FOUNDED in Hamburg in 2005, the 25 Hours hotel group thrives on making a statement. With its distinctive, and often quirky design style and a mission to create ‘soulful spaces, based on dynamism, surprise and a touch of adventure’, the company now boasts a network of hotels across Europe and beyond.
When its Frankfurt hotel ‘The Trip’ was developed in 2018, the flooring specification was crucial to achieving its aesthetic ambitions for the project. The design team, including group co-founder Ardi Goldman, Frankfurt-based artist Michael Dreher and interior design company Morgen & Co, developed a travel-themed design scheme, summed up with the phrase ‘AROUND THE WORLD IN A DAY’ emblazoned across its façade.
Set inside a modern glass and brick building, the hotel has a fun, vibrant interior that’s in keeping with the general 25 hours aesthetic. The open-plan lobby, rooms and public spaces are a mix of swanky designer furniture and travel-themed exotica in the shape of maps, wallpaper, and photos. Milliken’s modular carpet collection Clerkenwell was chosen to meet what’s described as the bold brief for colour, comfort and a strong sense of fun.
Thomas Tritsch, designer at Morgen Gmbh&CO.KG said: ‘The exciting thing about this project was definitely the location in the middle of the multicultural train station district in Frankfurt. 140 different nationalities live here in a very small area. This is also the reason why no two rooms are alike. The unique thing was for sure all different styles, nationalities and influences, which in themselves appear very heterogeneous, to be integrated into the project so that in the end it appears homogeneous and natural.
‘There are strong superficial phenomena but also many small details and side stories to be discovered. It is best when you come by and see everything in real life. Welcome to Frankfurt.’
The Clerkenwell design collection, launched in 2015, is described as a strong, graphic celebration of London’s vibrant interior design quarter and the home of Milliken’s showroom space.
Says the company: ‘Since then, in line with its popularity, the collection has grown and now includes nine different designs, eight of which are created using Milliken’s Millitron digital colour placement technology. For The Trip hotel bedrooms the bold lines and angles of Three Corners and Angled Walk and the sweeping curves of Circle Top View and Time Piece were selected for the project.
‘For the corridors, the textural carpet planks from Milliken’s Arctic Survey collection were installed. Sympathetic to the design theme, the carpet colours for the hotel rooms were chosen to tone perfectly with the furnishings and wall coverings. Rich, deep earthy tones of reds, rusts and greys were used in some rooms, while turquoise hues and acid greens were used in others. In every case, a stunning, harmonious cacophony of colour!’
Where hotels have traditionally used broadloom carpet, they’re now increasingly recognising the benefit of using modular flooring. Milliken’s design and marketing director, Alison Kitchingman explained: ‘We’re seeing increasing numbers of hotels turning to high performance modular floorcoverings, including tiles and planks, for both design flexibility and practicality. The 25 Hours hotel installation is a great example of why this is the case.
‘Depending on the design, modular offers the flexibility to create a bespoke floor and with its multiple, coordinating elements, the Clerkenwell collection has almost infinite opportunities to do this. From a practical perspective, the tile format also enables easier replacement for maintenance or for accessing underfloor services, something busy hospitality industry truly values. For additional underfoot comfort and wear performance, Milliken’s premium Comfort Plus cushion backing was used in the corridor products and Comfort Lite for the bedroom areas.’
The company concludes: ‘25 Hours is also a company with a conscience with strong credentials for social responsibility. These are values that were clearly aligned with Milliken which is led by a mission to ‘doing the right thing’. These are not just idle words as Milliken has been named as one of Ethisphere’s world’s most ethical companies for the 14th consecutive year. The products chosen for the project were made with yarns manufactured from recycled nylon. Milliken continues to work on hotel projects ‘going modular’ throughout Europe.’
www.morgen.org
www.milliken.com
