Welcome Back to Hospitality
The Hotel Interior Experience (HIX) at the Business Design Centre was an opportunity for Roca to welcome back existing clients and re-engage with the Architecture & Design community. Covid-19 caused the hospitality industry to go on pause, which had a significant impact on everyone in the hospitality sphere. This meant that the event was a critical time to engage and inspire, as the industry looks to strive and return with impact.
Beyond the Product
The concept for the stand is based on looking beyond the products to reveal more about Roca; highlighting its independent manufacturing processes, sustainability practices and heritage. The design and materials have been inspired by Roca’s Mediterranean roots in conjunction with the Japanese interior design concept of Kanso. This delivers a calm and textural space for visitors to enjoy within in a busy and sometimes hectic setting.
The Centrepiece
With reuse in mind, we developed modular and free-standing display units that could be rearranged to suit other locations or needs beyond the show. The units add moments of colourful graphics to the stand to draw attention to the products and tie in with the cuboid and circular moments in the structure. At the front of the stand is the centrepiece display which is a composition of boxes filled with the raw materials Roca use to manufacture their ceramics and brassware. The sculpture invites the audience to consider where the products have come from and how they’ve been produced which enables Roca to talk about how they have complete ownership of their manufacturing.
Design for Re-use
The stand layout has been designed from a grid inspired by tatami mats. This grid is the base of a wooden structure of stained beams and high walls, finished in neutral tones and colourwash effects. We integrated large circular openings in the walls to support the notion of looking beyond and to contrast the sharp angles of the rigid construction. As always, whenever we are designing, we are 100% focused on ensuring that our approach is sustainability driven. Material use in the exhibition sector is a massive issue for the environment as so many stands are built with plastics and thrown away after use. Our wooden modular design and adhesive-free fixings enable the stand to be assembled and disassembled without damage at Roca’s following events. It can also be easily recycled at the end of use.
