Here are is a little information about the designers who have put together this year’s ICEHOTEL. With lots of exciting new rooms to see, this year promises to be one of the best in Ice Hotel history.
Jens Thoms Ivarsson, Elin Julin, Kalle Ekeroth & Håkan Jutblad: ICEBAR BY ICEHOTEL JUKKASJÄRVI, The Fuzzy Chisel
This year’s icebar puts the ice in focus. The minimalist design is used in order to highlight the variations in each ice block and let the guests discover the veils in the frozen water. The fuzzy chisel is a transparent icebar that entice people to meet – a place to gather together, just like Jukkasjärvi (which translates to meeting place).
“There is something fuzzy about it”
John Bark & Charli Kasselbäck: Art Suite 365 – You Are My Type
The returning duo John Bark and Charli Kasselbäck play with their distinguished typographical style in the suite You are my type. Surrounded by a pun in oversized ice letters; you are embraced in the polar night with messages that will keep you warm: “I love you to the letter”.“Ice sculpting is a fantastic experience. The consistency is unlike anything else; it’s both forgiving and demanding. A crystal clear mix of soft and hard, of delicate and brittle flexibility. A challenge for the sensitive keyboard-fingers of two graphic designers.” John Bark is an editorial designer from Sweden with clients all over the Nordic Countries. When he is not creating a suite at Icehotel, he enjoys downhill skiing. Charli Kasselbäck is a graphic designer and illustrator based in Stockholm. He runs a digital design agency and loves spending time sailing or surfing.
Peder Istad, Oskar Gustafsson & Emil Olofsson: Art Suite 365 – Sugar Suite
Sugar – alluring, seductive and sweet. This is our world today. Inspired by the consumerism of sugar, the trio behind the suite chose the discus-shaped candy Non Stop to represent their idea. The soft rounded shapes are repeated in a structural installation throughout the room, composed to create energy and a dynamic experience for you.
“Today you find huge candy stores filled with sweets from floor to ceiling, expressing themselves as cascades of colours and shapes in all imaginable forms. We wanted to create a strong spatial experience; sugar sweet and enjoyable, but daring at the same time.”
Oskar Gustafsson lives in Gothenburg. He attends his second year at Stenebyskolan in the department of woodwork and furniture making in Dals Långed.
Peder Istad is a Norwegian artist who lives in Bohuslän. He works with several forms of expressions and materials with focus on sculptures in stone, snow and ice in public spaces.
Emil Olofsson lives in Gerlesborg and graduated from the Royal Institute of Art. He has worked with ice and snow together with Peder Istad for 12 years.
Benny Ekman: Art Suite 365 – Living With Angels
Living with angels is what artist Benny Ekman does every day. Nearly all his work includes angels in some way and in this suite he is channeling them to create a serendipitous atmosphere and give you a feeling of safety.
“Ever since I was a child, women have fascinated me. They come in different shapes, like princesses, mermaids, witches, heroines, angels etc. Angels are amazing since they have the ability to fly and see things from a different perspective. Sweet dreams with your angels.” Benny Ekman is an artist and his influence comes from his upbringing in Australia and Sweden. He mainly paints in acrylic, but experiments and sculpts with different materials. His artistic debut was in 1996.
Wilfred Stijger & Edith van de Wetering: Art Suite 365 – Pillow Bar
A bar where you can sleep, isn’t that a luxury feeling? Here you are, having fun and want another drink – but on the other hand you are quite tired and ready to go to bed. You have come to the right place – Pillow Bar. The suite has a luxury lounge feeling where everything looks soft and invites you to lay down among the sculptures at the counter.
“There are some empty seats for you at the bar. Welcome in.”
Edith Van De Wetering is an artist who loves to surprise with her art. She has been creating art using sand in locations across the world.
Wilfred Stijger is a multi-talented artist from the Netherlands and are specialized in sand art. With is art he wants to inspire others to open their minds and use their imagination.
