Marking the hotel group’s first opening in the UK, Art’otel Battersea makes its debut in London with an immersive interior design by Spanish artist and designer Jaime Hayon. Following the group’s concept to fill its hotels with an eclectic mix of art and objects, Hayon curated an artistic selection that converses with his carefully considered interiors throughout the hotel.
Open from 12 December 2022 for first stays, the hotel’s official opening is planned for February 2023, when guests will be able to enjoy the immersive spaces, take in the breathtaking views and make the most of the Battersea surroundings.
Art’otel Battersea: an immersive marriage of art and design
Jaime Hayon’s interiors for Art’otel Battersea feature a design language based on a well-considered palette and curved lines. ‘I tried to be gentle with my design of the interiors,’ says Hayon. ‘The forms are a response to the space itself and its constraints,’ he adds, nodding to the serpentine shape of the building that houses the hotel, Battersea Roof Gardens by Foster + Partners. But every element of the design is also quintessentially Hayon: there is geometry and order, but the resulting effect is an enveloping interior that feels organic and welcoming.
Guests enter through a lounge where the designer created separate sitting areas featuring Hayon furniture for Fritz Hansen, Arflex and Wittman, divided by bespoke brass shelving (‘classical comfort with a bit of action’, as the designer describes it) and facing a cabinet with a display of art objects that include antique pieces, Hayon’s own ceramics and designs by friends and collaborators. In the spirit of the hotel group’s art calling, he commissioned a series of photographic works by Dutch artist duo Klunderbie, surrealist portraits that play with British iconography as a tribute to the location.
The mirrored check-in desk features a sinuous design lacquered in light teal topped with lamps made in Venice; ‘It’s vintage Hayon,’ says the designer, explaining it’s inspired by a piece he originally created 20 years ago (see more vintage Hayon at his retrospective, ‘InfinitaMente’, in Valencia until 16 April 2023). ‘Checking in is the most boring experience,’ notes the designer. ‘To me, this is giving a bit of love to the guests arriving at the hotel.’
Special attention was paid to the hotel’s ground floor restaurant, Tozi Grand Cafe, a circular room conceived as a theatrical space by Hayon. Here, the surrealist theme continues with a series of red objects hovering over the space shaped as stylised facial features, and tapestries inspired by food and café culture made in the Netherlands using recycled yarn.
‘There are several stories throughout these interiors,’ says Hayon, who considered every element with guests’ experience in mind. ‘Every space was an opportunity to make something special: there is a real research on many elements like colours and materials to make things comfortable.’
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