Trust, authenticity and quality

Citadines

LOCATION
Barbican, London

SIZE
2,895 sq ft

SECTOR
Leisure

OVERVIEW

Our work with Citadines not only illustrates how design can unlock the commercial potential of a space, but also how, from a standing start, forming a complementary, strategic alliance with an expert partner can reap rewards beyond profitability.

This known and trusted hotel chain knew it had to do ‘something’ yet was neither offering, nor geared up to offer, quality F&B. As a first step taking the Barbican Citadines as a test site, we undertook a consumer mapping exercise that made partner matchmaking possible based on both emotional and functional characteristics. A fit was found with ‘Sourced Market’,

known for using only high quality ingredients and authentic recipes, which would create a great, ready to eat range for Citadines. With trust, authenticity and quality being core to the Citadines brand, this had all the hallmarks of a mutually beneficial, symbiotic relationship.

A whole design language was created for the ground floor, bringing to life a sense of “joined-at-the-hipness” between the partners and making sense of the previously neglected ground level no-man’s-land space. To this end, large, almost not there, transparent screens blurred lines between where F&B, and the hotel itself, starts and ends.

This approach enabled us to deliver a significant step change for the business.’

Rebecca Hollants Van Loocke
Country General Manager, The Ascott Limited

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