What are the architectural trends in hospitality?
This Sunday, the EquipHotel trade show opens its doors at the Parc Expo, Porte de Versailles, and runs until Thursday at 3pm. The show devotes an entire area to the interior design of hotels and restaurants, with several hundred exhibitors present, including Jacob Delafon, Tarkett, Balsan and Amtico.
The Actuarchi editorial team was invited to the press conference on the show's design area. There we were presented with the main trends in hotel and restaurant design, which we share with you below, but first, let us take stock of the French market.
New generations, new needs
The hotel market has entered a new period of change. A few years ago, hotel chains began developing generous communal spaces where guests can meet other travellers. Now, two new factors must be taken into account: personalisation and sleep quality. Yes, it may have been forgotten, but people go to a hotel first and foremost to sleep, even if platforms now allow rooms to be rented by the hour… Some go even further, letting you rent out your own bedroom while you are out for a night at the cinema.
This reinvestment in bedrooms goes hand in hand with personalisation. To stand out and to compete with Airbnb, whose thousands of rooms offer a very wide range of decor, hoteliers are doing the same by giving each room its own character, as at the recently opened Hôtel Monte-Carlo in Paris.
From an economic point of view, Brexit has its advantages, or more precisely a redistribution of the market that benefits Bordeaux, Alain Juppé's city, in particular. It should be noted that established players such as AccorHotels and Hilton are under attack not only from Airbnb but also from newcomers such as IKEA, which is to open a hotel next to Lyon Saint-Exupéry airport under the Moxy brand, in partnership with the Marriott group. The aim of this new brand is to appeal to young people, namely Millennials, or Generation Y.
What are the four architectural trends in hospitality?
New Minimalism Design
Mies van der Rohe is no longer with us, but the pursuit of minimalism continues to span the generations. Behind this new minimalist design lies a deep-seated trend: rediscovering inner peace. It is an aspiration that goes hand in hand with the growth of activities such as yoga.
Elegant of Craft
The second trend stems from a desire to return to basics, with a local anchorage. Hoteliers respond to this demand by offering guests local flavours, and gastronomy plays quite a strong role here. For architects, this translates into the use of bio-based, locally sourced materials.
Intense Life
Intense Life is aimed at those in search of thrills. The restaurant that Snøhetta will deliver next year in Norway is an excellent example. The restaurant takes the form of a flattened tunnel that tips down into the sea. The dining room, located underwater, thus offers a unique panorama into the depths of the sea. This search for thrills often goes hand in hand with technical challenges.
Humble Luxury
The era of the wealthy in Ferraris and gold necklaces is losing its appeal in favour of a more humble class. This brings us to the final trend: creating luxurious places with a certain humility. One example is Tadao Ando's Casa Wabi in Mexico, completed in 2016 (pictured below). This work is often combined with a practice well known to architects: the interplay of shadow and light.
EquipHotel 2018 will feature an immersive space, a little in the manner of IKEA, to plunge you into the worlds of hospitality. These spaces have been designed using the new materials presented at the show.