ICEHOTEL unveils winning designs for 24th year

150 150 Daniel Fountain
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The plans for the building of the 24th ICEHOTEL in Swedish Lapland are well underway, with the designs submitted and 20 winning artists just announced, including two Brits – film director Marcus Dillistone and sculptor Rob Harding.A total of 200 designs were submitted for this year’s hotel with those selected including a London underground platform, a Frankenstein-esque science lab, pole dancing Polar Bears and a Montmartre-inspired roof top setting – all made of ice and snow. The guest designers, who will be responsible for crafting the eleven art suites in the hotel, have diverse backgrounds including film direction to architecture, children’s product design and visual anthropologists.

Winning British Designs
British artist *Marcus Dillistone, who worked on 2010/11 ICEHOTEL (a suite based on the inside of a fridge) has chosen to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the London Underground with his design – a suite called Mind the Gap. **Rob Harding, another selected British artist, has worked with his son on their winning design based on the idea ’Before the Big Bang’.

These winning British designs come in the year when the ICEHOTEL is more accessible than ever from the UK. Discover the World will be offering the UK’s only direct flights from Heathrow to Kiruna (3.5 hours flight duration) and has announced a 30% increase in the number of flights for the forthcoming season to give people more choice of dates and durations especially over the busy Christmas, New Year and mid-February periods.

Discover the World is offering ICEHOTEL breaks from £1,164 per person (based on two adults sharing) including one night in a standard Snow Room, two nights in heated accommodation, morning sauna and breakfast, return direct flights between London Heathrow and Kiruna with complimentary in-flight meal and transfers.

Background of ICEHOTEL
ICEHOTEL is a design inspired living museum built on the bank of the Torne river in Swedish Lapland every year since its inception in 1990. Thousands of tonnes of ice are harvested from the river each year for its construction which takes place over eight weeks between late October and December. After the basic structure of the ICEHOTEL is built, each artist has about three weeks to complete their design in the design suites whilst other artists work to add the details to the remainder of the ICEHOTEL.

The interior of the ICEHOTEL remains similar to a conventional hotel with a bar, reception, luxury suites, main hall and even a church. These are additional design projects assigned to the ICEHOTEL’s own creative team which will be announced later.

This year’s hotel will have approximately 65 rooms ranging over five categories, including the eleven individually designed suites by guest artists. The ICEHOTEL complex comprises of warm rooms as well as ice rooms which guests usually stay in for part of their break.

Confirmed artists include:
Brooke Erdman, USA Marcus Dillistone, UK
Camilla Bergman, Sweden Mark Szulgit, USA
Christian Strömqvist, Sweden
Mathieu Brison, France
Christine Close, France Melanie Peters, Austria
Gretchen Alexander, Austria
Natalie Close, Japan
Jens Dyvik, Norway Natsuki Saito, Japan
José Carlos Cabello Millán, Spain Rob Harding, UK/Spain
Karl-Johan Ekeroth, Sweden
Shingo Saito, Japan
Lena Kriström, Sweden Timsam Harding, UK/Spain
Luc Voisin, France
Yoad David Luxembourg, the Netherlands

ICEHOTEL will be open from 6 December 2013 and available to book via www.discovertheworld.co.uk.

Daniel Fountain / 30.07.2013

Editor, Hotel Designs

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Work highlights: Sienna joined Forum Events & Media Group while studying Communications and Media, starting in the sales team where she managed and helped launch the first the PA Life Leading Venues of London SHOWCASE, where she built relationships with luxury venues across the capital. Drawn to the stories behind these spaces, she naturally transitioned into the editorial team, creating social media and editorial content. Upon graduating in June 2026, she is excited to be joining as Assistant Editor for Hotel Designs and SPACE.

Fun fact: When not working, Jess can usually be found tending to her kitchen garden in the Sussex countryside or foraging for herbs in the nearby woods. A keen grower, she recently studied a RHS Level 2 Diploma in the Principles of Horticulture during her spare time.

Work highlights: Jess joined SPACE magazine in 2022 and has since progressed from Assistant Editor to Editor. During this time, she has worked across many aspects of the publication – from shaping editorial strategy and overseeing operations to contributing to art direction and representing the brand on stage at industry events including Surface Design Show and WOW!house.

Alongside her role at SPACE, Jess has built a creative career spanning the arts, culture, design and travel sectors. Prior to joining the magazine, she spent more than a decade in the commercial art industry, in artist liaison, gallery management, and curating collections for the hospitality sector across hotels and cruise ships. During this time, she also worked on freelance projects as a writer, photographer, and creative content producer.
 
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Work highlights: Katy has been with Hotel Designs since the beginning, way back in 2015 when Forum Events & Media Group acquired the brand.

During this time, she has fostered many meaningful relationships with clients from across the hospitality spectrum, as well as playing a pivotal role in the launch of The Brit List Awards, Hotel Designs MEET UPs, client-led roundtables and panel talks, brand and website redesigns, HD Wellness Sets, DESIGN POD podcast, Hotel Designs LIVE panel talk series, Accessible Design Talks and more. Katy is always on the lookout for the next opportunity to help grow the Hotel Designs brand even further.
 
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