Boutique Design - June 2014 - 26

HIGH-TECH

HOTELS
Interactive gizmos, entertaining gadgets and an inventive array of digital
visuals provide a new wireframe for customizable hotel design.
BY MAT THEW HALL

experts in everything from the creative work of
developing interior concepts to understanding
hotel operations and assessing market conditions.
Now, there's another required field: IT wiz.
Seeking to appeal to today's always-connected
travelers, more and more hotels are showcasing interactive, high-tech environments that layer in all the
functionality guests want for business, as well as the
sexy side of technology as art and entertainment. As
the examples here show, what would have been wishlist only a few years ago is technology-enabled-
including the customizable "mood rooms" at the
citizenM Rotterdam; the hoodie-shaped work
stations at The Epiphany Hotel in Palo Alto, Calif.; the
interactive LCD TVs in the guest rooms of the
Marriott Marquis Washington, D.C.; and the largescale "digital canvases" on the exterior of the InterContinental Miami.
What follows is a look at how (and why)
designers of the above projects are incorporating
cutting-edge features into memorable spaces.
CITIZEN M, ROTTERDAM

CitizenM is a Dutch hotel group that describes its
mission as "offering mobile citizens of the world
affordable luxury in the heart of the city." At the
brand's new hotel in Rotterdam, designers from
concrete architectural associates carried out that
mission with exciting tech toys such as a registration
desk with four self-check-in terminals, and guest
rooms outfitted with tablet computer "mood pads."
"Part of the citizenM concept is to remove all
unnecessary items in order to provide guests with a
luxury experience at an affordable price," says
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Maarten de Geus, concrete's project leader for citizenM Rotterdam. One "unnecessary item," he notes,
is the traditional check-in process. "Rather than
having guests go through a time-consuming checkin with a hotel employee, we installed self-serve
terminals that provide that service in 30 seconds."
The mood pads in the rooms, meantime, add to
the luxury experience by allowing guests to create
custom environments, de Geus says. "They can
choose from one of six pre-programmed mood
colors-including romance, business and 'surprise
me'-along with six pre-programmed light settings,
including work, shower and read. The result is an
atmosphere that perfectly matches their mood. What
could be more luxurious?"
THE EPIPHANY HOTEL, PALO ALTO

Located in the tech epicenter of Palo Alto, Calif., The
Epiphany Hotel features interiors designed by
MCCARTAN that reflect the startup zeitgeist and
entrepreneurial spirit of that city. "As the name
suggests, The Epiphany Hotel is designed to surprise
and delight guests with 'aha' moments throughout
their stays," says Colum McCartan, founder of the
design firm bearing his name. "This distinctive property resembles a jewel box filled with quirky, fanciful
touches, from uniquely positioned charging stations
to multi-dimensional artistic statements."
One such statement is "Edison," a data-driven
art installation that was envisioned, built and
installed by the design/innovation firm IDEO.
Descending from the second-story ceiling into the
lobby, that installation infuses a seminal technical
innovation-the light bulb-with new LED technology, hardware and networked information to

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