SCAU unveils concept for a Ferris wheel hotel in Paris
By Mike Chamernik, Associate Editor
Ever feel that a five-minute ride on a Ferris wheel just isn’t long enough? Or that it really is so enjoyable and scenic that you didn’t want to get off?
Architects Maxime Barbier and Luc Delamain, from Paris-based SCAU, are planning to build a water wheel hotel with pods that will constantly rotate, just like the amusement park ride. The Telegraph reports that each of the 19 rooms will be 12 feet long, soundproof, and have its own fully-padded sleeping chamber, bathroom, and window.
The wheel will rotate slowly, making a full loop every half hour. To help in the case of emergencies, the wheel will only be 100 feet tall. The cost of a night’s stay in the wheel will be about 300 euros, or $326.
The plan is for the hotel to relocate every six months, possibly to face other European landmarks like the Eifel Tower and Big Ben. Its initial location will be on the banks of the Seine river.
“Like all the world’s big cities, Paris is reclaiming its river and the wheel hotel will be an attraction for tourists and locals,” Barbier told the Telegrah. “It will offer a new way to contemplate the city, sometimes from the level of the river and then from the level of the rooftops.”