Nominator: Primož Jeza

Nominator's statement

Designing a Tourist Train with the Programme and Identity of a Design Hotel
Team: Tomšič Lovro, Gojević Žiga, Ovnik Nejc, Rebolj Leja, Gorenak Marko, DiMito Sabrina, Bratina Zala, Burgar Tjada, Oplotnik Hana, Pavlič Tinkara, Stojčevski Ivan

The project explores the design of a tourist train conceived as a design hotel on rails, where the train functions not only as a means of transport but as a fully designed living and experiential environment. The aim was to develop a contemporary train that enables multi-day travel across Slovenia with a high level of residential comfort, spatial quality, and a coherent user experience, while establishing a clear and recognisable identity of a tourism product.

The design process began with the development of the train’s exterior, understood as the architectural envelope of the design hotel. The exterior was conceived as a visually unified and contemporary system of carriages, characterised by clear architectural articulation, restrained elegance, and a sustainability-oriented approach, while respecting technical, structural, and infrastructural constraints of railway transport. The exterior acts as a communicative element that establishes the identity of the train as a design hotel and anticipates the character of the interior experience in relation to the Slovenian spatial and cultural context.

The exterior concept is directly linked to the programme of the flexible train composition and the interior design of individual carriages, interpreted as different hotel spaces. Sleeping carriages function as hotel rooms, while programme-specific carriages serve as shared spaces for hospitality, wellness, recreational, and cultural activities. Interior design focuses on privacy, functional efficiency, and comfort within limited spatial conditions, using modular, sustainable, and carefully selected material solutions.

The project also includes service design, in which the train as a design hotel is conceived as a carrier of a holistic tourism experience. The service concept integrates a multi-day travel programme from Koper to Lendava, connecting the architectural experience of the train with the natural, cultural, and culinary characteristics of Slovenia, and forming a coherent, sustainable, and high-quality tourism product.

VALVASOR

The Valvasor project reimagines a contemporary tourist train as a multi-day design hotel on rails, offering an immersive journey through Slovenia that combines comfort, spatial quality, and cultural discovery. Developed through in-depth research of high-end rail travel and technical constraints, the concept balances feasibility with a cohesive, user-centered experience. Designed for 30 guests, the train is organized as a sequence of carefully curated spaces, including private sleeping cabins and specialized wagons such as a dining car with a glass-enclosed kitchen, a salon bar, cinema, wellness area, and a botanical garden.

The exterior is conceived as a unified architectural shell, defined by a minimalist, high-gloss metallic finish with panoramic reflective glazing that visually integrates the train into the landscape while ensuring privacy. Concealed functional elements reinforce a continuous and refined form. Through considered material selection, spatial storytelling, and integrated service design, Valvasor establishes a clear identity as a contemporary design hotel, merging modern living standards with the cultural and environmental context of Slovenia.