93FT talks embodying a spirit of playtime at the new Treehouse Hotel Manchester
Following the recent opening of Treehouse Hotel Manchester, interior designers 93FT have lifted the lid on the design scheme.
In collaboration with Starwood Hotels’ in-house design team, Sheffield-based 93FT transformed a concrete office block into a vibrant property synonymous with the brand’s signature playfulness. Other studios involved in the property’s design included Blacksheep and Jon Matthews Architects.
The studio applied its sustainable approach of reusing, rebuilding and handcrafting furniture and materials across the entire hotel, including all 244 guestrooms, a ground floor restaurant, meeting and event spaces, and a gym.
A principle of reclaiming and recreating was central to the design scheme, with the 93FT team utilising found materials, recycled wood, vintage furniture, mismatched glass panels, an assortment of furniture legs and a jumble of textiles throughout. As a result each guestroom and function room has its own individual sensibility, filled with intriguing objects.
Upon entering the hotel, a mix of reclaimed and handmade windows make up the lobby walls, inviting in natural light and mimicking the feel of a child constructing a treehouse. This playful design approach is mirrored in the handmade furniture, such as chairs made from a chunk of tree, old tool handles and an eclectic mix of fabrics.
Passing a large tree – clad in real bark – that reaches up through the ceiling, guests are immediately invited into the serenity of a forest. Dappled light, made using organic cut out shapes and carefully placed lighting, falls across the timber walkway that meanders up to the reception desk, and planting tumbles down to create the feeling of being lost in nature.
Below the reception sits the ground floor restaurant, Pip, where diners are invited to relax beneath an array of soft lighting, eclectic lamp shades and clusters of greenery. Shelves of rainbow glass bottles of all shapes and sizes cover an entire wall and nod to the intuitive collecting habits of children. A second tree made of reclaimed timber sits on the mezzanine with a bench at its base – envisioned for guests to perch upon prior to using one of the meeting spaces or cinema.
In the guestrooms, patchwork quilts, asymmetrical doorhandles, handmade furniture, larch cladding and a vibrant array of fabrics encapsulate the comfort and nostalgia of a curiously crafted childhood room. The wardrobes are clad in wooden shingles, capturing the warmth of trees and natural materials, while the bathrooms are covered in green tiles to evoke the feeling of showering outside. Play is encouraged through the chalkboards and the name carving on small pieces of wood that can be hung in the lift lobby as an alternative guestbook.
“We are extremely proud to be the interior designers and part of the great team to bring Treehouse Manchester to life,” says Tim Hubbard, founder of 93FT. “Repurposing and working with the original architecture has allowed us to make and create layers of immersive experience, always with sustainability and nature at the heart of the design. Bringing nature inside and mixing imagination, play, making and craft together.”
