a thread over the years on the Sleep event theme: each year is one step after the other . A story is being told about what a Hotel is, how you live in it , what memories you keep secret…
See Also: The Ultimate Highlights of Art Basel Miami Beach 2016
Joel Butler, the director of Sleep, nurtures the idea of development and strick pureness. When it comes to exhibitions, he praises quality over quantity. To him, a theme must be reflected and inspired upon the installation, the features of a show, and conference discussions. There, the theme gains authenticity and relevancy amongst a passionate community. In regards, to this year’s immersive topic, Butler disclosed the following:
“This year was a kind of pendulant swing from last year’s’ theme which was wonder, fairy tales, and narratives. This year, we look at science, social science, and understanding people’s values and attitudes, and trying to understand how do we build, how do we design, how do we develop hotel experiences for different types of people and we wanted to go beyond the usual language, millennials and generation X, because it seems that understanding people’s desires and attitudes is a bit more complex than looking at their age group.”
Source: Sleep – Joel Butler, Sleep Set Judges and Shaun Clarkson ID
In a celebration of design, science, and technology, the event displayed The Science of Tribes, which promoted various interpretations of hotel experiences through the exhibition of works from established, intellectual, performing, digital avant-garde, and sensory-oriented tribes.
Source: Hospitality Net
There was a room set for each science tribe, where you interpret, you experience it. Five renown Interior designers/architects, such as Studio Proof, Gensler , Wow Architects , Aukett Swanke and Mitsui Designtec created these unique spaces. You walk into another world, it is about creating memories! The values of intimacy are inherent to hotel living.
Source: Dezeen
The designers sought the best experiences by having in mind humanistic aspects of life. The Hotel Experience behind Sleep emerges as creating memories, as well as a place of escape where people can run away from the monotony of life. In other words, it has the purpose of being seen as a whole new world.
Internationally speaking, Sleep has achieved quite a popular status by developing specified projects and collaborations with professionals from overseas. It is an honouring union that improves the mindset of everyone, in other words, the responsibility factors on the development of each person in an effort to seek questions instead of answers.
Source: Dezeen
See Also: Highlighting the Major Exhibitions from Design Miami/ 2016
According to Butler, next year’s show is expected to be a boutique edited show for the hospitality industry. In regards to the future, Butler used the Madonna-curve theory to describe their thrilling intentions, “it is a theory that when you are at your most visible when you are doing things that are really cool and really working well. Instead of keeping doing them, do something different, reinvent. Keep it fresh.”
Source: Dezeen
To sum up, the conceptual show featured trends such as technology, virtual reality, human behaviour, materiality, fear and love in hotel design, in a more political and social awareness fashion, and also insightful experiences about hospitality from outsiders. Generally speaking, it was about ideas and confessions, and providing authentic experiences.
Feel free to share your thoughts on Sleep Event and come celebrate design with us! For more trends and suggestions follow and subscribe to CovetED Magazine! In addition, watch the video below with an exclusive tour of our Covet House. You won’t be disappointed!
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Google plus | Linkd In