November travel news: editor’s picks

Danish metalworker Holger Nielsen could not have imagined that the pedal-controlled bin he designed in 1939 for his wife’s hairdressing salon would eventually lead to the creation of Vipp, a fully fledged empire of home and kitchen accessories. Nor that the bin itself would end up in MoMA’s permanent design collection. And he certainly could not have imagined that the bin would be the impetus for one of the most intriguing hotel concepts we’ve seen in a long time. 

In 2004, Vipp created a prototype plug and play shelter in southern Sweden on the edge of a forest lake – a fully functioning 55 square metre black-clad cabin, essentially, made of steel with felt on the interior walls and a ceramic tile floor, and furnished with Vipp hardware. The flood of requests to stay in the Shelter, as it was eventually called, was both unexpected and encouraging to the Vipp brass.

So much so that the company is launching what will be a series of one-room lodgings scattered around the world under the umbrella brand Vipp Hotel. Designed in collaboration with Danish architect, David Thulstrup, the Vipp Loft, at 400 sq metres, is considerably larger than the Vipp Shelter. Its setting, too, is markedly different – it occupies the top floor of Vipp’s Copenhagen HQ in an old paper printing factory near the harbour and Christianshavn’s canals. And as with the Shelter, the Loft is dressed almost entirely in Vipp hardware, including the slick lines of the fully equipped kitchen.

Vipp is so bullish about its pet project that it’s already hard at work with Thulstrup on a second Copenhagen property that’s due early next year, alongside its Asian debut in an as-yet undisclosed location in Taiwan, the latter a collaboration with local architect Mao Wu. 

Whether a one-on-one nature experience, or an urban retreat, for Vipp, the hotels are both a chance to genuinely explore the world and a canny marketing tool. As the company puts it, its products, especially its kitchens, are made to last a lifetime, but here’s a chance to start with just a weekend. 

INFORMATION

For more information visit the Vipp website

ADDRESS

Vipp Loft
Snorresgade 22

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