Design company Mitab, design group Form Us With Love, and Nordic Sea Hotel have created furniture for the hotel lobby environment as part of a unique collaborative project. The project has resulted in four products with specific functions in a lobby setting – the sofa ‘Lobby’, the coffee table ‘Piccolo’, café table ‘Waiter’ and the chair ‘Porter’.
The furniture has been created following extensive research in order to satisfy the requirements of both hotel guests and the hotel staff in terms of functionality and quality, while at the same time being modern and innovative. Nordic Sea Hotel has functioned as a pilot hotel during the study, but it is hoped that the furniture will also work in other settings.
“We have worked with Form Us With Love before, and we jumped at the chance to be involved in this exciting project. And it was also time to update our lobby furniture, so it suited us very well,” says Jan Söder, Nordic Sea Hotel’s designer. “It’s really important to us that our guests are satisfied; the lobby is an essential part of our hotel. Lots of people meet here every day, and it’s important that the logistics work.”The project began with a basic analysis of the actual area of use and setting. Form Us With Love was tasked by Mitab to interview hotel staff, everyone from the cleaners, bar and restaurant staff and reception, to hotel management and hotel guests. What requirements did they have when it comes to good lobby furniture? What did guests want to see in the lobby? There was a huge response, and the requirements were listed and ranked from various perspectives, and integrated into the development work.
“First we observed what went on in the lobby from a completely objective point of view, and then we carried out the interviews. The cleaners expressed a wish for furniture that was easy to clean, while the waiting staff thought that the height of the furniture was an important aspect, so that they didn’t have to bend down. The guests wanted to be able to sit several to a sofa without feeling that they were intruding on anyone’s space,” explains Form Us With Love.
The sofa has an exciting social aspect. You can use the ‘Lobby’ sofa in various ways, sitting facing different directions, and standing and leaning against it, which means that several people can use the sofa independently of each other. The little red ‘Piccolo’ coffee tables stand like small exclamation marks in the room, and you can also sit on them. They have two levels to make life easier for the waiting staff. The tabletop is removable so that the appearance of the setting can be altered without having to change all the furniture. The extremely sturdy ‘Waiter’ has handy hooks for bags and coats, and a removable tabletop. The stackable ‘Porter’ chair is surprisingly comfortable, with a cushioned seat just over 10 cm thick. It is also easy to remove the fabric for cleaning, or to exchange for something else.
The prototypes are on display as part of an installation at Nordic Sea Hotel, beginning during Stockholm Design Week. The response will be assessed after the week and any possible adjustments made. The plan is for the final versions of the furniture to be launched in autumn 2009. The furniture will be installed in Nordic Sea Hotel’s new, completely renovated lobby at the end of 2009/beginning of 2010.