London Underground inspires suite at IceHotel

A London Underground platform is the inspiration behind one of the suites at the 24th IceHotel to be built in Swedish Lapland.

British film director Marcus Dillistone has chosen to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the London Underground with his design, a suite called Mind the Gap, while a sculptor from the UK Rob Harding, has worked with his son on their winning design based on the idea, Before the Big Bang.

The two British designs were selected from a total of 200 submitted from all over the world for the hotel which will feature 65 bedrooms, including 11 individually designed suites by guest artists.

The IceHotel is the world's largest hotel built from snow and ice, which has been erected on the bank of the Torne river, 200km north of the Arctic Circle in Jukkasjärvi every year since its inception in 1990. Thousands of tonnes of ice are harvested from the river for its construction which takes place over eight weeks between late October and December.

After the basic structure of the hotel is built, each artist has about three weeks to complete their design suites. The interior of the IceHotel is similar to a conventional hotel with a bar, reception, main hall and even a church.

The hotel can be reached via a direct three and a half hour flight from London Heathrow to Kiruna, through tour operator Discover the World.

Thumbnail image by British designer Marcus Dillinstone for his suite ‘Mind the Gap' of the London Underground inspired suite.