Haymarket
The fact that Haymarket by Scandic is a hotel you won’t forget in a hurry is clear from the first instant, as your feet sink into the thick pile of the foyer carpet.
You are stepping straight into the 1920s. The interior design exudes optimism, glamour and belief in the future – art deco at its best. Characteristic features match some of our favourite modern details such as green marble, warm metals and powdery pastels.
But how do you transform a historic old department store like PUB in Stockholm into a grand hotel with hints of the past, the present, the grandiose and the playful, topped with the sense of mystery of Greta Garbo – without losing the sense of coherence?
Contrasting styles
In order to answer that question, we turned to Ann Marie Ekroth from architecture and design company Koncept Stockholm. As creative supervisor, she has worked in close collaboration with Scandic, and with strong support from Input interior, to realise the concept for the Haymarket hotel.
“An interior that draws inspiration from the site itself and dares to mix styles has the capacity to endure and is more interesting. We have worked hard to incorporate contrasts. By picking up geometric art deco shapes and patterns in the design of the modern furniture we have succeeded in creating a coherent whole.”
The colour scheme for the Haymarket hotel has been inspired by the pink hue of the façade. But in order to locate the source of the contrasting blue shade, we need to glance out of the window, across to the cerulean blue façade of the Stockholm Concert Hall. In order to tie the design more closely to the site and the origin of the building, many original features have been reconstructed.
“A small yet enormously important detail that ties together and enhances the interior is the art-deco-style banisters that have been recreated from the 1920s department store. In combination with modern features like the large digital screen in the foyer, this links together the past and present,” says Ann Marie.
Dramatic inspiration
The colourful history of Greta Garbo adds yet another dimension to the interior design of the Haymarket hotel. Garbo’s career as a hat model in the 1920s PUB department store brings the world of film into the project, with subtle interior details inspired by film set design. Classic horror The Shining provided inspiration for the pattern of the hotel corridor carpets, while a delightful palm-leaf design taken from Ingrid Bergman’s hit romantic drama Casablanca livens up the Caribbean-influenced bar Americain.
