東門酒店

MERCURE EASTGATE HOTEL

項目地點：英國，The High Street Oxford OXI 4BE 面積：5000m2 設計：Blacksheep Interior Architecture & Design

LOCATION: The High Street Oxford OX1 4BE, UK AREA: 5000m2 DESIGN: Blacksheep Interior Architecture & Design

Blacksheep為新餐廳命名并負責其品牌標志和平面設計工作，此外，還為新酒吧設計圖標，靈感來自于牛津文學校友。品牌標志設計包括內外部標志、菜單、火柴盒、名片和其他文具及銷售兌換品。

東門酒店原是Macdonald Hotels 24家店之一，后被開發商Moorfield收購，并由Mercure特許經營。為了加強管理，Mercure攜手Warwick Avenue共同運作該酒店以及集團其他酒店，以確保這些酒店能達到Mercure制定的4星級中高端品牌的標準，即這些酒店都必須具有獨特而與眾不同的風格，并同時符合國際酒店品牌的各項規定。Blacksheep被指定負責這個酒店的改造設計及其他相關問題的處理，目的是使3星級的東門酒店改造后能升級為4星級。

東門酒店地處17至18世紀著名的Crosse Sword客棧的位置，大約1840年，被改建成Flying Horse客棧。1899年后才由EP Warren建造成東門酒店，用來連接周圍幾幢彼此分離的建筑。目前東門酒店的具體位置是在牛津高街（‘The High'）和默頓街的交接處，因此獲益頗多，但也僅僅有一塊小空地，一座小型的典型校園酒吧和餐廳，后面有個接待區，可從側門進入。由于其建造是為了連接周圍的建筑群，這個空間也面臨了很多諸如室內建筑風格的不連貫等問題。

新的一層平面的設計理念是合理化利用空間，以使客人很容易地從一個空間進入到下一個空間，并且能更有效地協調白天和夜晚的不同功能。設計簡報是為了吸引更多顧客的到訪，并希望增加他們駐留的時間，不管是簡單逗留或是住店客人，同時還希望吸引更多眼尖的本地人經常來消費娛樂。

廚房保留在原來的位置，新的公共空間圍繞廚房依次展開，并用數學模數法來提高空間的利用，包括安裝一個新的殘疾人專用電梯。設計公司的核心理念就是轉移周圍空間，這樣餐廳就被定位在酒店前部分，連接著新酒吧、休息室和接待區。

外部的細節工程也在進行，包括外部照明、標志和菜目燈箱。

酒店的接待區被重新設計，以增加聚焦點和人流循環，并移除一個原來連接前面餐廳的通道門，從而營造一種更加大堂的空曠感覺。原有的接待處，（位于主入口處的左側，不是很好用，與酒店的風格不協調）被移到入口的右側，與對面一個大型的砂巖壁爐形成了令人舒適的對稱空間。定制的辦公桌是用黑漆木制成，有精細的金紙包邊，前面有錘紋。辦公桌后面是一面新的整墻櫥柜，也用黑色木材制成，青銅制作的面板鑲嵌鏡子，用于儲藏所有打印機和相關產品。高度略低的辦公桌體現了一種與其他酒店標準接待臺不一樣的非正式的優越感。還有一個特別之處是燈光長長的影子散落在整個辦公桌上，右側的墻則采用介紹文學協會的特殊書法壁紙，并延伸到酒吧區的天花裝飾上。

一個引人注目的紫色絲絨圓形座椅放置在大廳中間，形成一個焦點，讓客人能夠面對壁爐或面向入口和辦公桌。招待區的色調采用紫紅色、奶油色，木地板的鋪設顯得很溫馨。

利用原有餐廳空間的一半創建一個新休息室和大堂區，另一半作為一個專用的酒吧空間使用。這些區域之間的邊界根據白天和黑夜的不同功能可以相應調整。為緩解空間的過渡，從招待區到酒吧都采用一樣的木地板。

空間上、下兩層通過一個數字升降機以及一個斜體銜接的，而廁所入口也進行了重新設計。

Designers Blacksheep have now completed the transformation of the entire ground floor of The Mercure Eastgate Hotel in Oxford for client Mercure Hotels , Accor's upper-mid-market hotel brand. The project-which encompassed a new 90-cover restaurant (with private dining area), bar, lobby, lounge and toilet areas-necessitated a complete redesign of the ground floor footplate to optimise key revenue-generating areas for the client and completely refresh the hotel's offer for guests.

