Unveiled: The Brit List Designers of 2021

    The Brit List Designers of 2021
    730 565 Hamish Kilburn
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    Unveiled: The Brit List Designers of 2021

    Each year, Hotel Designs unveils The Brit List, a publication that profiles the top 25 designers, the top 25 architects and the top 25 hoteliers who are operating in Britain. Following the official unveiling of The Brit List 2021 at this year’s spectacular award ceremony, please meet The Brit List Designers of 2021…

    The Brit List Designers of 2021

    Since 2017, The Brit List Awards has become Hotel Designs’ meaningful year-long search to find the designers, architects and hoteliers who are proving to be trendsetters on the international hotel design scene. In addition to the individual winners who were crowned at the awards ceremony in early November, the campaign also includes the unveiling of The Brit List, an annual publication that, from the shortlisted finalists, profiles the top 25 designers, top 25 architects and the top 25 hoteliers who are operating in Britain today. And every year, in December, we take time to profile the 75 individuals.

    > Since you’re here, why not read The Brit List 2021?

    To kickstart our editorial celebration of this year’s leading and most-influential designers, architects and hoteliers, please meet (in alphabetical order) The Brit List Designers of 2021…

    Alan McVitty, Founder & CEO, M Studio London

    Alan McVitty has worked within the interior design industry for more than 30 years and his portfolio reflects his distinctive, elegant style. The variety of projects, including the recently opened InterContinental Porto, which shelters a fresh interior design scheme, offer endless opportunities creatively, which McVitty and the team at M Studio London thrive on.

    The cross over from high-end residential to luxury hotel and cruise ship projects, as well as a deep understanding around materiality, gives M Studio London the knowhow to layer the interiors in the brands’ hallmark understated style.

    McVitty leads a team of multi-talented designers from the London studio.

    Alex Kravetz, Principal & Creative Director, Alex Kravetz Design

    With projects from the Middle East and Africa to Europe and the USA, Alex Kravetz is truly an international interior designer.

    His clients range from private individuals to independent hotels and major global operators. The designer not only strives to create interiors that are both timeless and elegant, but through storytelling and brand creation looks at all aspects of the project to create a compelling and immersive narrative. For example, The Carlton hotel project had a very strong concept from the offset, based on the client and Kravetz’s shared vision and market positioning for the hotel. The designer and his team developed the story of The Carlton as a hip and progressive grand hotel in the heart of the city of music, re-joining the line-up of great, grand hotels in Katowice, Poland. Turning the traditional perception of a grand hotel on its head, The Carlton is a gravitating magnet yet also a paradox. A fusion of styles from both past and present, a juxtaposition of classical versus modernistic, the old versus the new. All of these paradoxes co-exist together at The Carlton, captivated through the movement of music. This vision for the hotel, was paramount to what Kravetz would do for the interiors and was woven into the brand narrative all the way through.

    Beverley Bayes, Co-Founder & Creative Director, Sparcstudio

    Beverley Bayes is a passionate designer, with a unique signature style that effortlessly blends form and function with informality and a touch of ‘barefoot luxury’. Her designs create stunning, luxurious and sumptuous spaces that add a sense of fun, enabling guests to feel at home in an instant.

    Over 10 ten years, she has helped to transform and create ‘game-changing’ hotel spa and wellness facilities. Her portfolio includes Calot Spa, Dormy House Spa, Cottonmill at Sopwell House and the Spa at South Lodge (among others).

    Bayes’ approach is ‘ahead of the curve’, always seeking to establish a link to the outside and nature. Calcot Spa had one of the first spa gardens in the UK with its iconic slate lined hydro pool and Cotswold stone fireplace and more recently she completed South Lodge Spa’s natural swimming pool. Most recently, Bayes has completed the interior design scheme of the new spa inside London’s iconic Harrods.

    Bayes also has a unique talent for producing intelligent, inspiring environments that respect the history, culture, concept and aspirations of the project. Much of the studio’s work at the Spa at South Lodge, for example, drew on inspiration from the property’s botanical history dating back to the 1800’s to inform the spa design and concept for the 65-cover Botanica Spa Restaurant.

