Hotel Helsinki

Earlier this year, a group of designers from the University of Art and Design Helsinki (UIAH) created an interesting exhibition based on their exploration of the experience of staying in hotels. Sadly it’s too late to catch the Helsinki Hotel show, which was first exhibited at That´s Design at Superstudio as part of the Milan Design Week and then at the Design Museum in Helsinki, but the designs are still well worth seeing (take a look below).

The international group of 16 design students (part of the Masters of Arts program at UIAH, tutored by Professor Timo Salli and the designer Elina Aalto) transformed their views of contemporary hotel staying into a collection of thought-provoking objects.

100 Years: Seat by David Dahlhaus Mora

This seat was a journey through Finland, through its endless forests and shy people. It reminds me of the ever so surprising difficulty of doing things that appear to be so simple, but turn out to be a result of hard work and patience. A symmetrical machine-made cut reveals two lounge seats hidden in an exceptionally big, old and beautiful piece of Finnish larch. If you want, you can pile up the seats back to regain their log shape and beauty.

King Terry I: Set of towels by Julia Wülfing

The composition of three stacked towels makes a crown appear. The crown represents a hotels best service; the stacked towels guarantee its tidiness and perfection.

Graph: Map Scarf by Karoliina Korhonen

If you cannot see the stars, wrap the city around you and navigate by the streetlights.

Pure Birch: Lounge Furniture by Karoliina Korhonen

Pure Birch is my piece of nature extending street level attitude into public spaces.

Crevasse Rescue: Aluminium Tables by Katja Vauhkonen

In a crowded lounge, find a place for your mac in shape of the crack or secretly check what is inside your handbag.

Royal: Serving Dish by Maija Puoskari

Pillows are used in many different ways. In hotels you can usually find a welcoming candy on your pillow. This idea guided me in designing my ceramic serving dish, Royal. In my opinion pillows are connected to luxury; when someone is serving you something on a pillow it must be a special treat.

Hang-up: Clothes Hangers by Martina Carpelan

Hang-up is a family of clothes hangers for socks, nylon tights, long johns, men’s and women’s briefs, bras, ties and hats.

Rise and Sigh: Bed Sheets by Martina Carpelan

Rise and sigh is a collection of revealing bed sheets that plays with incidents often taking place in hotels. Different sleeping positions give different imprints on the sleepers’ body. The imprints give you a hint about last night’s atmosphere, suggest what to do and say things about you.The Rise and sigh collection consists of three embroidered bed sets; for the bachelor, for the love affair and for the one night stand.

Conversation Pieces: Interactive Glasses by Niels Ole Frandsen

Visitors often stay alone in hotels. Social meetings between unrelated guests and personal communication rarely exist. The design is a selection of cocktail/champagne glasses with 12 different outlines. Only two glasses fit together and the guests are required to search for their match. Glasses are used as communicating objects, because they are obvious and still silent. The drinking situation invites conversation, intimacy and enjoyment. Hopefully they will inspire spontaneous and impulsive interactions between strangers.

Everyday Sunday: Plastic cup holder by Niina Aalto

Using disposable cups is common in hotels. Extending their function to a more specified and dignified level is a suggestion for a more playful way of living. Everyday Sunday is a plastic cup holder, which customizes a plastic cup for different situations by creating an illusion of authenticity.

Horse Bath: Champagne cooler by Oliver Backman

Romantics for everyday. A Bathtub-shaped champagne bottle cooler designed for a couple.

Root: Cutlery by Päivi Mäkinen

Root is a silver cutlery series consisting of a spoon, a fork and a knife. It deals with contradictions: the form is inspired by traditional wooden cutlery while the silver as a material is associated to fine dining. It is an attempt to bring a homey feeling to luxury items. Instead of creating a universal hotel object I wanted to introduce cutlery with a personal and strong Finnish identity

1+1+1=1:Bedside furniture by Päivi Niemi

Imagine if hotel furniture went through an evolution. The rule of nature preserves only the essential in order to function. It saves material, space and energy. It is the struggle of survival of the fittest.

Rollo: Wall lighting by Priska Falin

18 detachable LED-light balls attached to a metal fixture. Each ball has its own switch and can be used separately as a flashlight.

Left over: Ceramic tiles by Saara Kaatra

A hotel room is a very private area. We automatically assume that the room is clean and spotless when we enter. Finding someone else’s hair when taking a shower or brushing your teeth isn’t the most pleasant thing. A set of ceramic tiles for a bathroom, ceramic tiles decorated with hair. An aesthetic pattern is created from something that is usually regarded as ugly.

The Hierophant: Bed by Sergio Davila Urrutia

I woke up in the middle of the night and felt relieved that I was still around, I know that I can suddenly disappear and I won’t see you again. All the night is fulfilled with your presence, flesh and bones all over the darkness, following the rhythm of your breath, and the silence within. Perhaps, you’re the monster then, I’m living a life underneath the bed, in between the deepest emotions of your mind. Maybe you’re the monster, the bed is your body, your legs are made of wood, and your flesh is the bed linen. My voice is hanging from your belly and whenever you wake up you’ll remember that somebody was there, my truth without logic. Now, sleep tight, that the night runs out of stars, melt with the city that you’re visiting, and leave your stories behind for other find...

Käki - Cuckoo: Serving plates by Tuomas Rossi

My design is a selection of wooden plates with porcelain cups made of the finest Finnish birch and bone china. I strongly believe that these classic shapes and materials will find fresh meaning when used for serving food. My design is simple and still functional.

Room Service Set: Cutlery and dishes by Vasja Urh

Cups are made of two layers of stainless steel with an insulating pocket of air between which keeps warm food warm and cold food cold. Covers are made of Silver Birch and can also be used as trays for the cutlery. The cup resembles a Finnish traditional wooden “kuksa” cup. The bowl is used to serve porridge – a typical “log house breakfast dish”.

Urbarn by Karoliina Korhonen and Katja Vauhkonen

Urbarn is our interpretation of a hotel, an architypical house constructed from standardized wooden shipping pallets. It is a surrounding that creates a shelter and temporary home for the exhibition. The inspiration for the project originates from observing the hotel environment as a platform for unexpected encounters. We wanted the exhibition architecture to represents the same values of contemporary living. The simple structure based on existing material excludes unnecessary consumption and transportation.

Chandelier by Julia Wülfing & David Dahlhaus Mora & Saara Kaatra

Read profiles of the designers at Hotel Helsinki