The Public Pleasures of Pop-Up Architecture

I’ve J’Adored Ice Hotel in Lapland, Sweden, a post that prompted me to explore other ice hotels around the world.

But I missed Sand Hotel, which opened last summer on the Esplanade, Weymouth beach in Dorset, southern England.

An £10 a night stay at the Sand Hotel, a promotion vehicle for LateRooms.com, provided a unique experience in seaside accommodations. Not a serious hotel, like the ice hotels covered previously, the sandcastle hotel was a giant sandcastle, with built-in beds.

Built by sand sculptor Mark Anderson, working with six people and a digger working for 600 hours, this inexpensive berth under the stars was intended to be there until the sea washed it away.

I doubt that Sand Hotel was the world’s first ‘pop up’ hotel.

Correct. Two summers ago, TreeHugger showcased some interesting pop-up hotel concepts:

Travelpod

The Travelpod delivers a luxury double bed, bedside lights, duvet, pillows, fully carpeted floor, window blinds, dressing table & light, mirror, chair, flat screen TV, DVD player with a collection of DVD’s, air conditioning, heater, bedside lights and a illuminated headboard, tea / coffee making facilities, washroom with bio-degradable toilet and washbasin with running water.

Granted, like the Sand Hotel, the Travelpod is a bit shy on privacy, but you have one heck of a view of the night sky, making love under the stars.

Invisible Hotel in Swedish Woods

From Pop-Up City, we see the conceptually fabulous Invisible Hotel, designed for hanging hidden in the trees in the woods of Harads, Sweden. The project will be launched within half a year.

This Pop-Up City blog is very interesting and cutting edge, with posts that explore new concepts, strategies and methods for a dynamic and flexible interpretation of urban life. Take a look. Anne