    Clara Mason, Interior Designer, Dexter Moren Associates

    Clara Mason joined Dexter Moren Associates in 2017 as a junior interior designer with a background in designing F&B spaces in the UK and internationally, and has built upon this experience to establish herself as a valued member of the interior design team. In the following four years, Mason has worked on numerous major hotel projects from large scale developments to small independent hotels.

    Throughout the challenges of the past year, Mason has pushed herself professionally and has stepped up to become project lead on some of DMA’s key projects, including a luxury destination wine bar, part of the Nine Elms development, and a 100-key hotel refurbishment in West London. Most recently, she has played a key role in the design and delivery of the Westin Hotel City of London, a 220 room 5* property, which includes 10 suites and nine private residences, due to open later this year and the first of its brand in the UK.

    Mason is passionate about creating timeless spaces that are responsive to their environments and user needs. Striving to push the boundaries of conventional design, she believes that the opportunity to influence how people interact with the world is a particularly exciting part of the work that we do. She is instinctively artistic with a keen sense of commercial awareness and has committed to honing her skills creatively, technically and administratively, and furthermore displays a strong team spirit. Clara has proven herself to be a highly driven and well- rounded designer.

    Craig McKie, Co-Founder & Creative Director, Bell & Swift

    Described as the ‘beating heart’ of the creative process at Bell & Swift, Craig McKie creates impactful, locally relevant, insight-fuelled design concepts. McKie is known for pushing the boundaries to create original, commercially focused, award-winning interior schemes.

    As Co-Founder of Bell & Swift, he leads the creative process and guides the team to deliver exceptional results. He has more than 12 years’ experience in the hospitality sector designing for global brands such as Hilton, IHG, Accor and Marriott International.

    As an active collaborator with a foundation in construction, McKie’s drive and experience in taking complex projects to completion and maintaining the design integrity throughout the entire process, will guarantee the final product looks every bit as good as the initial concept. Specialising in brand prototype design, new builds and major refurbishments throughout the UK, Europe and North America, McKie’s passion lies within creating welcoming spaces that result in guests returning time and again.

    Mckie is also passionate about giving young designers the opportunity to gain experience in our industry. He recognises how hard the last year has been for young designers starting out and how important it is for the future that they are given the chance to grow and develop their skills and experience in the field.

    Dale Atkinson, Founder – Rosendale Design

    Dedicating his life to his passion, Dale Atkinson takes pride in his design aesthetic, rich in tradition and yet creatively contemporary, utilising research as the bedrock of all projects, allowing each project to possess a unique environment.

    June 2021 saw the opening of Mykonos Social at the renowned Santa Marina Resort, on the vibrant island of Mykonos. Here, the studio was commissioned to create spaces both internally and externally that celebrated Greek culture.

    Another recent project, The Stafford Park Suite, marks what has been a long, successful client-designer relationship between the hotel and the studio. It started with the award-winning restaurant, Game Bird – the first project for Rosendale Design at The Stafford that opened in 2017. After receiving glowing plaudits, the studio revitalised the illustrious American Bar, one of the longest surviving American bars in London. These acclaimed projects were followed by the 2020 debut of the fourth and fifth floor main house rooms, and finally, The Stafford Park Suite.

    Other 2021/22 projects include ARAGAWA, a Japanese Steakhouse in Mayfair (one of the world’s most expensive restaurants) and Mathura by Chef Atul Kochar in the old Westminster Fire Station. Rosendale Design are also working on several high-profile residential projects including the home of the CEO of Versace. The team have also recently designed the home of A-list Chef Jason Atherton.

    David Mason, Head of Hospitality, Scott Brownrigg

    David Mason has 25 years’ experience in interior design, predominately located in London as well and living and working in Australia and Beijing. His career spans across all sectors but his main focus is hospitality and high-end residential. After joining Scott Brownrigg in 2016, he has helped strengthen our design and lead multiple teams in delivering exemplar and award-winning projects, including the arrival of Hard Rock Hotels brand in London.

