2017 BRUSSELS AIRLINES

B INSPIRED magazine

words Tamara Hinson

Boxing clever

The best things really do come in small packages if these new eco-hotels are anything to go by.

While ‘spacious’ is a feature many look for in a hotel room, most would also agree it’s worth sacrificing for the right location. Certainly, that’s the thinking behind the DROP box by designers Marta Gordillo and Manel Duró, and the team at their Barcelona-based design firm In-Tenta.

The latest in the firm’s micro-architecture collection, the DROP box is a comfortable, portable hotel room designed to be able to be enjoyed in any natural setting. Available in two sizes, it can accommodate either a couple or a family of four. Floor-to-ceiling windows at either end of the unit allow its inhabitants to connect with nature, while the use of natural materials, such as wood, helps it blend into the environment.

In a time when more people than ever want to seek out lesser-known parts of the world and venture further off the beaten track, Gordillo and Duró were keen to provide travellers with an alternative to identical hotel rooms in built-up areas. “There’s a growing number of people who love travelling but don’t want to stay in typical hotels in typical places,” says Gordillo. “They want to stay in a place which has great design and sustainable architecture, and which will allow them to enjoy authentic experiences, surrounded by nature. The DROP boxes have been specifically designed for use in natural locations, to be placed wherever the heart desires and the land permits, with minimum impact on the environment.”

And while many everyday objects (smartphones come to mind) are being super-sized, the current popularity of capsule-style hotels is proof that bigger isn’t necessarily better. “In our opinion, modular micro-architecture is part of an emerging trend in the hotel industry,” adds Gordillo.

Although the DROP box hasn’t yet been constructed, Gordillo says enquiries have been flooding in from across the world, from North America to Africa and beyond. It would seem the key to going big is thinking small.

B INSPIRED magazine n. 23 by BRUSSELS AIRLINES
May 2017
words Tamara Hinson