Aircruise – a giant, vertical airship powered by natural energy and designed to carry travellers in style and luxury. Started as a self-generated project, Seymourpowell’s Aircruise is the concept design for a hotel in the sky, with low passenger numbers and huge internal spaces offering room for living, dining and relaxing, as well as scope for dramatic and inspirational public spaces. The initial design proposes a bar/lounge zone, four duplex apartments, a penthouse and five smaller apartments. The concept subsequently captured the imagination of Korean giant Samsung Construction and Trading (C&T). Driven by its interest in new materials for building, Samsung C&T appointed Seymourpowell to refine the idea and produce a detailed computer animation of the proposed experience to illustrate this visionary approach to the future.

Slow is the new fast: Airships hold a particular place in the common imagination, conjuring images of romance, luxury and exploration whilst travelling. In a world where speed is an almost universal obsession, the idea of making a leisurely journey in comfort is a welcome contrast. We considered the global appeal of the contemporary luxury hotel, but instead of standing in a fixed location, the clipper moves, combining the pleasures of retreating to a hotel with the excitement of the journey itself. Where there are locations of interest en route, the ship can drop down to within a few hundred feet of the ground, to glide over the Serengeti, the Amazon or the Great pyramids. Aircruise is one definition of the future of the luxury travel experience, blending the indulgence of a fine hotel with the dreamlike quality and absolute freedom of flight. Bloody love it, love how its bringing the romance back into travel. Brilliant…