Architects and Artists sometimes find it difficult to argue for the value of their designs and art. The Gauteng Institute for Architecture (GIFA) recently organized a visit to the Radisson Red Hotel in Rosebank, Johannesburg. The new hotel has many pieces of art, a design that works well, and was achieving 100% occupancy.

Outside spaces, roof terraces, height, lighting, colour, texture, materials, furniture, views, the background buzz of conversation, sculpture and art are all used to create different experiences as you move around the hotel. These make the visiting and using the hotel interesting and stimulating – something well documented on social media.

Increasingly, especially in the hospitality industry, experiences have become an important currency. Achieving memorable experiences is seen as a way of developing a competitive advantage and increasing customer loyalty. So how can the the value of experiences created by Architects and Artists be determined?

This is an interesting research problem. Could the additional ‘experience value’ generated by the design and art for a hotel compared to a standard hotel be calculated? While this may be difficult to do, collecting and collating evidence in this field would help build a case for the value of design and art. Would this be something that Voluntary Associations, such as GIFA and the PIA, with a mandate for promoting architecture, be interested in pursuing?

Photo credit: Radisson Red Hotel.