Hospitality Design - December 2016 - 90

> Social Living

Community is at the center of many current
ideas in retail, office, and hospitality. Co-working
spaces (partly thanks to WeWork) are all the
rage, as are retail spaces meant to serve as a
kind of vendor neighborhood, while lobbies
are increasingly the hubs of the communities
they call home. Co-living is the next wave in
this ever-evolving desire for social interaction
in a tech-crazed world-take WeLive from
WeWork, which is apartment living with
communal spaces, and Roam, which offers its
inherently transient members a collection of
unique living spaces around the world (an old
palace in Madrid, the longest-running hotel in
Miami), filled with various hangout/work areas
(kitchen, lounge, fitness room, and events space).
Members can stay for an extended period of
time, and Roam fosters connections between
them and the local community.
As more good looking hostels emerge, a
few are fostering guest connections through
social media. "Millennials have changed
the travel landscape in a massive way,"
says Colin Seah, founder of Singapore firm
Ministry of Design. "Traveling is no longer
a passive vacation but a meaningful getaway
where active experience trumps passive
consumption." Enter COO, the city-state's
first "sociatel" brand, which Seah designed
and says is all about social spaces, socializing,
and social media, both digitally and physically.
The brand uses COO Connect, a matchmaking
tool that allows guests to be linked with
like-minded travelers, where through a
personalized profile, they can chat with other
guests and make travel or dinner plans. Designwise, Seah says "there is a lot going on, from

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December 2016 hospitalitydesign.com

Bunkbeds line a COO guestroom

the Tiong Bahru-inspired graphics to the neon
city map, and the tongue-in-cheek house rules
and entry portal screens."
Similarly, Grupo Habita is bringing co-living
to its new hostel, the Hollander in Chicago,
creating what the Mexican hotel company calls
a Social Stay. "We socialize virtually," says cofounder Carlos Couturier. "We thought of a way
of socially reconnecting people in a less virtual
way-through hospitality. Kind of the way Uber
does it via transportation, [we are] linking social
media to a physical experience. You share your
daily life, you share a car, you share a room."
Guests who book a bed in one of eight shared
rooms (12 private ones are also available) can
provide their social media handles so their
profile appears when others are booking for
the same dates. "You know who will be staying
there before you check in," Couturier says.
Design is also a key factor. "You stay among
people who enjoy the same aesthetic you do,"
adds Couturier, who worked with French
firms Ciguë and Delordinaire to transform a
landmark building-a former warehouse-into
the 66-bed property (which debuted along with
next-door neighbor the Robey, Grupo Habita's
newest hotel). Maintaining its industrial feel,
wood transport container-inspired custom
bunkbeds made of plywood and metal
frames, surrounded by wooden benches and
lockers, give an indoor camping feel, he adds.
Delordinaire's founder and partner Adrian
Hunfalvay says the highlight is a central
27-foot-long oak wood and steel table in the
lobby, which also houses the café and bike shop.
"Rather than decorate the space with images of
Chicago's industrial past, we wanted to make
this table as a reminder that this is a city that
knows how to build," Hunfalvay says.

Roam's Ubud, Bali location

Metal and plywood-framed bunkbeds at the Hollander

Photo by ADRIAN GAUT

A neon city map graces the wall at COO's entrance

COO photos by EDWARD HENDRICKS

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Hospitality Design - December 2016

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