Snoozebox, the portable hotel chain, recently enjoyed a complete redesign courtesy of Tangerine, the London-based design consultancy. The hotels in question are modelled (in part at least) on the portable hotels found in Japan, only these compact living spaces are completely portable. The company was created four years ago, with the goal of providing comfortable, convenient hotel rooms for festivals, sports weekends, and other outdoor, short stay events. The mandate was to make the rooms more spacious, sleek and comfortable, a brief that would have resulted in many a sleepless night for most designers. Tangerine, however, were appointed the task by Snoozebox after the Design Council recommended them due to their ability to “Thrive in tight corners and small space.”
Snoozebox rooms can accommodate up to four people, and contain a living area with desk and sofa, a wet-room bathroom, surprisingly ample storage space and a small TV, as well as free wi-fi, air-conditioning/heating and a secure safe. The new room was designed by Matt Round, Monica Sogn and Ollie Price, Tangerine's creative director, senior designer and consultant design engineer respectively. Each room measures just 3.6m x 2m x 2m, with numerous adaptable configurations, but the real challenge for the Tangerine team was that everything needed to be able to fold in half for easy transportation!
Snoozebox provides comfortable, convenient and portable hotel rooms for festivals, sports weekends, and other outdoor, short stay events
Round supposedly took the brief from Snoozebox's Ian O'Doherty as he was about to leave on a flight bound for Japan, and when he touched down in Tokyo he had “Come up with an ambitious proposal that went far beyond the original demand for a series of adjustable beds.” Indeed, Round envisioned a complete redesign, with everything from the colour palette to the fixtures and fittings given a drastic makeover. He said they “Worked closely with Snoozebox to create a sophisticated and extraordinarily flexible room, which now positions them with the opportunity to lead in their market with this new product.”
Snoozebox – Portable Hotel
According to Sogn, the new rooms have been designed with ease-of-use and ergonomics in mind. She also said they made the most of the available space, with “Everything, including the beds and shelves,” folding away so users have more actual 'living' space to enjoy. She added that “The walls at the top of the rooms are also slanted, giving a greater perception of space,” so the rooms end up feeling much larger and more open than they actually are. She also highlighted the curtain at the end of the room, which gives the illusion of a window (not installed for sound-proofing reasons) and “Creates a sense of softness, stopping the room from being sterile and hard.” Sogn adds that they made the most out of the space by using a “Loose, Velcro covering on the sofa,” which can be taken off and put on really simply, “Transforming it into a bed.”
The Tangerine Team
The units themselves have also been given a revamp, with the new design allowing for two extra rooms per unit. Sogn said “The previous design was shipping-container-like capsules,” but “The new design pulls it to a new level of luxury,” which is “Something between a hotel and a tent” and offers “Grand-scale sophistication in the tightest of spaces.”
Each Snoozebox room measures just 3.6m x 2m x 2m, with numerous adaptable configurations
Lorcán Ó Murchú, CEO of Snoozebox, said “Snoozebox is about bringing an innovative new concept to the hotel and events market.” He believes they are able to provide comfortable, affordable accommodation to guests “Right at the heart of the action, making their event experience bigger deeper and longer.” He adds that “It has taken leadership in design and innovative thinking to create a truly portable hotel,” which the Tangerine team obviously possess in spades.
The redesigned Snoozebox will be officially launched in 2015, with rooms available from £99 per night at events such as Glastonbury, the Rugby World Cup and the Edinburgh Festival.
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and musician from Kidderminster in the UK. He is a keen festival goer, but loathes camping, so will definitely be keeping an eye on Snoozebox for next year's festival season!
