Meet the Designers of ‘The Living Ocean Suite’

Meet British father and daughter duo, Jonathon Paul and Marnie Green; designers of ‘the Living Ocean Suite’ in the 29th edition of Sweden’s Icehotel. We caught up with Jonathon Paul to find out a bit more!

What is your background in design?

After studying Sculpture, I started working in TV prop making, and then worked my way up to becoming an art director and then Production Designer.

How did you hear about designing for Icehotel and what made you want to apply this year?

I saw a TV documentary about the making of the Icehotel and thought how amazing it would be to get involved.

Have you ever worked with ice/snow as a material?

Never (!!!) But I’ve sculpted in many, many materials, so I just think…how hard can it be?! 🙂

How did you come up with the design idea for your ‘Living Ocean’ Icehotel suite?

Marnie (my daughter) is very passionate about the environment, particularly ocean pollution and I’ve always had an interest in animals, art, and creating fantastical spaces. In using only frozen water as a medium, it seemed fitting to create an undersea world – a really immersive (excuse the pun) experience for guests.

You mentioned your daughter’s passion for the environment, is climate change something you’re particularly interested in?

Yes, we both are. Not just about climate change, but also about waste and pollution. We only have one planet, it’s so essential to raise awareness so that we can protect it and keep our planet a beautiful place to live in.

Can you briefly explain what your final design will look like?

I’m hoping it will look exactly like my visual, or better, and provide a realistic, breathtaking wonderful space to stay in. I’m hoping I can get enough detail into the room, that the guests will always find new things to look at.

Finally, as you are a father and daughter duo, what it was like to work together on the designs?

Really lovely to be able to share our interest in art in a collaborative project, and we’re both so excited to be able to create something like this together. Marnie will turn 19 during the build, so we’re hoping we’ll she’ll have an extra special birthday.

You can see more of Jonathan’s work on his website: www.setdesign.tv.

The ‘Living Ocean Suite’ will come to life on December 14^th at the launch of the 29th Icehotel in Swedish Lapland.