Imagine my surprise when I received an invitation to try out the new Travelodge bedroom, being installed nation-wide.The offer of a night testing the king-sized bed by Sleepeeze Ltd. more often found in luxury hotels was too good to miss so off I went to the Covent Garden branch with my toothbrush and booking reference. […]
General
An ethical approach to controlling the pigeon population in Paris?
Following consultation with animal protection groups, this dovecot is part of a programme to control the local pigeon population. Food and water are provided, the pigeons nest there and their eggs are subsequently sterilised. Sick or injured birds are taken to a sanctuary for treatment. The structure reminds me of the small buildings sometimes built by architects and has a certain […]
Hermès – a fan post
This posting is unashamedly one by a long-time fan and disrupts my recent pattern of sharing emerging talent. Hermès is one of my favourite companies; I’ve known about them from childhood and still wear the silk scarf inherited from my grandmother. I love the value they place on craftsmanship and their development of the new inspired by the past. I also cherish the fact […]
European hotel design competition for architecture & design students
ReardonSmith Architects and The Sleep Event have launched a competition for all architecture and interior design students in Europe. The brief is to design the all too often neglected staff facilities for a 4/5 star hotel in a major European city. Magazines and press always feature what we, the public, see in terms of design […]
Creative play – Hide and Seek in the UK and across the English Channel
Some of you may already be familiar with Hide and Seek, an organisation dedicated to expanding notions of play and games. They create “social games and playful experiences”. Having participated in a few Sandpit events at the South Bank I can certainly vouch for that. The release of creativity through play can be quite profound and you have […]
Bloc Hotels for luxury on a budget
Part of my work is in the hotel industry, hence the occasional hotel postings. I spotted this as another example of the trend for good budget hotels with a bit of style. What I like about this one is that the owners of Bloc Hotel have really done their homework, selecting the key elements of […]