Fransisco Corté Zamundio: Art Suite 365 – Flow
Get in the flow. Literally. The suite Flow manifests the mental state of being immersed in a feeling of energized focus. The bed represents the harmonized feelings, the rectangles on the wall the liberation of the mind and the whirlpool near the bed is the connection with the idea. Beside the bed you find a sculpture, which symbolizes the feeling of taking off that we get when we enter the flow. Artist Fransisco Corté Zamundio is dedicating his creation to a close friend who is no longer with us.
“Till min själsfrände Sten” Francisco Cortés Zamudio is an artist based in Berlin. He works as a painter and loves to play music and enjoy nature somewhere far away from the city.
Ulrika Tallving & Carl Wellander: Art Suite 365 – Oh Deer (pictured above)
The design in Oh Deer is inspired by the Japanese Onsen baths and the Great Totem spirit animals. The lanterns bring light, moments of understanding, for the nature and the world we live in. Visitors can lower themselves into a bath of ice and in peace contemplate the nature, embodied by a deer. “Oh Deer express an awe of the grand animal and a humble envision of Mother Earth and the fascinating landscape outside. Something to ponder on is the ephemeral state of the ice and snow, which in Icehotel 365 are put in a state of preservation – contrasts that consociate in the experience of the suite.”
Ulrika Tallving is a sculptor, artist and stylist. In her work she often derive her art from animal forms and wants with her art to hit a place in the viewer where they experience familiarization yet something completely new.
Carl Wellander was born and lives today in Nyköping. He works as a full time sculptor mainly working in ceramics, bronze and stone. His main focus is on figurative motifs, often inspired by Nordic folklore.
Rob Harding & Timsam Harding: Art Suite 365 – Melting Pot
A bricks and mortar ice dome embraces the entrance to the Melting Pot, which was inspired by the five consecutive record breaking hottest months ever hitting the planet in 2016. The suite with its curved design prompts you to reflect upon the issue of global warming. This hot topic in the cold setting gives you a deeper appreciation of the ephemeral art.
“With Melting Pot we hope to turn the public mind to the fact that there is a future if we humans work fast and hard with our combined knowledge and innovation in the same way Icehotel are brought to life.”
Rob Harding is a British-born sculptor who specializes in stainless steel but also works in a variety of other materials. When not working with sculptures, the architecturally inclined artist builds houses and furniture.
Nina & Magnus Hedman: Art Suite 365 – Mermaid Fitness
Dive into an underwater world, made from ice and snow, and experience the phenomenon mermaid fitness where weight and size meet the movement of the water and a feeling of lightness. Creators Nina Hedman and Magnus Hedman got their inspiration for the suite Mermaid Fitness from bodybuilding and the trend where you swim with a fake mermaid tail.
“When the suite was done we could see that Yemoja and Triton might have helped us when designing the sculptures… The water has no limits.”
Julia Gamborg Nielsen & Lotta Lampa: Art Suite 365 – Hydro Smack
In this surreal subaquatic world, a group of richly ornamented jellyfish floats dreamlike and surrounds you like you were walking in an underwater forest. “The overnight guests in Hydro Smack will get the feeling of dwelling at the bottom of the ocean, where rays of light shine down on them from the surface before they fall asleep.”
Tjåsa Gusfors & Patrick Dallard: Art Suite 365 – Dancers in the Dark
Dancers in the dark is all about choosing survival – the light and positive path. Artists Tjåsa Gusfors and Patrick Dallard have experimented with the features and elements of the frozen water, and created movement in the room, emerged from the dancers. The music is written and performed by Tjåsa Gusfors herself with arrangement by Matti Eklund and enhances the experience of the suite.
“We wanted to form a suite filled with positive energy that translates into the guests, to create a sensuous space, which gives you bliss. So we keep dancing in the dark, chasing sparks…”
Alex Haw & Aditya Bhatt: Art Suite 365 – Dreamscape (Pictured above)
All around the world, beds are elevated above the ground, lifting their occupants into a new world. Dreamscape amplifies this effect, whisking visitors on a journey up a curling, sensuous, daring stair of pure ice that rises straight from the door to their dreams. The bed is enshrouded by writhing snow tentacles, framing their view like a wild four-poster melted by their imagination.
“Dreamscape celebrates the main element and raison d’etre of the room – a symbol epitomizing escape: the bed. It dramatizes the fact that each journey to the room is a journey to that bed and into the explosive canyons of the mind.”
