Hektor Container Hotel

Hektor Container Hotel is the only hotel in the heart of Telliskivi – the magnet of Tallinn. A classic hotel room in a glass skyscraper? Nope, they are nothing like that. Hektor vibes with the local community – the hotel is created into a tsarist era railway depot and their hotel rooms are re-purposed sea containers. No ship!

It was quite a challenge…

Velvet had the chance to help with Hektor hotel’s wayfinding and we must admit, it was quite a challenge from the start. The main problem we needed to tackle was the absence of a receptionist in this new hotel. Which means that when you check in at Hektor Container Hotel, you can do it with a tablet and then go find your room. So, it was the wayfinding that needed to act like a helpful receptionist.

Luckily we were included in the process early on and could map out all the possible routes that our guests could take. This proccess is the most important part of creating a fluent and actually helpful wayfinding system. 

(Spoilers: In the end, the hotel guests helped us make some final adjustments to add even more functionality to the system)

Sometimes you don’t need to polish everything

The look and feel of the signage was created to match the hotel’s rustic and industrial design. We experimented with new materials and set out to create a signage that proudly shows what they are made of and are not too polished or clean.

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What did we learn?

First – we always love our clients. Every. Single. One. Of. Their. Team. This project really confirmed that. With their enthusiasm, love for the concept, for environmental sustainability, for all hands in etc.

Second –  Hektor Container Hotel showed us how in this kind of project the final user, actual guest will always have the final say and the first weeks after opening are the most crucial moments of feedback to our work. 

And third – yes, its ok to be in the box ;).