    Current projects include a 226-bedroom hotel and public area refurbishment in Stratford, East London, which is about to start on site and the design of an experiential immersive hotel for a major lifestyle brand.

    In addition, Mason has recently been part of a campaign, led by Hotel Designs and supported by NEWH, to support young designers who are struggling to find the first step on the ladder. He took part in an interview, helmed by a young designer, and shared his knowledge, experience and advice on how young designers can progress post-university.

    Ed Warner, CEO & Founder, Motionspot

    In 2012 Ed Warner launched Motionspot. Since then, he has built Motionspot to become an award-winning design company recognised by RIBA.

    He has worked with hundreds of home owners, businesses, occupational therapists, architects and interior designers, helping deliver beautifully designed access for all. In 2019, Warner was appointed as the UK Government Champion for Accessible Design of Spaces and Products.

    Last year, he and his team completed Hotel Brooklyn, regarded as the UK’s most accessible design-led hotel. Bringing New York flare to Manchester, the hotel provides 189 rooms that are set across 10 storeys with conference rooms, a restaurant and bar on the ground floor and mini cinema in the lobby.

    But what really makes this hotel special is its commitment to design-led accessibility. This was central to the design and build of the hotel, which shelters nine wheelchair accessible bedrooms – including the first hotel in Manchester with ceiling track hoists – and nine ambulant accessible bedrooms.

    Accessibility isn’t just limited to the bedrooms, as attention was paid to the communal spaces too, to ensure that guests with a range of physical, visual and cognitive access needs could enjoy all the hotel has to offer.

    Fiona Thompson, Principal, Richmond International

    Last year’s winner of the Outstanding Contribution to the Hospitality Industry award, Fiona Thompson is one of the UK’s leading and most-respected hospitality interior designers – and for good reason.

    Richmond International, a studio that Thompson was adamant to remain in London when a few years ago she was given the opportunity to expand overseas, has completed projects such as Sandy Lane in BarbadosRosewood Miramar BeachThe London West Hollywood and a cluster of Four Seasons and Langham Hotels properties (to name a few).

    What’s more, Hotel Designs has seen first-hand Thompson’s support for the next generation of designers – a sign of a real leader – such as putting forward her own employees who were shortlisted for the 30-under-30 campaign that the publication launched in 2018.

    Geraldine Dohogne, Founder, Beyond Design

     An unorthodox beginning to her career, Geraldine Dohogne began on the operational side of hospitality, with Zannier Hotels. It was not long until her natural gifts and undeniable talent as a designer began to shine through, and quickly pulled her to become the brand’s DesignDirector. Her career blossomed out of pure love for design.. With each project, she brings positive social impacts, sustainable literacy and fresh inspiration drawn from each country and culture. Her strategy and work ethic that she leads her studio with, pushes projects beyond ‘hotels’ and into spheres of learning, leisure and beauty.

    Grandvoir, nestled in the Ardennes, Belgium is due to open in Autumn 2022 – and it will be a masterful expression of biophilic design. 84 cottages will span over 60 acres in the pocket of pristine vegetation. The project will bring children’s education in nature and regenerative sustainability to the forefront. With educational paths, stimulating architecture and mindful wildlife watching, the project will be driven by our humanistic need, for both adult and child, to play and reconnect. What’s more, all products will be locally grown, made or found.

    People like Dohogne remind us that designers shape the world. It is through our collective decision making in construction, development and experience when our world interacts — and ecological and social system are built.

    Hamish Brown, Director, 1508 London

    Director Hamish Brown and CEO Stuart Horwood are the Partners of 1508 London design studio, specialising in private residential, hospitality and multi-unit developments as well as yachts and product design created 12 years ago. Deeply rooted on a collaborative approach, the designs are derived from measured principles, inspired by history, geography and the local architectural vernacular. The studio’s expertise extends across all stages of design and construction; from feasibility studies, planning applications, conceptual and detailed design through to monitoring construction on-site, procurement, dressing and hand-over, ensuring each project is finished to the highest level of quality.

