Travelling along the defunct passenger rail lines of America’s Wild West, Infinite Explorer is an innovative new concept from SB Architects, which takes the form of a hyper-luxury sleeper train with hotel-style facilities that would stop off at remote locations on the way. Jenny Southan reports
The idea was submitted to the 2019 “Radical Innovation” competition that challenges designers, hoteliers and students to pioneer compelling ideas in travel and hospitality. It is one of three finalists, alongside the “Volumetric High-Rise Modular Hotel” by Danny Forster & Architecture and “Connectic”, a modular pop-up hotel concept by Cooper Carry.
Talking about Infinite Explorer, SB Architects says: “Infinite Explorer is a hospitality concept that helps travelers connect with remote destinations using the American West’s defunct passenger rail lines which now span the nation.
“What were once bustling railways are now silent and forgotten vestiges of our past. Many of these railways span untapped, truly breathtaking, locations, but provide no footing for hospitality development.
“Train travelers usually only capture a glimpse of the immense beauty that passes by outside their window, but imagine if you could step out of your cabin into the wilderness to feel, touch, and smell it?
“The Infinite Explorer is a one-of-a-kind hospitality experience. One train, infinite possibilities.”
The designers say: “Interstitial spaces between buildings, parking lots, forgotten pocket parks, and above buildings offer an opportunity for hotels of the future to use Connectic’s model to increase volume of available keys and amenities and connect neglected spaces to existing hotels.”
A live audience will then vote to determine the grand-prize winner of US$10,000 and the runner-up prize of US$5,000. All of the finalists will have an opportunity to meet industry experts who can help further their proposal.