DI: What is the main principle, idea and inspiration behind your design?
TV : Arthur is a fictional character, a native Atlantan from the Ainsley Park neighborhood located right behind W Atlanta Midtown. Virserius Studio’s design concept for the hotel is the recreation of Arthur’s estate and garden, decorated with his awe-inspiring collection of art and other items obtained during his extensive world travels. He takes great pride in these collections and wants to share the stories behind these possessions. He also hopes they will make great conversational pieces, inspiring special moments among friends during their visit.
DI: What has been your main focus in designing this work? Especially what did you want to achieve?
TV : We wanted the space to reveal a new guest experience bit by bit, versus having it apparent upon entry.
DI: How long did it take you to design this particular concept?
TV : The first phase was completed in January 2019, just in time for the Super Bowl being held in Atlanta that year.
DI: Why did you design this particular concept? Was this design commissioned or did you decide to pursuit an inspiration?
TV : The client objective was to cater to a different guest clientele, to skew to a crowd full of flair and sophistication. Guests are immediately welcomed by curved slats on the wall that caress and invite; this ties into the curves on the stairs in the lobby leading to the mezzanine that also soften the space. We wanted to design something rich and elegant with elements of surprise that were also functional and could cater to different audiences.
DI: Is your design being produced or used by another company, or do you plan to sell or lease the production rights or do you intent to produce your work yourself?
TV : We will not be reproducing this concept; this was exclusive to the W Atlanta Midtown. However, many of the art pieces found throughout are available for purchase on the Imaggo Production website, https://imaggo.shop/gb/
DI: Who is the target customer for his design?
TV : Any guest who appreciates art will have a fully immersive experience at this luxury hotel.
DI: What sets this design apart from other similar or resembling concepts?
TV : There are three W hotels in Atlanta. We worked on the Midtown location and wanted it to have a very strong design message that was different than the other two sites, but also complemented them very well in terms of luxury.
DI: How did you come up with the name for this design? What does it mean?
TV : It's the name of the hotel, W Atlanta Midtown.
DI: Who did you collaborate with for this design? Did you work with people with technical / specialized skills?
TV : Because was art was such an integral part of this concept, we worked with Imaggo Production, an art consultant firm from Paris to realize a lot of Arthur's various collections.