Sustainable design meets awe-inspiring art in the highly-anticipated eco hometel room2 Belfast, the latest property from real estate investor and developer Lamington Group. We stepped inside for a closer look and to meet the sustainable design teams and artists behind the hometel…
With sustainability at the forefront of the room2 brand ethos and in line with Lamington Group’s unwavering commitment to become net zero by 2030, room2 Belfast will boast a unique design, supporting and celebrating the best of local creative talent and eco-conscious, yet striking design practices from innovative artists and producers.
Image credit: room2
Continuing to showcase a commitment to circular economy principles, which includes eliminating waste and pollution and circulating products and materials – room2 Belfast will open with a variety of progressive, artistic design features. Highlights include a café bar made with recycled glass, a standout reception desk created with plastic bottles from room2 Southampton and room2 Chiswick – the world’s first net zero hometel to open in 2021 – carpets made from recycled fishing nets and more. There will also be occupancy-enabled rooms, two lab rooms and state-of-the-art solar panels, as well as a 100 per cent renewable energy tariff, ensuring a minimum carbon footprint.
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- Image credit: room2 Belfast
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- Image credit: room2 Belfast
In addition to supporting the local environment, honouring the local neighbourhoods each room2 hometel is in, alongside supporting local talent and mindful craftsmanship, is at the heart of room2’s ethos. At room2 Belfast, the property has worked with several local suppliers and up-and-coming designers to create the thought-provoking and homely design of the city’s most exciting new opening for 2023.
Image credit: room2 Belfast
An exciting collaboration that aims to challenge the notion of waste within the hotel industry, room2 Belfast has partnered with start-up brand Spared® to breathe new life into waste materials, including transforming plastic shampoo bottles into a statement reception desk which will be visible from the moment you enter room2 Belfast. The reimaged waste as beautiful furniture and thought-provoking art can also be seen on the tabletops for the café.
Image credit: room2 Belfast
Dodds & Shute is a sustainable, design-led furniture and lighting procurement company where production leftovers are recycled or sent to energy schemes to ensure a zero landfill policy. It has supplied 90 per cent of the furniture within room2 Belfast including bespoke sofas, headboards and tables. A registered B-Corp and long-term partner of room2 hometels, Dodds & Shute adhere to the highest environmental, social and governance standards including setting a new standard for responsible materials, low-impact delivery strategies and championing circular economy design, which is in perfect synergy with room2 Belfast.
Image credit: room2 Belfast
A Northern Irish illustrator and well-known, influential figure on the Belfast social scene, Jamie Beard’s work is primarily centred around portraiture. Beard was commissioned to create a special portrait within the wardrobes of room2 Belfast that conveys the richness of Irish mythology and folklore, bringing it to life and acting as a surprise moment for guests when they reach inside the wardrobe rail, adding another unique feature to the bedrooms. As well as this, room2 has used this unique print in branded collateral, such as for notebooks and postcards available for guests.
Image credit: room2 Belfast
Another Northern Irish artist specialising in fine art paintings, Rebecca O’Doherty’s work aims to evoke emotion and spark the imagination. O’Doherty has created a mural for the backdrop of room2 Belfast’s reception that has truly captured the spirit of the hometel, inspired by her original ‘Sitting Room’ painting. This evokes the memories that build up in a home over time, which is what room2 Belfast wanted to bring to the space in line with the hometel concept.
Image credit: room2 Belfast
A local Northern Irish lighting company, Mullan, designs and manufactures custom light fixtures with a focus on premium design and quality products. With a team of craftspeople that make everything by hand in Mullan Village, this local Irish company has supplied 350 organic ceramic wall lights for the guest rooms, all made just 50 miles from room2 Belfast itself. Inspired by the rural surroundings in the Irish countryside, the ceramic designs reflect the company’s organic roots and sustain the centuries-old tradition of Mullan as a village of makers.
Image credit: room2 Belfast
Designer and sustainability enthusiast Jill Gurney launched Linen Lane, specialising in lamps, shade and homeware, with a vision to bring eco-friendly fabrics to the modern home. Linen Lane has provided beautiful handmade linen lampshades throughout room2 Belfast, made locally in Northern Ireland.
Other great sustainable designers and artists involved in the opening of room2 Belfast include Alana McDowell, Illustrator and Designer responsible for painting every bedroom alongside Obin Specialist Joinery, Potters Thumb, PLANQ, Kenosis, Merchant and Found, Biohm, Felix Lighting Specialists, Dyke and Dean, Sansho Ltd, Clayworks Ltd, Resillca, Ege, Baux, Mosaic Factory, Mourne Textiles, Camira Fabrics, Kirkby, Yarn Collective and Tibor Fabrics.
Main image credit: room2 Belfast
