The Smirnoff Button Room
Forbidden fruits in a hotel room
The guest enters the room through a chrome-plated steel door. Above the bed, the same bed is suspended from the ceiling. The walls are bright red. At the head of the bed there is a bright red emergency button with a sign under it:
DO NOT TOUCH BUTTON
If the button is pressed, nothing seems to happen at first. Then strange sounds emanate from under the bed. Weird singing in an unknown language fills the space. All of a sudden, with an overwhelming noise, chrome-plated steel rolling shutters drop down along all four walls. In front of the window, in front of the button, and in front of the phone. In the meantime the temperature of the room has unnoticeably dropped. Locked up, with music that is anything but soothing.
After a few minutes, monitors light up in the suspended bed. The hotel guest realizes he has been filmed by five hidden cameras for some time. After about 15 minutes, with the same noise, all four
shutters open simultaneously. The light and temperature return to normal. The whole room is exactly as it was before the transgression.
Client: Frans Verlinden, Winston Hotel
Location: Amsterdam
Year: 2000-2002
Area: 16 m2