    With offices spreading across four continents 1508 London offers a world leading design service with a global reach. 1508 London is currently designing an important historical Townhouse in London, an incredible property in Reykjavík, Iceland and Villas in South of France and Italy. In addition to private clients, 1508 also have a dedicated team, fully experienced in designing larger scale projects such as The Raffles Residences at the OWO (the old war office) a landmark in London, a new Four Seasons Resort in the Middle East and The Rosewood Doha that will be ready for the World Cup 2022.

    Henry Chebaane, Founder & Creative Director, Blue Sky Hospitality

    Since opening his multi-disciplinary London studio in 2002, Henry Chebaane has developed an all-encompassing approach to designing hospitality spaces that are more akin to film and stage productions. Always starting with a compelling concept with a story to tell, his interiors are meticulously articulated through script-writing, stage-setting, scenography, architecture and product design, immersing staff and customers into experiential transactions within each project – think modern-day Oliver Messel.

    From single cocktail bars to multi-use real estate developments, he endeavours for each client to balance commercial discipline and brand identity with high impact drama, quirky detail and strong styling.

    His eclectic design philosophy has led him to work for large brands such as Four Seasons, InterContinental, Hyatt, Hilton, Marriott as well as independent hotels and restaurants.

    Each project, which recently includes Voco, The Hague, The Megaro at Kings Cross in London and Andaz Prague, shelters thought-provoking art installations that he creates himself, enabling multiple levels of engagement for the public: from simply entertaining to often deeper introspection into culture, sociology, ecology and animal welfare.

    Hilary Lancaster, CEO & Interior Designer, Fusion Interiors Group

    Australian by origin, Hilary Lancaster is an award-winning interior designer with more than 25 years’ experience, designing internationally for some of the world’s most high-profile clients and projects.

    After returning to the UK in 2015, following a few international design ventures, she won a series of hotel projects in Amsterdam, which took her to yet another exciting city and culture in the Netherlands. Adding to the melting-pot of her experience and widening even further her knowledge of various cultures, she experienced their ways of living and working and expanded her connections in the industry from suppliers to investors to hoteliers and private clients. Her design for The Hendrick’s Hotel in Amsterdam is well-known for its charm and uniqueness, sheltering just 25 rooms in an old Canal House.

    The designer is very interested in developing her interest in sustainability in design. She is appreciative of the opportunity given to her by Club Med that enabled her to deliver her first sustainable resort for Club Med in the Dominican Republic. Following this, she is planning on working on more sustainability-led projects in the Caribbean and globally.

    Ilse Crawford, Founder, StudioIlse 

    Ilse Crawford, the Founding Editor of Elle Decoration UK, is a designer, teacher and creative director. As Founder of Studioilse, over two decades – in which time she has published a handful books – she has pioneered humanistic design in its real-life application to environments, objects and experiences, by addressing true human needs (not manufactured ones).

    As a meaningful designer, who once said, “design is a verb, not a noun,” her portfolio includes Ett Hem, Babbington House, Soho House New York and Kranzbach Hotel – as well as designing innovative products (or ‘things’ as they are described on her website) such as the Together Table, the Touch Collection and the iconic Ilse Sofa.

    One of her most recent projects is located in Hong Kong. Carlyle & Co., Rosewood Hotels’ debut members’ club opened earlier this year, presenting a new style of the private membership experience.

    Carlyle & Co. welcomes a carefully curated community of members drawn together by personalities, passions, interests and stories ­– rather than status or profession – to experience exceptional dining and lifestyle moments, a rich cultural calendar and unrivalled entertainment.

    Jeremy Grove, Managing Director, Sibley Grove 

    For more than 10 years, Sibley Grove has been considered a pioneer in the world of interiors and sustainability. During a difficult 2020, Jeremy Grove, after winning The Eco Award at The Brit List Awards 2020, has continued to drive forward with existing projects and win new, exciting projects that will be implemented in 2022.

