Forsman & Bodenfors | Faktum hotels

in Architecture Videos by editor — 10:48 am | March 6, 20130 comments

Would you spend the night on the streets?

Well, there’s an innovative online campaign from Gothenburg, Sweden that’s designed to make people think and raise money at the same time. It was put together by Faktum, the city’s street newspaper, with the help of an interactive media agency. Together, they created a “hotel” website called Faktum Hotels.

It pretty much looks like your standard hotel website with one exception – there’s no suites or even standard rooms. Faktum Hotels offers ten different, popular “rooms” where homeless people in Gothenberg might spend the night. There’s a park bench, a spot under a bridge, an abandoned paper mill, forests, even the seats in a soccer stadium.

For $15, you can “book” one of the “rooms” for you or for a friend – who’ll be “gifted” on Facebook. Whether you actually stay at the spot is up to you. Either way, your $15 will go to Faktum, so it can help the homeless in Gothenberg. And if you’re feeling particularly charitable and generous, you can “book” for more than one night.

And like any hotel, the folks at Faktum describe the “appeal” of each “room” so you know exactly what you’re getting. For example, here’s the description for the underpass: “Feel the city’s pulse from dawn to dusk at Gullbergsvass. This delightful dwelling is just a stroll from the romantic Dreamer’s Quay: a source of inspiration to musicians and artists alike. And all under the noble eye of the Skansen Lion from his centuries old fortress.”

Or this one for the city’s dock. “A stay at the Skeppsbron wharf assures you a waterside vista in the heart of the city. The world’s largest maritime museum is close at hand and Gothenburg’s opera house is no more than a short walk along the Göta river – just beyond Casino Cosmopol.” There are 3,400 people who sleep outside in Gothenburg.

Agency: Forsman & Bodenfors

Client: Faktum – Åse Henell och Sara Erkhagen

Account manager: Åsa Pedersen

Art Director: Staffan Lamm, Staffan Forsman

Copywriter: Martin Ringqvist

Web producer: Stefan Thomson

Designer: Christoffer Persson

Production company: Thomson Interactive Media

Photographer: Håkan Ludwigson