Blacksheep also named and did all the branding and graphics work for the new restaurant The High Table, alluding to the grand dining hall traditions of the Oxford Colleges, as well as graphics work for the new bar, which takes inspiration from Oxford's literary alumni. The branding work encompassed all external and internal signage, menus, matchboxes, business cards and other stationary and marketing collateral.

The Eastgate Hotel was formerly one of 24 Macdonald Hotels, which were purchased by developers Moorfield, with the operational franchise taken up by Mercure. Mercure then took on Warwick Avenue to project manage the upgrade of this and other hotels in the group to ensure the hotels fit firmly within the Mercure brand's upper mid-market 4 star profile, which sees every hotel as unique and with its own character, but backed by the quality standards that come with an international hotel brand. Blacksheep were appointed to create the new designs for the hotel and are also actively looking at others of the newly-purchased stock. The aim for the 3-star Mercure Eastgate Hotel is for it to achieve a 4-star listing following all works.

An inn known as the Crosse Sword had been on the Eastgate site from the 17th to 18th centuries, followed by The Flying Horse inn, built around 1840. The Eastgate Hotel was first established in 1899, built by EP Warren and uniting several disparate buildings. The existing Eastgate Hotel benefited from a strong location on the corner of Oxford High Street ('The High') and Merton Street, but had only a small frontage with a typical student-type bar and restaurant and reception area behind, accessed by a side entrance. It had been made up of a series of knocked-through buildings and brought with it concomitant problems of level changes and disjointed interior architecture.

The idea for the new ground floor plan was to rationalise the spaces so that the scheme flowed easily from one space to the next, with easy and effective change from day to night-time use. The brief was to enhance the customer journey and seek to increase the dwell time of both casual and hotel guest users, as well as look to attract more discerning local guests to use the restaurant and bar facilities more frequently.

The kitchen was to stay in its existing location and the new public spaces had to work around this. There was also the opportunity to upgrade the space in accordance with DDA regulations, including the installation of a new disabled lift. Blacksheep's key decision was to switch the spaces around so that the restaurant was located at the front of the hotel, linking in to the new bar, lounge and reception area.

Small exterior works were also carried out, including new external lighting and signage and a new menu box.

The reception area of the hotel was reconfigured to create improved focal points and circulation, removing a through-door into the former restaurant space to create a more open, lobby feel. The existing reception desk, (to the left of the main entrance, was not very user-friendly and didn't set the correct tone for the hotel and its new aspirations - remove sentence) was moved to the right of the entrance, a more pleasing symmetry was created by its position opposite a large existing sandstone fireplace. The bespoke-designed desk is in black-stained timber with a very hard-wearing gold paper with a hammered finish at the front. New floor-to-ceiling cupboards behind the desk, in dark-stained timber with mirrored insert panels covered in bronze film, are used to store all printers and associated products. A greater sense of informality is given by the lower height of the desk, now at seated height, rather than being at standard hotel reception height. A special new feature light-shade in cream runs above the whole length of the desk and a feature wall to the right of the reception uses special calligraphy wallpaper, introducing the literary association, which is expanded upon in the bar area.

An eye-catching circular seat in purple velvet in the centre of the lobby space gives it a focus, with guests able to face the fireplace or people-watch the entrance and desk area. Colours in the reception space were warmed up, using the palette of aubergine, purple and cream throughout, with a timber floor. Blacksheep then created a new lounge and lobby area from half of the existing restaurant space, with the other half used as a dedicated bar. The boundaries between these sections can move between day and night-time usage. The ease of the transition between the spaces is underlined through the use of timber flooring throughout, from the reception right through to the bar.

Two level changes in the space were dealt with via a DDA-conforming lift and ramp, whilst the toilets were also reconfigured with new entrances.