The internationally acclaimed European Hotel Design Awards is now open for entries. Currently in its 16th year, the scheme is widely acknowledged as the leading pan-European awards to focus on excellence in hotel architecture and design. The Awards are part of Sleep, which is the stand-out event for the hotel design industry, comprising 2 days packed with a hotel design and development talk’s programme, major exhibition, and a showcase of built hotel concepts. This year, Sleep will be held in mid-November beginning with a glamorous Awards dinner on the evening of Tuesday 19th November at Park Plaza Westminster in London where the EHDA winners will be announced. This will be followed by the rest of the event on 20th and 21st November in London’s Business Design Centre.The stature of the European Hotel Design Awards is due not only to their pioneering role in recognising the value of hotel design, but also their consistently high calibre of expert judges and a rigorous judging process that sees all the shortlisted entries visited by a panel member – a feature that distinguishes the Awards from most other competitions.
The Awards’ longevity has been achieved by constant reinvention, as Simon Ford, Chair of the judging panel, explains: “Every year we review feedback from previous awards, consider the types of project we may be seeing in this year’s entries and consider the overall process. One of the things we have seen over recent years has been the emergence of bars as stand-alone design features and so this year they will be having their own award. We have also been challenged previously in comparing very high-end projects with very simple, budget ones – equally well-designed but for different customers with different budgets, and this year we are going to recognise both within each category if the need arises”.
Recent years have certainly celebrated the wide diversity of design talent that now inspires hospitality.
Winners of the 2012 European Hotel Design Awards were:
• Conversion and/or extension of an existing hotel building: Hotel Valentinerhof, Italy – noa*
• Conversion of an existing non-hotel building to hotel use: The Mirror Hotel, Barcelona, Spain – GCA Architects
• New-build hotel: Hotel Lone, Rovinj, Croatia – Maistra
• Lobby, lounge & public areas: Superbude St Pauli, Germany – Dreimeta
• Café, Bar or All-Day Dining: Beau-Rivage Palace, Lausanne, Switzerland – Wilsdon Design Associates
• Restaurant: Sur Mesure Par Thierry Marx, Mandarin Oriental, France – Jouin Manku Studio
• Bedrooms & bathrooms: Superbude St Pauli, Hamburg, Germany – Dreimeta
• Suite: The Whitehall Penthouse Suite, Corinthia Hotel, London, England – GA Design International
• Spa, health & leisure facilities: The Spa, Mandarin Oriental, Paris, France – SM Design
• Sustainable Design Award: Starhotels, E.c.h.o., Milan, Italy – Andrea Auletta Interior Design
• The European Hotel Design of the Year: Superbude St Pauli, Hamburg, Germany – Dreimata
• The Outstanding Contribution Award: Claus Sendlinger, Founder & CEO, Design Hotels
In addition, the Sleep ReardonSmith Student Award saw a young team from Coburg, Germany, win recognition for their design of staff restaurant and relaxation areas in a hotel.
The judging panel is also refreshed annually. As always judges are selected to ensure the broadest range of professional opinions are represented within the industry, and this year’s new faces are: Stuart Wilsdon of Wilsdon Design Associates, Paul Priestman of Priestman Goode, Rob Wagemans from Concrete, Erik Nissen from Stylt Trampoli, Robbie Bargh of Gorgeous Group and Javier Hortal from Mandarin Oriental. They will be joining established EHDA judges who are: Simon Ford (Chair), Celia Geyer of Hilton Worldwide, Jeremy Blake from Purcell, Stuart Bradbury of ADS Design, Eugene Staal from Carlson Rezidor, Ahmed Akudi from Grohe, consultant Eileen Keribar, Gregoir Chikaher from Arup, James Dilley from Jestico + Whiles, Christoph Hoffmann of 25Hours Hotels, Daniel Englander from Benjamin West, Stephanie Briggs of Steph Briggs Design, design journalist Guy Dittrich and Matt Turner, editor of Sleeper Magazine.
Following the exceptional success of last year’s re-introduction of the Sleep ReardonSmith Student Award, it returns this year with a brief to create a master-plan for a new luxury hotel and residential marina development on the Southern Adriatic Coast.
As Claus Sendlinger, Founder & CEO of Design Hotels and winner of the Outstanding Contribution Award in 2012 says: “in the last ten years design has become a minimum requirement. The whole industry is waking up, and is starting to build more and more beautiful hotels.”
European Hotel Design Awards 2013: Categories
Architecture of the Year: Conversion and/or extension of an existing hotel building
Architecture of the Year: Conversion of an existing non-hotel building to hotel use
Architecture of the Year: New-build hotel
Interior Design of the Year: Lobby, lounge & public areas
Interior Design of the Year: Café or all-day dining
Interior Design of the Year: Restaurant
Interior Design of the Year: Bar
Interior Design of the Year: Bedrooms & bathrooms, sponsored by Keramag
Interior Design of the Year: Suite
Interior Design of the Year: Spa, health & leisure facilities
The Hotel Brand of the Year (By invitation only)
Tomorrow’s Hotel Award, sponsored by Arup
The European Hotel Design of the Year (chosen from entries into the above categories)
The Outstanding Contribution Award (for an individual, selected by the judges)
The Sleep ReardonSmith Student Award, which this year will be a competition to design a resort hotel.
The deadline for entries is Friday 14th June 2013
For more information and to submit entries visit: www.thesleepevent.com