    KAUST Hotel in Jeddah was completed in September, 2021. The hotel is on the site of the world’s largest LEED accredited university campus; it is more than 22,000sqm and consists of 300 guestrooms and suites, conference centres, restaurants, a gym and fitness centre, and a rooftop terrace and restaurant.

    Grove approached the interior design from a human scale, celebrating the seven-metre ground floor ceiling heights and creating warmth and intimacy through the introduction of lighting rafts, screens and partitioning. The designer created a horizontal datum along the large walls and applied a fluted lighting feature on the upper half to cut down the vast volumes and rationalise the spaces. Using a feature chain link screen, the studio created private lounges and areas for informal meetings while maintaining visibility across the space.

    The ambition for the guestrooms was to create the feeling of a luxury apartment. The materials, palette and layout reflect a relaxed residential scheme, rather than a more formal/generic hotel guestroom.

    The team at Sibley Grove have spent many years visiting factories and building relationships with suppliers and manufacturers to ensure supply chains are as sustainable and ethical as possible.

    Kirsty Vance, Senior Designer, I-AM London

     I-AM London has been a fundamental partner in successfully designing the interiors for a number of hotels, including the Center Hotel Laugavegur in Iceland.

    For Laugavegur, Kirsty Vance and her team used their ideation process to capture the brand’s values and translate it across the building’s interiors, while effectively attracting the target audience. I-AM London created the ‘stay like a local’ philosophy for the group, which led the concept of the lobby design. Encompassing both the hotel reception and a guest lounge, the lobby features a concierge desk, luggage locker wall and area for guests to digitally book tours and trips. The waiting area incorporates a feature wall showcasing various Icelandic curiosities and providing an insight into the local culture. It also has a flexi-space that guests can use to work or relax, creating an atmosphere that aims to feel like a home away from home.

    Following the success of Laugavegur, I-AM London continues to be the hotel brand’s much loved design partner. Along with the launch of a new destination restaurant Héðinn, which opened its doors in June, 2021, I-AM London is also working with the group on a number of other hotels, including Ísafold Restaurant in Þingholt and the complete redesign of the hotel Skjaldbreid.

    Marie Soliman, Co-Founder & Creative Director, Bergman Interiors

    Following five years at HBA London working as Projects Senior Designer, Marie Soliman together with partner Albin Burgland, launched Bergman Interiors in 2016 with the aim to establish a design studio that focused on tailored briefs, redefining luxury and delivering bespoke experiences within the hospitality arena.

    The designer and her team are currently working on a new luxury hospitality experience at Silverstone, while helping to develop a revolutionary hospitality concept, called The Other House. Launching in Spring 2022, the brand’s first hotel, located in South Kensington, promises to combine world-class design with a decidedly clubby feel to encourage a new generation of long and short-term guests to make Southwest London their home.

    Effortlessly and elegantly combining home comforts with hotel style facilities, whatever the length of stay, The Other House South Kensington will offer 200 signature fully fitted and contemporary classic Club Flats – for leisure travellers and corporate visitors alike.

    And that’s just the beginning. Following Burglund winning Interior Designer of The Year at The Brit List Awards 2020, the team have recently expanded, and in the process launched Njord by Bergman Design House, which is travelling at full-force to design tomorrow’s fleet of luxury superyachts.

    Mark Bithrey, Founder & Creative Director, B3 Designers

    Mark Bithrey’s approach to design is always first to ensure operational efficiency – whether that’s in hotels, restaurants, bars, cafés, or homes. The design concepts and finishes make most sense when the space works to do what it is supposed to.

    For the Sheraton Frankfurt Airport Hotel & Conference Centre, the design challenge posed to B3 Designers was multifold. The property has been split into two, to accommodate two Marriott brands – Sheraton and Marriott. B3 Designers was tasked with designing the entire interiors for the common areas at the Sheraton, and some shared areas between the two hotels: lobby, check-in, F&B spaces, lounge and business meetings areas. A new train station is under construction, from where a bridge will lead straight up to the communal area of the hotel.

