Labor13 was established in 2007 by Martin Vomastek, Albert Prazák and Jirí Bardodej. The consultancy is based in Prague and has recently been working on a number of different projects, many of which have been in the Czech Republic. Currently the office is working on a variety of projects that include new public and private buildings, renovations of historical buildings, public and private interiors, museum exhibitions and the design of city public spaces.

One of the main features of the hotel is the artwork. Why did this became such an important element in the design of this particular hotel?
The investor is big fan of modern art and we were open to work with different artists with their own aesthetic visions. It links in well with our idea of having different stories happening inside and outside the building.

What was your design brief from the clients, and how much flexibility within it was there for you?
The design was very important to them, because they included the word in the hotel’s name! We had quite a lot of room for our own ideas. The only limitations came from the site and from government regulations. But it was not easy to satisfy the owners fully, and in some parts of the hotel we created a number of versions to make them happy. But that is the way we work usually anyway.

With such a wide use of concrete and other stark materials, you have succeeded in keeping the hotel interiors feeling warm and welcoming. How was this achieved?
We were lucky.

Did you work the art around the design or the design around the art?
A little of both.

What is your favourite piece of art in the hotel?
I like the sculpture by Tony Cragg. It has material, vision, detail and atmosphere. It makes me think.

Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?
Everything. Different time brings different ideas.

What are you working on at the moment? Are there any hotels in the pipeline?
We are not specialist hotel designers. We do a lot of different things, from low-cost family houses, interiors, historical buildings, expositions, to the city public spaces and big private and public buildings. Everything is an interesting challenge when we have a logical task and we are working with the people who listen and think.