Eternal Hotel
Carrie Kuo
Eternal Hotel is a hand-crafted Swiss-bound hardcover book that functions as both a publication and a luxury object. Wrapped in soft velvet fabric and bound with gold thread in French link stitches, the book is encased in a clamshell box. Gold-foiled pages and a neutral, minimal palette of camel, ivory, and metallic accents emphasize elegance, restraint, and tactility. These formal features invite slow handling and careful viewing, reflecting the rituals of entering and inhabiting a grand hotel.
Constructed through the handmade processes of sewing, foiling, and box-making, the work foregrounds labor and attention to detail as defining qualities of luxury. Inspired by the hospitality industry, where environments are meticulously designed to build comfort, belonging, and emotional reassurance, the project examines how systems of service, architecture, and craft shape meaningful experiences. Historic landmark hotels serve as a contextual reference, representing institutions that preserve care, grandeur, and attentiveness within an era shaped by hyper-capitalism and industrial efficiency.
The project explores hospitality as both a genuine and constructed experience. By creating an opulent object that reveals evidence of manual effort, Eternal Hotel transforms the idea of luxury from a symbol of exclusivity into an expression of devotion and time. The book’s content reveals the highly intricate layers that shape a hotel experience, from monumental facades and atmospheric interiors to behavioral protocols performed by service workers. Through this focus, the project emphasizes the value of careful design and the way seemingly minor details accumulate to create moments of awe, belonging, and lasting memory.