Table of Contents

Introduction.. 3
Theory, History and Method. 4

2.1.      Theories. 5

2.1.1.      The Cultural Capital Theory. 5

2.1.2.      The Habitus Theory. 6

2.1.3.      The Cultural Reproduction Theory. 6

2.2.      History. 6

2.3.      Methodology. 7

Discussion and Illustrations (1,500 words) 7
Bibliography. 8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Today, having an understanding of how people interact with space especially in complex social ones for instance hotels is very critical. This is mainly because, this understanding is the one to be employed when designing the interior of these spaces. As such if one has a superficial understanding, the end results are spaces with very minimal human interaction resulting in little or no satisfaction. However, when the understanding is in-depth, the end results are spaces that are distinct and also elicit a good and desirable mood as well as taste among its users. The more people enjoy such spaces the more they end up frequenting them and also giving referrals. This in return is good for business for instance in hotels since there will be a high number of visitations. One of the ways through which this can be achieved in hotels, is the display of artistic collections.

This report looks at a 30-room boutique hotel located off the Trafalgar Square in London which was bought by a high-end collector who is a James Bond fanatic. The hotel was then redesign with the 007 theme with features such as an intimate 50-seater cinema and casino, an on-site tailor, a gadget shop as well as an Aston Martin. By the fact that the owner of the hotel is a high-end collector, it means that the hotel should contain a lot of artistic display with the main ones being those related to the James Bond Character or simply 007-themed. Therefore, this report is going to communicate the display of collection within the hotel. Additionally, it is also going to assess and communicate how the rooms of the hotel have been designed. In addition, the report will assess and communicate the design of the hotel’s public spaces.

James Bond is a film series that has been produced for around the last fifty years by EON Productions. The series mainly revolves around a fictional agent in the British Secret Service who is the main character, therefore, this makes it a spy series in general. Important to note is that the design features of spaces in the series have over the years been adopted by many designers in designing homes as well as other spaces such as hotels. This is the same concept that is going to be put into practice in this assessment which involves the design of a hotel building that is 007-themed. 007 is a franchise of the James Bond series and as such is directly related to it. Hence a 007 theme is the same as a James Bond theme.

The James Bond theme has been chosen by such establishments because there are millions of fanatics of the film worldwide. Therefore, by having a facility for instance a hotel with such a theme, it will target these individuals. This is because such people will go to such hotels to have a taste of what they have been seeing in the James Bond films. This brings about a certain level of self-actualisation and relaxation that cannot be achieved elsewhere.

Design as a concept mainly revolves around distinction and taste because in the case of a hotel, for an individual to be interested in it and even come back again, they will have to like the taste. Distinction mainly looks at the aspect of uniqueness for instance in terms of design concepts applied or even service among others. For instance, in the hotel industry, these have to be achieved by the proprietor through employing unique display collections. However, taste, on the other hand, is more of an individual function has different individuals have different tastes. According to McDermott (1994), taste involves critical human judgement with regards to objects as well as culture. Therefore, the scholar mentions that taste evokes a well though-of appreciation towards something that is pleasing to the eye. All these simply mean that taste with regards to human objects is based on an individual’s existing knowledge for them to be well informed about whether or not a certain object has good taste. Also, it is based on connoisseurship which mainly explains the knowledge that one should have with regards to fine arts, cuisines or even be an expert in making judgements regarding to matters involving taste. Besides, it is also based on critical appreciation. Critical appreciation simply means the intelligent understanding of certain objects so that they have an intelligent basis on whether they are of goof taste or not.  This brings forth the idea of theories surrounding the aspect of taste.

2.1.        Theories
2.1.1.   The Cultural Capital Theory

Some of the proponents of this theory include famous sociologists for instance Lèvi-Strauss who later influenced sociologists such as Barthes and Bourdieu. According to this theory, people start early in life when they are neither savage or tasteful. However, this change when an individual grows up and has several cultural interactions because the initial perceptions become written over by the cultural systems especially those of communication that an individual interacts with. This is mainly the communication as well as culture embedded within the family structure.

Therefore, this is the reason why one will find that people from affluent backgrounds have a very distinct taste mainly opting for high-end and classy things as oppose from their counterparts from less-affluent backgrounds. This is mainly because this aspect of culture is passed from one generation to another and as such it is a factor that is always constant among similar people. On the other hand, culture can also mean the people that one interacts with, this means that an individual will tend to pick their tastes as well as mannerisms. Therefore, in terms of the case study hotel, it can be argued that fact that tastes as well as mannerisms are hereditary and can be predicted, charted and even traced getting traffic to the hotel will be made possible.

2.1.2.   The Habitus Theory

According to Bourdieu, this theory revolves around the insensible take-up of certain environmental behaviors by an individual then employing them in several matters for life. Therefore, the main point of inference in this theory is the environmental aspect whereby something which feels natural is good and also honest. Regarding the 007-themed hotel, this theory can be related to the fact that James Bond fanatics will be more than willing to pay to have a more natural feel of the James Bond movie by watching it from such a hotel and even be among spaces with man-made materials of the movie. Therefore, to them, the hotel is of good taste because of the simulation of the movie as well as stimulation. Furthermore, the 007-theme has a lot of inherent value features which individuals find them as a source for good taste. Therefore, having the hotel in such a theme makes the proprietor to be sure of the fact that James Bond fanatics will term it as one with good taste hence translate to good business for him.

2.1.3.   The Cultural Reproduction Theory

 

 

2.2.        History

 

2.3.        Methodology

For this assessment it is important to note that the methodology that will be followed in proposing or communicating how the hotel owner’s collection will be placed will mainly be adopted from reviewing several films from the film as well as looking at other hotels that have already applied the theme worldwide. This is the secondary research method whereby one looks at what has already done by others then based on that comes up with results to be applied elsewhere. Examples films from the James Bond series which will be reviewed to propose design solutions for this assessment include include the From Russia With Love (1963), Goldfinger (1964), Thunderball (1965), Die Another Day (2002) and most recently Skyfall (2012) among others. In the case of the 007-themed hotels that already exist, some of those reviewed include the Seven Hotel in Paris, the Isle of Erika Hotel in Scotland as well as the Sofitel London St. James in London among others.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

McDermott, C. (1994), Essential Design, London: Bloomsbury, p. 195.