Marjolein Vonk & Maurizio Perron: Deluxe Suite 365 – Wishful Thinking
Once upon a time, a fisherman was rowing his boat in the reflection of the moon under a sky full off shooting stars. He makes a wish; he wants to sleep on the moon that always guided him in the night and got him safe to shore. The wish got delivered but the moon had a different plan – it was time for her to meet Torne River. The suite Wishful Thinking invites you to sleep in the reflection of the moon, have a drink sitting on the moon, – in the frozen river – and make your own wish come true!
“The moon influences tides, births and trees. Let’s find out what influence it will have in this suite.”
Nina & Johan Kauppi: Deluxe Suite 365 – Blue Houses
The little village of Blue Houses is built out of strong snow walls and beautiful ice windows. The cold materials are formed to iconic shapes with clear lines, where dreamy dimmed light reflects from the inaccessible insides. Many houses will be standing for hundreds of years and the materials will leave traces even when the house is gone, retelling its story. The day Blue Houses melts to the ground they will leave no other trace than perhaps a growing sprout of a watered seed.
“Blue Houses is a minimalistic tribute to houses, dwellings and tranquility. An invitation to mindfulness. The time to enjoy is now.”
Tommy Alatalo: Deluxe Suite 365 – Don’t get Lost
Don’t Get Lost is a maze that sway you to spend more time in the suite and gives you a maximal ice experience. The bedroom is placed in the middle of the room and at the end of the maze, which makes it your reward for your courage and cleverness. What glimpses behind those walls of ice? “The concept fills a practical function since the visitors stays in the suite a little longer, while at the same time offers excitement and adventure. A maze is also a neat pattern that can be used for decorations in different ways, which is shown in this suite.”
Kestutis & Vytautas Musteikis: Deluxe Suite 365 – Kiss
With an unmitigated love for ice, the brothers behind the suite express their feelings through exquisite hand-carved ice reliefs throughout the room. Inspired by the famous symbolist painter Gustav Klimt, the design flirts with his decorative patterns and the classic motive “The Embrace”, with one scene showing a couple kissing passionately.
“We were using our family name Musteikis for the word-play ‘Must Take Kiss’ for naming our suite. We hope that hot kiss gives the guests a warm a night in the cold room.”
Luc Voisin & Mathieu Brison: Deluxe Suite 365 – Once upon a Time
Invent your own story in this Art Deco designed suite inspired by the early 1920s – the era of the famous entertainer Josephine Baker and fictional character Jay Gatsby. Your senses will help you create your version of what happened between these walls. Can you smell the tobacco and the scent of Chanel no.5 linger in the air? Can you hear birds singing and kids shouting in the street? Do you feel the springtime breeze coming from the window?
“Read the notebook on the bedside table. The last sentence is not complete. You write it.”
Luca Roncoroni: Deluxe Suite 365 – The Victorian Apartment
Welcome to The Victorian Apartment – a 20th century royal dream. This sensorial experience gives you an ethereal feeling with its high ceiling, incredible details and elegant style. The time specific reminders; patterns and objects from last century, set the stage in this frozen deluxe suite. “With the new dimensions in Icehotel 365 I thought of an elegant apartment in Europe from last century. The visual properties of ice and snow create the perfect layering of translucency, light and shadows.”
Wouter Biegelaar & Viktor Tsarski: Deluxe Suite 365 – Crystal Forest
Step into a forest of crystals, made by the perennial duo Viktor Tsarski and Wouter Biegelaar who experiment with the reflections, shadows and depth of ice crystals. You get an interesting point of view from every direction and the extra height in this suite creates the feeling of being in a forest; the crystal columns stretch all the way to the arched ceiling.
“We wanted to create something impressive. The high ceiling and constant temperature in the new 365-building gave us the opportunity to work with tall columns and sharp edges in both ice and snow, since the material will keep its density over the season.”
