At the Uchronia Mandarin Oriental in London, UK, your senses are drawn to the bed before you even see the walls or ceilings: the bedcovering and sheets resemble petals opening, as if the mattress has grown into a flower in its own right. Above, a lamp with petal-like features filters light in the shape of a flower. The same botanical language is also reflected in cushions, which mirror flower forms with their quilted shapes, color gradients, and tactile textures.
Although there is floral inspiration, the suite, which comprises a bedroom, bathroom, and lounge, is decorated in the hotel's signature celadon-green shade, developed with colour specialist Pantone.
Uchronia Designs Celadon-Hued Suite at Mandarin Oriental Hotel as 'Weird Underwater World'
Design studio Uchronia has shown works by British artists, including chairs made from extruded plastic and seafoam-green glass sculptures, in a suite at London's Mandarin Oriental Hyde Park for Frieze Art Fair. This space has been designed to have an underwater feel and will be available for guests to stay in for the next two months.
Mandarin Oriental asked Uchronia to conceptualize the hotel's distinctive color, a celadon green created in partnership with Pantone. The color, which brings forward the shifting greens found beneath the sea's surface, led the firm to envision an underwater environment, according to founder Julien Sebban.
In creating the suite, they also aimed to honor British design by working with a number of studios in the UK to create custom pieces that capture the essence of the project's creativity. Among the designs on display are moire fabrics by Govindia Hemphill created to resemble dripping water, as well as curtains that nod to coral formations.
Curtains That Fall Like Water and Corals
As part of the suite's creative investigation of a fantastical underwater environment, Sebban said the drapes symbolized the textures and movement of coral.
In keeping with the organic, oceanic motif, the bedroom includes furniture designed by designer James Shaw using extruded plastic and a sculptured lamp in the shape of a flower. The lounge area's resin desk and coral-shaped bench add to the impression that you are interconnected in a fantasy underwater setting. The delicate glassware in the bathroom, created by artist Jochen Holz, carries on this theme.
According to Sebban, the goal was to create a statement design by showing the hotel's history and traditions while incorporating Uchronia's distinctive modernism and humor.
Creative Projects Getting Inspired by Nature More and More
The idea is part of a larger trend among modern designers who are using nature as a source of inspiration and inspiration. In interior design, organic shapes and floral patterns are making a comeback as frameworks for how spaces are perceived and experienced, instead of only looking at them as ornamentation.
Today's design tends to be tactile, living, and emotive, as seen in everything from beds shaped like flowers to lamps and textiles modeled after petals and stems. That change feels complete in the studio's work for the hotel, which resembles cutting-edge concepts, and can start with a close examination of nature.
