Rome gets hotel made from rubbish‎

10:00 AM Buildings and Architecture 0 comments Spluch

Sleeping surrounded by rubbish would not be most people's idea of a great selling point for a hotel in the middle of one of the world's most beautiful cities.

But that is exactly what currently stands in the centre of Rome - and it can already boast a major celebrity endorsement after model Helena Christensen was the first guest to stay there.

Constructed entirely from debris found on beaches in Europe, the Save the Beach hotel makes a startling sight in the streets more famous for the Colosseum and the Pantheon.

It was built from a huge range of material including plastic bags, fishing nets, skateboards, unwanted clothes. There is even a rocking horse and a mannequin's leg somewhere.

Five reception rooms are lined with 12 tonnes of rubbish.

German artist Ha Schult is behind the project, which sits near the 2nd Century Castel Sant'Angelo. He hopes he will be able to recreate a similar idea in other capital cities, including London.

He claimed the hotel is a 'mirror of our times'. 'We create rubbish and we become rubbish,' he said. 'We must change the world before the world changes us.'

The lavatories are chemical toilets, there are no showers and sheets have been ripped up to act as curtains.

Allan Thompson, from Surbiton in Surrey, and his teenage daughter Rebecca one a night at the hotel in a competition.

'It was a bit basic,' he admitted. He told The Times: 'There was a downpour and the roof leaked but it was a great experience.'

He joked he would give the hotel three and a half stars on Trip Advisor - a site where travellers can review destinations for all to see.

Christensen also said she had a 'great night'. 'I am deeply disturbed by the state of our beaches,' the model turned photographer and environmental campaigner added.

Shult has previously sculpted 1,000 figures from waste which have been exhibited at the Great Wall of China, the Egyptian Pyramids and the Red Square of Moscow.

The hotel is only open until June 7.

Source:- Daily Mail