Once again, Sleep & Eat proved to be the event for hospitality design inspiration and trends, bringing the industry together for two days recently in London Olympia, United Kingdom. The 2019 edition offered architects, designers, operators, and owners a unique chance to experience creative passion first-hand, hear from the game-changers, discover new products and celebrate the role of great design within the most successful hospitality enterprises around the globe.
Restaurant Set by NAME Architecture, Photographer Rob Jones
This year’s event theme of “Social FlexAbility” explored the power of hospitality to stimulate human interaction in our age of digital socializing. It proved to be just the challenge that six international architectural and design firms needed to create concept installations which were inspiring in vision, intriguing in detail and astonishing in execution. Twenty2degrees, Miaja Design Group, HAT Design, and Maria Tibblin & Co created hotel room and guestroom sets, and SpaceInvader and NAME Architecture designed a bar and restaurant respectively.
Set by Maria Tibblin & Co, Photographer Rob Jones
“The process has been fascinating,” says Joe Stella of twenty2degrees. “Essentially, we were our own client freed from the usual constraints of commercial hotel design. We followed certain paths of thought, then found new sources of inspiration and were able to flip the aesthetic.” Fellow Director, Nick Stoupas, adds: “We incorporated a music playlist, dynamic lighting, lots of bold color and materiality. And then we shook it all up”.
Set by twenty2degrees, Photographer Will Stanley
Set by Miaja Design Group, Photographer Mark Luscombe-Whyte
“We asked ourselves: what’s the biggest barrier to “Social FlexAbility” in a bar? Our answer was the bar itself! So, we created a bar without a bar which, through layout and design, became a space where the conversation could happen. Adaptability leading to interaction with the environment, flexibility empowering the individual to use the space as suits them, design enhancing service and promoting human interaction.” – John Williams, SpaceInvader
Bar Set by SpaceInvader, Photographer Rob Jones
Other pop-up spaces – all specially designed for Sleep & Eat – included The Hub, for co-working, networking, and relaxing away from the busy exhibition floor, created by the London studio of Wilson Associates; the VIP Lounge, designed by Moscow-based MEGRE INTERIORS, which transformed a traditional oak-panelled room into a flora and fauna-inspired space with social gatherings at its heart; and the Sleeper Bar, designed by Michaelis Boyd.
The Hub by Wilson Associates, Photographer Rob Jones
VIP Lounge by MEGRE Interiors, Photographer Rob Jones
Sleeper Bar by Michaelis Boyd, Photographer Rob Jones
In addition, Sleep & Eat featured a two-day Conference and an Exhibition where over 160 design-led suppliers – established and up-and-coming manufacturers, artisans, and fit-out companies – showcased their most cutting-edge products and launched new collections.
Geraldine Dohogne, the award-winning designer of Zannier Hotels, stated: “I attended Sleep & Eat for the second year running and could see how it had grown in just one year. It’s an inspiring show for hospitality designers, perfect for networking and meeting international designers and suppliers, with a conference featuring world-leading speakers.”
Sleep & Eat 2020 will take place on 17 – 18 November, at London Olympia.
Cover Photo – Set by HAT Design, Photographer Rob Jones
For more design & travel inspiration, you are welcome to follow Archi-living.com on social media.
Hospitality Design Trends and Ideas – Sleep + Eat Sets – find out more about the previous year’s trends.
