Bricault’s innovative renovation of a drab 1970s time-share apartment block has created eighty-eight sleeping pods for Whistler’s visitors and a vibrant new public bar and eatery.
Clever spatial design means Pangea guests are provided the privacy needed for a night’s rest in the heart of the mountain resort, offered at a reasonable price. The designers worked with the clients over three years to create this original accommodation solution, Canada’s first pod hotel.
The Bricault team delivered their experience in both hospitality and private residential work to the pod hotel, developing features for both function and comfort. Bricault worked on a vast range of design elements; the spatial and architectural design, lighting and furniture design, even facilitated fabrication of custom fixtures and fittings locally.
Budget was a constraint; however, originality, flair and good design were valued by the clients. Russell Kling, an entrepreneur from Cape Town and wife Jelena Kling, a biochemical engineer from Belgrade, are new to the hotel industry. Their venture is “inspired by years of traveling the globe.”
For the clients, capitalizing on this location was key. Reworking the building’s exterior within the Village of Whistler’s strict bylaws generated significant design challenges, such as improving visual appeal at street level. Bricault transformed the inconspicuous time-share entrance into an open and inviting hotel and bar entrance. The entryway design and highly-visible bar now give the property a clear presence in the village, letting you know something exciting is upstairs to be discovered.
Creative design problem-solving is evident throughout this project, as Bricault created everything from the hotel’s wayfinding graphics to custom lighting and the sleeping pods themselves.
The design team developed the pod design within a tight layout; “every centimetre counts” assures team member Daria Sheina.
A novel design solution to the classic winter and summer resort feature of the gear storage room; The Toy Box is multifunctional, secure, and like the sleeping pods, does not waste any space. The Toy Box components fold and stow; the space morphs in response to seasonal requirements.
The designers researched materials that would be interesting and vibrant, but very durable and at the right price-point. Some original materials were re-purposed, such as the copper pipes from the building’s old plumbing system, deployed in custom design features throughout lounge and cafe areas.
Wallpaper designed by Bricault is used to highlight the upper portion of the walls in suites and corridors, much like the complex ceiling design of The Living Room, where a variety of tinted mirror was deployed along with topography lights. Marc Bricault explains that these elements “create greater sense of space and facilitate a conversation between the ramblers on the village stroll and the activity in the second story restaurant bar.”
The Living Room is designed as important communal space with unique design elements that extend shared space for guests outside of the sleeping pods. With their international team combining their skills in architecture, industrial design, fine arts, graphic design, as well as millwork and project management, the ambitious Pangea Pod Hotel renovation is a characteristically playful and surprising Bricault Design project.
