HOTEL DESIGN: ENHANCING LOCAL CHARACTERISTICS & CULTURE / ARIS GIANNOPOULOS

 

Hotel design has always been closely associated with the tourism product. The design should be sexy, functional, modern & responsive to the product. But the most important of all, however, is the very acceptance that design is a (very important) part of the whole product. And this is how we need to evaluate it.

 

Many times in the recent history, design has been used in order to highlight something very specific. For example, the XENIA program by the Greek National Tourism Organization during the 50s & 60s served just that. Greece had a particular need to reshape its (almost nonexistent) model of tourism and by the building of a series of modern and contemporary hotels, stated that it is evolving and has nothing to envy of other destinations. And Greece succeeded. For many decades now, however, the project has been abandoned and the XENIA, with few exceptions and besides the recent upsurge of interest by the state, have either been demolished or abandoned.

 

On the other hand though, Spain with the Paradores program, dating from 1928 to date, has created a spectacular association of its tourist activity with its historical and cultural heritage. The years have passed, tourist habits have changed, requirements grew, travel became easier and communication direct. And where 30 years ago, dominant hotel brands like Hilton or Marriot needed to build identical hotels around the globe in order to create the sense of assured wellbeing, now this is boring. Copy-paste in the hospitality design dies. Different trends have emerged and hotel design has to serve them.

 

The key issue is that the profile of a modern tourist is the one of a visitor or a traveler that like to discover the area he visits. And the hotel has to have an interesting story to tell. It has to be part of the society & the culture. It has to put his guest in a unique mood and provide with experiences rather than stays. And this is the point where hotel design is important. Designers should create their own vocabulary that enhance the experience and through that, make hotels that invite the traveler to use & to love for their unique design and their respect to the place, the local characteristics & the culture of the society.

 

Cover image: Casa Wabi by Tadao Ando, Mexico