The wonderful people over at the Society of British and International Design (SBID) held its third annual awards over a pleasing luncheon at the Dorchester hotel in London.
The SBID Awards are now well established as a celebration of excellence for interior design across the globe – among the gongs this year were a number in the hospitality sector. The shortlisted finalists in the 14 categories were drawn from over 30 countries across five continents.
This year’s finalists included the Google Offices in Tel Aviv by Camenzind Evolution; a private residence by The Studio Harrods; the W Hotel in Singapore by the Rockwell Group; Marco Pierre White Grill in Dubai by Stickman; Hotel Maria Cristina in Spain by The Gallery HBA; an exhibition space for the Museum Volkenkunde in the Netherlands by Kossman.dejong; and the Mayfair VIP Passenger Terminal at Stansted Airport by Pascall+Watson.
Vanessa Brady, SBID president, says: “The SBID Awards have truly developed into a global event. This year we had a record of just under 400 entries from over 30 countries. There were so many brilliant and innovative projects submitted, deciding on a final shortlist was an extremely difficult task for our team of judges.”
The awards are judged by international industry leaders, including Nicholas Candy, CEO and founder, Candy & Candy Design; Theo Williams, head of design at John Lewis; Tony Ash, managing director for UK and Middle East, Vitra; and David Lewis, managing director of Sunseeker London. Tony Hall, director-general of the BBC, agreed to be this year’s guest judge.
The public were invited to cast their votes for their favourite projects on the awards website.
The winners received an impressive SBID International Design Award trophy, exclusively commissioned and designed by the Czech company Sans Souci Glass Deco.
Here is a list of the winners in the Commercial category:
Overall
W Singapore – Sentosa Cove by Rockwell Group
Rockwell Group teamed up with Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide to design the W Singapore – Sentosa Cove, a cosmopolitan resort on Sentosa Island. Bringing the outside in, motifs and materials are drawn from Singapore and Sentosa Island. Orchids, rosewood and traditional floral textiles provide the inspiration and patterns to convey the warmth of the island. The environment reflects the influence of the island’s culture, sensibility and surroundings while keeping the chic fun of the W brand in the forefront.
Commercial Space (joint)
Hills Sales Centre by Kris Lin Interior Design
Located in Taiyuan city, Shanxi Province, China, the project is a real estate sales centre for sales of residential products. Taiyuan is a 4700-year-old city in the middle of Shanxi Highland with many high mountains and hills. Hence the project is given a name ‘Hills’ with the hope to reflect the human geography.
AND
Marriott Beijing Northeast by VOA Associates Incorporated
VOA’s interior design work for Hainan Airline’s five star CBD Marriott Beijing Northeast was inspired by the tropical location and features the aroma and sounds of tropical rain forest waterfalls, palm trees, and luminous ever-changing sky.
Entertainment Space
Crown Conservatory by Blainey North
Conservatory is reminiscent of English conservatories and references Georgian grandeur and art deco detailing using traditional craftsmanship techniques, such as the marble panel detailing used on the restaurant’s pillars, that aim to create a sense of timeless permanence and make guests feel comfortable.
Intelligent Design
PET CT Center for Diagnosis and Research by Hamad Medical Corporation
The new PET CT Center in Qatar received the Cityscape Award 2012 for the best building in Public Sector and also received the Hospital Build Award 2013 for the best hospital design in the Middle East.
Product
In-Tank Meridian WC by Roca
Thanks to its extensive R&D investment, Roca has effectively revolutionised the wall-hung market with the introduction of the In-Tank Meridian WC, the first to have a concealed cistern integrated within the pan.
Public Space
The Story of the Totem Pole by Kossmann.dejong
Kossmann.dejong designed the exhibition The Story of the Totem Pole for the Museum Volkenkunde [National Museum of Ethnology] in Leiden, the Netherlands, focusing on the indigenous inhabitants of the north-west coast of the United States and Canada.
Transport
Keyla by Hot Lab
Keyla is a 45.3m, 3600hp super yacht – built by Trinity Yachts – with an aluminium semi-displacement hull and superstructure. RMK Marine and Hot Lab studio worked together to refit the yacht after a series of inputs from the owner and his family, who are enthusiasts of photography, art and fossil collecting.
Visualisation
Timeless to visionary by Jet Aviation Basel
Jet Aviation Basel’s in-house team recently launched two distinct cabin interior designs for wide-body aircraft. Taking two floor plans of similar layout, the studio developed two unique design approaches to illustrate the journey in creating classic designs to more visionary design concepts that may provide a glimpse into the future of cabin interior design, particularly as aircraft manufacturers increasingly introduce lightweight airframes of composite structures.