Every year in December, the Icehotel in Sweden’s Lappland open its door to visiting guests. This year, the hotel is welcoming guests into a very special season. It is 30 years ago, in 1989, it offered a revolutionary experience, allowing guests to stay in a structure made of ice and snow. Experience Ice Hotel Sweden’s 30th years anniversary.
Artists, designers, architects and sculptors from all over the world have always been interested in submitting ideas and art to the hotel. This year is no exception. The jury has received 126 unique concepts from 34 countries in six different continents. From December on you can experience the selected few in the 15 art suites of ice and snow.
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100 miles north of the Arctic Circle
About 100 miles north of the Arctic Circle you find the Icehotel in the village of Jukkasijärvi. From mid-November when layers of snow will form a blanket over the village, artists will be working together to create an exhibition of snow, ice and light to enable the opening of the Icehotel 30.
Every spring, after the hotel has melted and returned to its origins of the Torne River, the process of planning the next season’s hotel is taking place. This year, Luca Roncoroni, Creative Director at the Icehotel, has been leading a total of 18 design teams building the 15 Art Suites as well as the Main Hall, the Ceremony Hall and the Icebar.
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Torneland Icebar
The Icebar is titled Torneland and designed by Luc Voisin and Mathieu Brison, who also worked on a project with Icehotel in 2012. It plays on a carnival theme to celebrate the nearby Torne River, where 5,000 tons of ice are sourced annually to create the entire hotel.
Ice Hotel, Sweden – 30th Years Anniversary
“I am really looking forward to welcoming the artist teams to Jukkasjärvi this winter and see their visions turn in to unique experiences for our guests,” says Luca Roncoroni.
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The art suites
In the Art Suites, guests will have the option of checking into a frozen West End theatre production complete with ice-carved curtains and a stage; sleeping next to a submerged iceberg; spending the night in a subterranean ice room with giant ice ants; settling down in a frozen feline lair; or waking up surrounded by an ice-carved Kaleidoscope.
The Main Hall’s theme, “Brutalism,” will celebrate the construction of the hotel, the Ceremony Hall, “Ginkgo,” will highlight the Ginkgo tree, which is seen as a symbol of hope, strength and longevity.
Feature image (on top): Art suite Dancing Auroras, by Emilie Steele & Sebastian Dell’Uva. Photo: Asaf Klige
Ice Hotel, Sweden – 30th Years Anniversary, written by Tor Kjolberg