Hotel Obscura | London
MTA were shortlisted in a competition to design a new hotel room. Our proposal is focused on the interactive touch screen which would be linked, like a traditional camera obscura, to a real time view of the city. The interactive screen is not only a window into the city but also a window to the internet and to entertainment. The hotel room is a standard 4m x 3.5m and contains one piece of furniture and an inhabited wall. The furniture element allows the occupant to sleep/relax/work and is centered on the interactive screen. It contains the bed, desk. beside table and storage unit (for clothes, safe or mini bar).
The entrance is through the inhabited wall, which provides hanging and luggage space and ensuite shower room. The walls to the shower are sandblasted glass with coloured led strip lighting above, acting as source and light and mood (by varying the colour of light).
The hotel obscura rooms can be situated in any city and as the interactive screens are linked to realtime views of the city, they provide an unique experience, acting as virtual windows. The space is transformed between a working, relaxing and sleeping space depending on how you use the furniture and what you use the interactive screen for (default mode real time view, changing to window for browsing the internet or screen for watching a film).