    The HOSHO Hostel in Paris was another challenging hotel/accommodation project that Bithrey and his team worked on, and was launched in early 2021. Catering to young travellers and families, this hostel needed to sleep guests in bunk beds, which B3 Designers designed, while offering a cool and fun F&B space, locker area, and laundry section.

    Bithrey brings 20 years’ experience to every single project; looking at each of them with fresh eyes while applying his knowledge and solid understanding of design, technically challenging spaces are his forte.

    Neil Andrew, Head of Hospitality, Perkins&Will

    Neil Andrew joined Perkins&Will in 2020 to head up hospitality projects for interior design and architecture – and there was no time for a gentle ‘easing in’ period.

    Since joining the company, Andrew has led the design for the public areas of Hilton London Metropole which opened in September 2020. As one of the largest conference hotels in Europe, the Metropole boasts some vast spaces, and so the challenge as architects and interior designers was to bring those down to a human scale, creating intimate pockets within the larger spaces. At the same time, it was important to balance design flair and concept narrative with a practicality which would meet the functional requirements of the property – as it caters for conference and leisure guests.

    Currently Perkins&Will are developing their Net Zero Pledge for Hospitality which will see the team set a target of producing 100 per cent Net Zero design by 2030. In order to do so Andrew’s team are contributing to the Perkins&Will ‘Now Database’ which is a shared resource for designers and architects within other practices, listing suppliers that adhere to sustainability requirements outlined by the studio. In order for the hospitality market to continue growing whilst reducing its carbon footprint on the planet some quite drastic steps need to be taken now and this is key to the Perkins&Will ethos.

    Nicholas J Hickson, Founder & Partner, THDP 

    Nicholas J Hickson, with more than 34 years’ experience, has extensive knowledge and understanding within the hotel design arena. His diverse contemporary approach to traditional manufacturing ideas, combined with his attention to detail, delivers inspirational client led solutions. He has extensive experience with hotel interior architecture, schematic planning, FF&E selection & custom design, and procurement strategies.  He has a contemporary approach to traditional manufacturing, combined with his attention to detail, he delivers inspirational interiors.

    In terms of projects, he and his team completed the interiors inside the Hilton DoubleTree Roma Monti in April. Last year THDP also completed Indigo Verona, Terme di Saturnia, Hilton Frankfurt City Centre. In addition, the studio has recently finished a brand-new RG Naxos hotel that will become a Marriott next year, as well as more projects in Venice.

    In addition, Hickson is a well-versed speaker on the international hotel design scene. He recently joined Hotel Designs LIVE, a unique online conference that was launched during the Covid-19 crisis, to explore the topic of bathrooms beyond practical spaces.

    Scott Torrance, Head of Interiors, 3DReid

     Scott Torrance leads the 3DReid interiors team and works on a diverse range of interior projects and sectors designing three-, four- and five-star hotels, bars and restaurants, F&B operations, hospitality lounges, residential including student residences, retail, leisure, health

    and wellbeing and workplace environments.

    Torrance has extensive experience particularly within the hotel sector working collaboratively with clients throughout the UK and abroad. He is responsible for all aspects of projects from managing initial concept design to project delivery on site and has a particular interest in historic buildings, specifically their change of use and reinvention into hotels.

    Scott has worked on the following selected hospitality projects, including the British Airways Lounge in Aberdeen, Goodwood Hotel in Chichester, Hotel Indigo Manchester – Victoria Station, KM Central in Edinburgh, Masson House Hotel in Edinburgh, Rutland Arms Hotel in Newmarket and V&A Hotel in Manchester (among others).

    Simon Kincaid, Partner, Conran and Partners

    Simon Kincaid joined Conran and Partners in 2006, became a Director in 2016 and a Partner in 2018. His work at the practice covers various typologies including residential, hotel, restaurant and retail projects, across markets ranging from the UK, Europe and North America to China, India and South Korea.

    Kincaid is deeply immersed in the creative industry, on an international level, which has allowed him to travel to culturally significant places, meet inspirational people, and enjoy experiences which have become treasured memories. It’s the culmination of these encounters, places and the people that shape his designs.

