From retail to workspaces, “experiential design” is the new buzzword being used to lure patrons. As we look for a good reason to leave our homes, we apply higher expectations to our destinations. As the retail industry grapples with this new challenge, it highlights how the hotel industry has had to excel at it all along. The hospitality industry is well-versed in experiential design, and is in fact, perhaps the inventor of it.
Hospitality design has established itself as a niche industry for good reason. For most hotel spaces, there is an elevated level of aesthetics combined with an inherently complex technical program. Basically, hotels have to look cool and function well while balancing lots of moving parts. For great hotel spaces, there is a bit more to it. Think of your favorite hotel space. Perhaps the bar is particularly alluring, or the restaurant has the warmth of a place that has been there for decades. Like a theatrical production, there is the front of house that guests are exposed to and there is the back of house where operations make it all possible. As architects and interior designers, we think of it like a concert and orchestrate the show accordingly. Of course, the most important thing is the plot. What is the show about? Great hospitality design has a story, and we as designers are the storytellers.
Starting with a simple idea, which could be a collection of words or images, a nucleus is formed. We build a story around the idea using context, authenticity and connection. Sometimes we start with a true muse, but often it is a feeling, a memory or a place. Often our clients cannot put what they want into words, and we use image decks to evoke feelings. We think of the space and the context of the neighborhood or area. We think of the client’s history and what they are looking to tell the world through their space. We think of the connection or feelings we want the patrons to have. The winning images, words and materials are assembled into a concept board, and we use this to navigate our design process forward. The start of the story…
Once we have the concept, we layer it onto the program. What does the hotel need? How is it similar to other hotels, how is it different? Typically, our client has a pretty good feel for the functional needs of the property. They know how many rooms they want, where they want them to be and what amenities they want to offer. The business-related items tend to be more tangible. The fun part is integrating the program with the story — how do they relate together?
A couple years ago, we had the opportunity to be part of the team renovating the Hotel Monaco in Chicago. While researching the design, it was uncovered that before the property was a hotel, the building was a hat factory built in 1910. The hotel is centered in the heart of downtown, right on the Chicago River and has a very interesting geographical relationship to the Chicago waterway. Great history to start with, and as we began the design process, we took advantage of the context of the building along the water. We tied the origin story of the hotel through to the rooms, complete with hat hooks and custom millinery hats to try. The story even carried through to the service, with the valets wearing custom fedoras. Basing the design on the river and history of the building allowed us to tell an authentic story, and inherently gave the hotel an identity and connection. What made the execution in the case of the Hotel Monaco particularly intriguing is that it is subtle, and with each stay, the hotel will share a bit more of its story.
In telling a story through design, there are some key elements that we use to convey mood or feeling. For drama, we use lighting. For history, we use texture. For mood, we use sound. For whimsy, we use shapes. For fun, we use color. For conversations, we use artifacts. If the story telling is successful, the guest will be intrigued during the first stay and uncover more parts of the story with each return visit.
The hospitality world has been doing for decades what the rest of the world has just hit upon: truly experiential design.
Belinda O’Kelly and David Kasprak lead O’Kelly Kasprak Architecture and Design, a nationwide design firm headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.
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