AnnaSofia Mååg & Sofi Ruotsalainen: Deluxe Suite 365 – Pick your Moustache
What has the cactus to do with ice? Where do moustaches come from? The harsh climate for the cactus puts the immediate survival in focus, while the facial hair is a symbol for the human’s superficial behavior. The common factor is the unfavorable terrain where they both grow, and at Icehotel the meeting between frosty fashion moustaches and crystal clear succulents happen – just like the real Cactaceae that stores water.
“Climb into the surreal cactus on the bed which is placed in heart-level and let them protect you in your sleep. The moustache can wait. Tomorrow is a new day.”
Lena Kriström: Deluxe Suite 365 – Twitter
Wonder what’s being tweeted? The artist Lena Kriström has created the suite Twitter that highlights our addiction in this connected world – the addiction to the phone, tablet and Internet. The sculptures in the suite indicate that it’s something in the air – a response to today’s normalized state. “The ice, which we borrow, opens my senses into multiple dimensions.”
Tomasz Czajkowski & Eryk Marks: Art Suite Acanthus (Pictured above)
The Acanthus is an extraordinary plant native to the Mediterranean Basin, which has inspired many and various sculptors, architects and painters since the times of ancient Greece to the end of the 19th century. The ornaments are incorporated in this suite’s design as headboards and wall decorations. “We are particularly fond of the ancient form, which is a very close imitation of the natural plant itself but featuring more symmetry. As architects we studied closer this beautiful, stylized form described by authors like Vignolia and Vitruvius.”
Rob Harding & Fabián Jacquet Casado: Meltdown
This is a room of beauty where one can contemplate the future of Mother Earth. Visitors enter the suite through a quarter dome built of ice triangles, which also provides overnight guests with extra privacy. A round bed sits on a string of ice cubes with the back of the bed sinking into the deeply perforated walls. “Global warming is a subject of concern for the planet’s outlook. Meltdown is a suite meant to provoke your thoughts and inspire you to contribute to a more sustainable future.”
Elin Julin & Ida Mangsbo: Into the Maelstrom
Imagine being caught into a giant whirlpool in the ice-cold arctic water. This suite will sweep you away and take you on a journey into the center of the Maelstrom. In the heart of the suite, with swirling ice and snow walls all around, the moon is shining down on you with a soft, pale light. Feel the motion, the force – and the peace.
“The Maelstrom is a powerful tidal current and one of the biggest is situated outside Lofoten. It is formed by the conjunction of strong currents that cross the straits between the islands and the great amplitude of the tides. Once you are there, it will not let you go.“
Anja Kilian & Wolfgang A. Lüchow: Mystic Mountains
The mountains are a place to pause. The vast views from the summit recreate your soul and clear your mind. In the north of Sweden, not far away from Jukkasjärvi and Icehotel, the Scandinavian mountains run along. Sweden’s highest peak, Kebnekaise, can be found here. “In our room, the mountains rise dimly from the floor. Peak after peak, they line up in the horizon under a white Nordic sky. The space seems to dissolve around and around, deliberately abstractly rendered, creating a calm and clear spatial image – a promise of untouched wilderness and freedom. Mountains are magical.”
Stephanie Knödler & Martina Eriksson: House of Cards
Playing cards is an international language. Anyone can play and everyone can be an architect, trying to build a house of cards; perhaps as high as possible or in as many variations imaginable. This cold structure consists of illuminated cards with engraved Nordic animals. “There is an art to get a house of cards to stand up, as it easily falls apart. Some people might say that we are crazy, making it out of snow and ice. We think crazy is a good start when doing something extraordinary! This is an opportunity to finally make it possible for visitors to sleep in a house of cards.”
Collectif Les Jardiniers Nomades: Casa-Blanca
The white house – Casablanca; the name of the famous city in Morocco, could be the starting point of the history of the room. A characteristic pointed arch and latticework reminding of oriental moucharabies creates the ambience of an exotic palace.
“Inspired by the atmosphere of The Tales of The Arabian Nights, this free reinterpretation of oriental palaces will find an unexpected echo in this magical world of ice.”
Wilfred Stijger & Edith van de Wetering: Audience (Pictured above)
You don’t have to feel alone in this suite. The people in the room will watch over you while you sleep and make sure you have sweet dreams. If you ask nicely, they might even tell you a bedtime story. And when you wake up they will be there, watching over you.
