Mendil + Meyer’s Hotel Design selected for the NEWH BEYOND Special Edition Magazine

PRESS: NEWH

To consider a post pandemic urban hotel we started by revisiting the essence of hospitality; ‘the friendly and generous reception and entertainment of guests, visitors, or strangers’. To achieve this there needs to be a feeling of safety, transparency, and choice for guests (as well as staff) which will promote trust, loyalty, and a sense of responsibility to those in their care.

Hotels will rise and be the heartbeat of the community where locals and travelers alike see them as a place to gravitate to. A property that offers a variety of amenities from accommodation to nourishment and from a place to work to a sanctuary to revitalize.  Should a pandemic happen in the future, they can quickly flex to become a command and treatment center.

The architecture should be traditional in form but with a modern interpretation.  This familiarity will subconsciously bring a sense of grounding especially when combined with the use of local materials.  Large windows in the rooms and corridors provide an abundance of natural light and a connection to the outside.

The central courtyard is the first touch point for the hotel as well as a place for the community to gather, reminiscent of a European Plaza.  The rooftop garden brings biophilia to an urban landscape with the benefit of growing produce for the onsite F&B outlets, achieving a degree of sustainability and self-sufficiency. Multiple outside spaces allow for access to fresh air and connection to nature all in a controlled environment, promoting health and wellness as a foundation. 

The hotel offers the ability to control circulation both vertically and horizontally with secondary elevators accessed from the exterior courtyard which allow for minimal human interactions and the connecting transitions can be closed off at the midway points via a rain curtain.   This level of control will allow for each function to be completely independent if required.  Floor-plates with less rooms will help control the amount of people on anyone floor and the larger extended stay rooms will have kitchenettes and laundry so that staff interactions are minimized.

A main full service restaurant popular with locals with a prominent street frontage will be the beating heart of the hotel.  Offering breakfast, lunch and dinner as well as to go offerings and room service.  The hotel side can have a select service program that if required can be used solely for hotel guests giving a degree of control and peace of mind to the occupants.

The co-working offering is housed on the upper floors where it is bathed in natural light and with views creating and inspiring place to work.  Dominated by one person offices surrounding an open plan co-working space, it offers a sense of community but with the security of personal space.  With the latest technology and an entire set of onsite amenities at the workers disposal this facility is appealing to both the locals, business travelers or the extended stay guest who fits into the digital nomad category.

Daily fitness,  meditation and wellbeing classes can be attended in person or steamed live to guest rooms and the wider community where the sense of inclusion is maintained but physical interaction is limited to those who want to be in their own spaces.

Hotels beyond COVID-19 will be community focused at their core: flexible, safe and supportive. 

To review the other submissions, click here