Macarena Soto
Madrid, January 21 (EFE).- The Egyptian-nationalized American Karim Rashid, responsible for the design of the new Hotel Temptation in the coastal municipality of Miches (Dominican Republic), defends the importance of industrial design to facilitate people’s lives and calls for originality to make each hotel an “impression” for the traveler.
The Miches “resort” is the second in the company, designed by Rashid, who, in an interview with EFE at the Madrid International Tourism Fair (Fitur), says he “takes advantage” of the freedom offered by the fact that this hotel is for adults only .
“In this case, it’s a topless adults-only hotel, so I took advantage of that, the sexuality,” he says.
The Egyptian started designing hotels in 2001 when he was asked to renovate a “small 54-room hotel in Athens” that became “successful and many others came.” Then, seven years ago, it was the turn of Temptation in Cancun, where “they wanted to make new rooms and build a tower.”
“It was a great project where I took care of everything, including the brand design, the restaurants, and I approached it not from the designer’s point of view, but from the client’s point of view, thinking about what kind of experience they would like to have. take away” from his stay.
In this second time with the same company, Rasheed was inspired by “the colors of the Dominican Republic, its beaches and incredible vegetation”, respecting nature “but not imitating it”.
A UNIQUE HOTEL THAT DRINKS OUT OF ITS LOCATION
The designer assures that his work is his great passion, and when he found it, he knew that he would not want to do anything else.
Being critical of the traditional hotel system, he invites designers “not to copy”, but to create new works related to the places where the hotels are located.
“I have a lot of respect for nature, but I don’t think you should copy it, and now there is a tendency to repeat it; I’ve never done that, I’m trying to create new places, promote forms, progress,” he analyzes.
In his opinion, despite the “new opportunities provided by technology”, all “resorts” are “the same, made of the same material”. “My idea is how to seduce a person, live an experience, I have been working for many years to push and break these boundaries,” he says.
Not afraid of innovative proposals such as sharp tones or very open spaces, he uses “a lot of color” in his work: “I play with data, information, with technology and at the same time focus on space, I read a lot in the color of places” .
“If you look, in Latin America, Colombia is not the same as Jamaica, the color is unique in every place that has its own artists, artists, and we lose all that because we do common things,” he laments .
DESIGN FUNCTIONALITY
Remember that one of the main functions of industrial design is functionality and that, in addition, new technologies should already improve some processes, also in the world of hotels.
“In the hotel where I’m staying in Madrid these days, which is one of the most famous, everything about the experience was terrible, with all the existing technology, and it takes you more than half an hour to check in,” – said the example. .
Regarding design, he gives the example of something as simple and ordinary as a chair: “there are millions of chairs in the world with millions of designs, there should be no excuse that it is uncomfortable, and yet I am sitting on one that is not comfortable.”
For this reason, designers cling to the idea of making products “soft” and thinking about the human “experience” when using them.
“There are many levels to design, one of them is functionality, you can use technology to enhance design or lighting, all my work is very fluid, you get a better experience because you don’t have obstacles,” he concludes. EFE
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