RYSE Hotel, Seoul, South Korea

The RYSE Hotel welcomes its guests with a tastefully designed lobby that contrasts luxurious details with coarse materials in an exciting way. 

The RYSE Hotel opened in Seoul in 2018 and offers more than just accommodation for travelers and tourists. Located in the Hongdae district, the creative hotspot of the South Korean capital, it is a meeting point for creative people and aims to equally inspire visitors and guests staying overnight. 

This ambition is reflected in the integrated coffee shop, which invites you to linger, and in the "Artist Residencies" for local artists who create art for and with the guests in the building. It is also reflected in the names of the room categories, which are named after creative professions - guests can choose to stay in the Creator Room, the Editor or Director Room, the Artist Suite or Executive Producer Suite. Last but not least, the hotel's motto is expressed in its design: The British interior designers of Michaelis Boyd studied the building’s surroundings for their design concept and reflect these influences in their choice of colors and materials. 

The guest rooms have been designed in natural colors, elegant finishes, sophisticated lighting concepts and tactile materials such as leather and felt to create a stimulating and pleasant atmosphere for the guests. The lobby, including the adjoining communal areas, brings together luxurious accents and a high-quality finish with coarse materials. "We were inspired by the Korean landscape and the energy of the immediate neighborhood to create a visually striking entrance area with a playful touch," the interior designers said. 

The glass façade creates a connection with the surroundings and invites people to discover - curious glances of passers-by are welcome here. At the same time, the glass surface allows ample natural light to spill into the entrance area, accentuating the high-gloss, pink resin floor. It accentuates various exposed concrete surfaces and a wood-clad wall. A particularly exciting contrast is created by its smoothness and polished finish with an exciting, rough rock face. The wall is the first impression for visitors entering the building and should therefore make a direct visual statement according to the wishes of the interior designers. Molds were used to transfer a pattern onto the exposed concrete surface and design it as a striking accent wall. 

The designers relied on the expertise of the concrete processor Ivanka for the implementation. According to the expert, "The design team wanted a strongly patterned rock look to create an unusual and robust surface.” The RECKLI Cheyenne mold was used to design the concrete surface. For a realistic effect, the pattern was molded directly off of a mountain face. The impression served as a positive model for the production of the molds, which could then be used in the façade design for exterior and interior use.

In order to create the rock look for the RYSE Hotel, the elastic form liners were were used during the pouring of the concrete and placed on the surface while the concrete was still wet. After the concrete had hardened, the workers were able to remove the matrices from the surface. The pattern embossed into the concrete creates a natural, wild look for the accent wall and is one of many tasteful artistic details of the hotel.