Written by David Archer, Founder, Archer/Humphryes Architects
Archer Humphryes has recently completed three projects in the hospitality sector: The Great Northern Hotel in London , The Sans Souci Hotel in Vienna and Naamyaa Bangkok Café which opened in North London’s Islington in late 2012. The setting for each of these projects is different – a classic 19th Century Railway Terminus Hotel , a Palatial Viennese residential black in the Museum Quarter and a 21st Century office headquarters building.
While these buildings vary in scale and complexity, from the grandeur lent to the Viennese luxury property , to the compact spaces of the central London hotel and the banality of the glass and aluminium box provided as ground floor retail space in the contemporary development, all three sit firmly within the public domain and the task of the interior design is common to all. The designs developed must sustain and engage with the clientele to provide a back drop that both stimulates and re-assures guests. What has been interesting from the perspective of the architect working on these projects is the need to construct visual narratives that appeal to the user and are as important a part of the experience as the refreshment and service on offer.
In the case of the Great Northern this takes the form of a glamorous crystal filled railway platform bar with elegant dining above; in Vienna, the Bar is mirror lined and adorned with carved panelling and marquetry floors; and in the case of the Bangkok Café, the central open kitchen creates the energy attractive to diners sitting in a room lined with traditional Thai bricks stacked with golden deities .
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