For a sector that has long operated under segmented price points and principles of ultra-exclusivity, a model that is welcoming to all could mean a major shift in spatial design.
Though the wider conversation around accessibility and social coherence has seen venues from museums to offices address issues of inequality surrounding race, gender and sexual orientation, the phrase ‘all-inclusive’ still holds very different connotations in the hospitality sector. A recent report by Be Inclusive Hospitality demonstrated that, while progress is being made, 78 per cent of staff remain concerned about racism in the workplace. On the guest side of things, a slate of closures has seen 60 per cent of London’s dedicated LGBTQ+ spaces shut down in the past decade.
Hospitality has become increasingly fragmented into smaller, more niche brands to serve consistent guest profiles along lines from wealth and occupation to age and diet preferences. Considering this, the prospect of developing an all-encompassing product that suits every type of guest may seem something of a herculean task. But the only meaningful way to address these fissures is to bring guests of different creeds, cultures and classes together under the banner of inclusivity, and to consider spatial design accordingly.
As the design industry faces criticism for its homogenous upper reaches, and calls to adopt a ‘nothing about us without us’ approach grow louder, proper representation in the teams that bring these spaces to market will certainly be a start. However, successfully translating ideas of wide-ranging and constructive inclusivity into the built environment will require drawing from multiple sources and a broad combination of ideals.
India Mahdavi's redesign of the Gallery restaurant at London's Sketch club incorporates work by British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare.
Inclusive aesthetics
There is no set blueprint for designing inclusive spaces, and each guest will react to these efforts differently. Thus, inclusive spaces can take multiple forms, with interiors that highlight cultural representation. Take, for example, the new-look Gallery dining room at London’s Sketch. It combines a mixture of vibrant African patterns, Ghanaian wicker and Senegalese fabrics alongside 15 paintings by British-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare, in an attempt to decolonize the monopoly of London’s luxury dining spaces.
At the other end of the scale is Glass House (pictured in cover), a creative hub for London’s LGBTQ+ community featuring a bar, café and bookstore. The design scheme does not visually signal any one community, instead offering an open, safe space for expression and user-definition. Here, the programming and cultural content of its event space, library and podcast studio create a platform for discussion that can expose guests of all backgrounds to new perspectives they may not otherwise encounter.
Addressing race and sexual orientation are more malleable in design interpretation, but meeting the needs of differently abled and neurodivergent users will require immediate spatial intervention. For Manchester’s Hotel Brooklyn, studio Motion Spot worked to ensure these guests would never be disengaged from the core offer. From the property’s 18 accessible rooms to the lobby’s glare-resistant, sensory-aware tiling and the restaurant’s variety of seating options, the consideration was built into the project from the outset. ‘If planned at an early stage, well-designed access does not have to cost any more’ says Ed Davey, Motion Spot’s founder and CEO. ‘Where it does become expensive is if a retrospective adaptation has to be installed because of a problem a disabled guest experiences, so please think of it at the start of a new build or refurbishment.’
Motion Spot designed Manchester's Hotel Brooklyn to ensure that differently abled and neurodivergent guests will not be disconnected from the core hospitality experience.
Cultural cohesion
All three of these projects are inclusive in their own right, furthering the cause through representation, awareness and tangible building process respectively. It is only by combining these three strategies that the process of breaking down social borders will be kickstarted, bringing people together. Subjective taste dictates that not everyone will find value in a space – even if it is created in line with their specific community in mind – but providing a platform that fuses hospitality service with a culture of social education could be a remedy.
Where design can guide and direct the journey, it will require equal effort by operators and owners to programme spaces with organically inclusive content. London’s new Corner café from owner and designer Tarek Merlin of local studio Feix&Merlin Architects features a downstairs gallery space that will at once celebrate, highlight and inform guests of all backgrounds, starting with an exhibition by Filippo Sanesi that explores ‘the sometimes painful but oftentimes joyful experience of LGBTQ+ life in London’.
Meanwhile, the English capital’s landmark Victoria Pride Centre continues to leverage this combination of design and programming to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community, while also providing the surrounding neighbourhood with a social space and business hub. ‘It holds the stories of struggle, the stories of pain and loss,’ says Victoria premier Daniel Andrews, ‘but it sets the course for a future of hope – one of inclusion and equality.’