    Collaboration is a central part Simon’s approach and his projects acknowledge the importance of working closely with specialist design and brand consultants, engineers and fabricators.

    He approaches any interior design project with the complete building and the way in which individuals use – and relate to – the design in mind, irrespective of the scope of the brief. It’s a process that focuses on the quality of the journey which residents, guests or customers make through spaces, and how well-considered design can encourage personal engagement with buildings and interiors. This holistic approach allows him to marry the interiors of a building with the exterior, considering the journey to and through a building and space throughout the design.

    Simon Rawlings, Creative Director, David Collins Studio

    As Creative Director of David Collins Studio, Simon Rawlings has overseen the realisation of some of the world’s most iconic hospitality, residential and retail spaces. In the course of more than two decades at the studio, he has collaborated with clients such as Harrods, Alexander McQueen and Mandarin Oriental, both in reinventing prominent buildings and establishing important new landmarks.

    His most recent headline-grabbing project was Nobu Hotel London Portman Square, which, unavailingly was forced to confront the pressures of the pandemic by opening its hotel as the UK went into a national lockdown. Despite this, its contemporary approach to both aesthetics and hospitality, has kept it on the agenda of modern travellers and design enthusiasts. The hotel’s design takes cues from Japanese architectural disciplines and minimalist design, whilst utilising a refined colour palette influenced by heritage Japanese colour combinations.

    Located in the heart of central London’s vibrant Marylebone area, the new luxury hotel features 249 guestrooms and suites, Nobu’s world-class restaurant, a ballroom and meeting spaces – all beautifully conceptualised by David Collins Studio with architecture by Make Architects.

    Suzanne Garuda, Principal Designer, Garuda Design

    The Garuda vision, led by Suzanne Garuda, is luxurious but creative and fluid. The team creates interiors for a rich kaleidoscope of tastes, but communication is at the heart of everything they do. The studio matches aesthetics to the architecture and purpose of the space and the lifestyle of the client – or customer in commercial work. There is no single Garuda style – as you scroll through the portfolio, you begin to notice that each project has its own unique story and vision.

    The studio is made up of a talented team, consisting of architectural technologists, design experts, and specialists in commercial and residential work. The studio works with multi-talented artisans, who vary from design to design.

    NYX Hotels, a brand that the studio is working with, shelters a unique cluster of lifestyle hotels. Each amplifies the vibrancy of the cities they are in, while also being destinations of relaxed luxury.

    NYX Hotel London Holborn, which the studio recently completed, is perfectly located on Southampton Row in the Midtown area between the City and London’s West End. At NYX Hotel London Holborn, London’s electrifying spirit does stop at the front door, but instead flows throughout and inspires everything you see, hear, taste and experience.

    Tina Norden, Partner, Conran and Partners

    Tina Norden’s energy is infectious – not a word we use lightly (especially following the biggest cultural shift the industry has perhaps ever seen). She is an architect and interior designer with a truly diverse portfolio which stretches across many contexts and continents, from hotel and restaurant design to high-end residential.

    Throughout the pandemic, Norden was a consistent and key voice in the industry, speaking at various online events and university lectures about the impact of the pandemic on the hospitality industry. She continued to mentor more junior members of the team, inspiring the next generation of designers – ‘no’ is not in her vocabulary when it comes to the opportunity to help others.

    With every project, Norden approaches the brief by delving into its context and unique history to create timeless spaces that tell a story. Her unique, concept-driven approach has shaped the way in which the whole practice presents its work and was influential in the creation of Conran and Partners’ first monograph which was published last autumn.

    Recently completed projects include the new five-star Park Hyatt hotel in Auckland, FEAST within Hong Kong’s iconic EAST hotel, a new dining destination and members’ club within London’s Taj Hotel and the Peninsula Boutique and Café in Hong Kong.

    The application process (free of charge) for The Brit List Awards 2022 will open in Q2 of 2022. 

    Main image credit: The Brit List Awards 2021

    Hamish Kilburn / 15.12.2021

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