1 Hotel Mayfair opened last month in Berkeley Street as the first European venture of the 1 Hotel group, which is owned by US billionaire Barry Sternlicht, chairman and CEO of Starwood Capital.
The concept of 1 Hotel is sustainability – more than 1,300 plants from 200 species can be found throughout its Mayfair hotel.
The project architects hire Parisian interior designer Studio Patrick Nadeau to create a ‘living’ chandelier in the lobby. The brief stipulated that the chandelier had to be visible from the street, in line with the tradition of Mayfair palaces.
Nadeau’s ‘Rainforest’ living chandelier is a dome, four metres in diameter, hand-covered with more than 50,000 strands of Tillandsia usneoides – Spanish moss.
“By passing under this rain of Tillandsia, guests will experience a surreal atmosphere and a dreamlike tropical forest sensation in the heart of London,” says the publicity blurb.
Tillandsia usneoides are epiphytic plants that grow without needing soil and typically thrive by attaching to trees in the tropical forests of central America. They solely rely on air moisture and light for growth and they transition from a silver-grey to green when wet. The tiny scales covering their surface reflect light, giving the appearance of a living chandelier.
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