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Below Stéphanie Ledoux Bottom Reda Amalou
Q&A
Stéphanie Ledoux and Reda Amalou, architects, AW2
In a climate emergency, hotel designs need much more than beautiful design. Following the UN’s climate change report released in August, the hospitality industry is under more pressure than ever to improve its approach to ESG. Architects Stéphanie Ledoux and Reda Amalou of French architecture practice AW2
believe environmentally and
socially sustainable hotel design cannot be achieved if brands follow their ‘spreadsheet’ of standard materials and architecture throughout the world.
What are some of the key elements in creating spaces that move beyond being purely functional to become more ‘experiential’ for the user? Stéphanie Ledoux: At AW2, our design approach is more an open working process rather than a strict, preconceived theoretical framework. T is allows us to respond to each site and each project by applying relevant techniques and solutions to create architecture that is tailored to its location creating a unique guest experience. It is an architecture of fusion, very much linked to the sense of place and the emotions generated by a location. Reda Amalou: Our approach to experiential architecture blurs the limits between the built and the natural environment. A great example of this is the work we did in Costa Rica for Kasiiya Papagayo, an eco-lodge made up of 14 tents that merge with the surrounding tropical forest. Hotels are all about creating unique experiences for visitors, so we always try to bring some element of surprise to our designs and at Kasiiya Papagayo the intention is for guests to be amazed at how close they are to nature, while enjoying all the comforts of a high-end hotel. A key way this is achieved is through the creation of tented suites, which allows guests to listen to the wildlife at night while still being protected from the jungle. SL: We always say: ‘Kasiiya is not a hotel, it is part of nature.’ It was built on timber platforms that leave no scar on the landscape and the rooms are carefully orientated to allow guests to reconnect with nature, in peace and complete privacy. From the very beginning, our intention was not to have minimal impact on the environment, but zero impact, and we managed to complete the project without cutting down a single tree and without the use of any concrete or nails, making it completely demountable.
How does the creative process typically work between you and your hotel clients? Has this client/design relationship become more collaborative over the years? RA: We maintain a fl uid dialogue with the client from the inception of the project as the ideas begin to form in response to the brief. Our contextual approach to design means that we take into account all the site characteristics and respond to them to create a meaningful design that truly belongs in its context. SL: Having worked in over 40 diff erent countries, we call upon our prior knowledge while developing site-specifi c responses. We formulate the project as it develops rather than describing the outcome. Every client is unique and we adapt to each situation to keep the project at the centre of our discourse.
In what ways have the events of the past 18 months moved the goalposts for some of the fundamental principles of hotel design? What will hotel design look like post-Covid? RA: I’m very positive about the resilience of humanity and the hospitality sector and I believe we will fi nd the way to reinstate normality in how we experience hotels. T e pandemic has had a very negative impact on how we as humans interact, but I don’t believe it will impact our desire to inhabit spaces the way we’ve always done, or the way we design them. SL: I believe the big focus should be on the current climate emergency. Sustainable design is a holistic question, it’s not about piecemeal solutions. Neither is it about built components exclusively, these are part of a wider debate. We approach every commission with a holistic view from the outset. We study the site, try to grasp the context and question how our building is going to impact it. In terms of materiality and carbon emissions but also size and resources – how is our project going to impact the local population? We also try to use local construction skills to avoid importing labour and foster local employment and preserve traditional, low-impact building techniques. RA: We’ve had situations where we’ve needed to challenge the brief and opted for reducing the footprint of the construction and adapt it to the scale of a village. T e
‘I believe the big focus should be on the current climate emergency. Sustainable design is a holistic question, it’s not about
piecemeal solutions’
OKI HIROYUKI
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