“Just before you go to sleep, it is nice to go through your day. Who did you meet? What did you like? What could’ve gone better? What are you going to do tomorrow? Your audience will listen to you, and perhaps have some good ideas if you observe closely.”
Lisa Lindqvist and Katarina Rose: Sleeping Inside a Thought
Ever wondered what a thought looks like? In this room you can sleep inside one. Lie down on a magical flying bed surrounded by dancing flames of ice and snow, and feel the energy of the room carry you away.
“This idea came to me as I experienced recent insomnia. I was thinking about so many ideas for sculptures that I found it very difficult to sleep. I eventually came to realize that these kind of racing, excited thoughts are born from passion, and for that I am grateful. This room is my way of conveying that feeling of wonder with the world – something that rocks your soul.” Lisa Lindqvist is a half Swedish sculptor from England. She creates expressive figurative works, and one day in 2012 she decided to create the alter ego ‘Katarina Rose’. She now works under both names. Lisa Lindqvist är halvsvensk skulptör från England. Hon skapar expressiv, figurativ konst, och en dag 2012 bestämde hon sig för att skapa alter egot Katarina Rose. Nu arbetar hon under båda namnen.
Katarina Rose has her head in magnificent imaginary worlds. She makes strange and wonderful artworks from the hidden mysteries of life. Katarina Rose lever i en storslagen låtsasvärld. Hon gör konstig och underbar konst med utgångspunkt i livets mysterier.
Hugh & Howard Miller: The Ikebana Room
Inspired by the traditional Japanese art of flower arranging, the suite embodies the spirit of Japanese design and culture. Governed by strict rules of proportion and hierarchy, the arrangements are the essence of subtle, harmonious beauty. The focus is the cherry blossom tree, made in crystal clear ice, which sits in contemplative splendor at the far end of the room. The room itself is sculpted into a circle, which frames the tree perfectly in accordance with Ikebana principles.
“Ikebana is considered the most ephemeral of Japanese crafts, with the flowers or stems lasting only a few days. This makes ice and snow, with its fleeting, temporary properties, the perfect material to represent it.”
João Mota & Volker Schnüttgen: Infinitlove
Infinitlove holds a universal meaning and is beautifully simple. The heart shaped infinity symbol symbolizes a couple in a complicit expression – together, where time is eternal. In compliance with the architectural lines of the hotel, this design and symbol inspires a place without barriers. “We want this suite to represent love and all its infinite realities. At ICEHOTEL anything and everything is possible. Infinite love for different ideas was what allowed this project to materialize through friendship, cooperation and mutual respect.”
Luca Roncoroni: Lapland Waves
For anyone who pines after the open sea, the suite Lapland Waves will be the perfect place to settle down. In this room the waves of the ocean have frozen to ice and the frosty inflatable bed whimsically floats as if buoyed by the gentle caress of the ocean. For extra safety, a life buoy is situated by the entrance of the room.
“I remember the first time I came up north and walked on a frozen river. It was beautiful, powerful and surreal. I wanted to amplify the surrealistic experience, freezing a stormy, roaring sea that wraps visitors and make them feel the power – and silence – of the frozen waters.”
Shingo & Natsuki Saito: Into the Ice
The world of ice is shining like a kaleidoscope. Intriguing, beckoning. As you enter into the suite, you become a piece of this world as you are drawn Into the Ice. The design features overlapping ice that takes advantage of the transparency, creating complex and beautiful patterns to marvel at. “The inspiration for this room came from a story book that we read to our daughter, and now the idea has come to life as an Art Suite.”
Nicolas Triboulot & Fernand Manzi: White Cathedral (Pictured below)
Step into the White Cathedral, created as homage to the postman and sculptor Ferdinand Cheval, who built “the ideal palace” in the late 1800’s from rocks he collected during his rounds. The renowned French team behind the design built the room one ice block at a time, just like Cheval himself. “I like the idea of a man who face challenges and surpass himself, and succeed no matter what. This goes parallel with ICEHOTEL, which is constructed from materials the nature offers and uses simple, but beautiful shapes to flourish.”
