Overview
It's undeniably tough for a hotel to cater their rooms to every guest that will ever stay in them, but this problem can be far more real for the intrepid traveller with a disability. The latest design of hotel room from new collaboration AllGo, however, seeks to change this fact by creating an adaptable room that makes rooms more accessible than ever before, all while channelling the contemporary aesthetic guests have come to expect from upmarket hotel experiences.
The AllGo project is the brainchild of international architecture studio Ryder and contemporary bathroom design firm Motionspot. The idea came from the need to "create a concept that redefines the design of hotel bedrooms and bathrooms so they deliver the individual access requirements of guests without compromising on the aesthetics of the environment," according to Motionspot founder Ed Warner. Each room, according to the design, will incorporate features like handrails with braille printed on them, retractable wall panels that can fold away and act as furniture, wheelchair-friendly flooring, and motorised tracks to assist in access and egress to the bed. The best part is, however, that these features can be easily added and removed before the guest even arrives.
The AllGo concept took out the top gong at the lauded Celia Thomas Prize late last year. The prize awards £20,000 (nearly AU$34,000) to the design that best creates a hotel experience for people with disabilities, and that can best "challenge the perception of hotel facilities set aside for disabled people, which can often be viewed as joyless, poorly designed and over-medicalised," according to the Royal Institute of British Architects.
Gold medal-winning Paralympian, member of British parliament and bad-ass Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson was one of the driving factors in having the Celia Thomas Prize created. "Great architecture is about spaces that make you feel better and which make you want to return," she said, and the AllGo design strives to achieve that goal for everyone. Motionspot and Ryder will use their winnings to have a pilot program for the design up and running within the year.
Via PSFK.