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Ruinart

Designing Hotel 1729

  • Art Direction
  • Environment
  • Strategy

Hotel 1729 was a pop-up hotel conceived as a way to engage guests in an immersive experience of the world’s oldest champagne House. Hingston was commissioned as Creative Director for the Hotel, art directing its key spaces and designing the sensory journey that took place once guests stepped across the threshold.

A visit to the Maison Ruinart in Reims, and its underground network of chalk caves (crayères) unlocked the initial inspiration for the creative approach. The concept focused on the juxtaposition of modernity and heritage that lies at the heart of the brand. Bringing provenance and storytelling together with unique visual twists, Hotel 1729 chartered the making of a champagne from the harvest of grapes in the fields, to the fermentation process in the underworld of chalk cellars.

Inviting experimental Danish Chef, Bo Lindegaard, as our key collaborator, a tasting menu was designed to celebrate five key Ruinart vintages, each course inspired by a different stage in the winemaking process. As the evening unfolded and guests moved through the space, the atmosphere, menu, lighting and sound evolved to reflect the environment – from the warmth of early summer in the kitchen to the low lit, humidity of the crayères in the lower ground.

Our centrepiece was a suspended chalk installation, consisting of 145 individual rocks – the final piece extending the entire length of the lower ground space. Furniture throughout the hotel was curated in partnership with Paul Smith Interiors, Albermarle Street.

Located in London’s Regents Park, the pop-up ran for eight consecutive nights. Produced in collaboration with our partners at Ridley Scott Creative Group and supported by Polar Black Events, Hotel 1729 was an unexpected interpretation of Ruinart – a multi-sensory experience that unites taste, texture, light, sound and colour in one unique space.

Credits

Creative Direction: Hingston Studio
Food Design: Bo Lindegaard
Production: RSA Films
Production Design: Anna Burns
Production Build: Karmer Sets
Lighting Design: Ana Vilar
Hingston Producer: Rob Jelly
Event Production: Polar Black
Stills Photography: Mark Cocksedge

With special thanks:
Flowerbx
Paul Smith Interiors
Bang & Olufsen
The Rug Company
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