Winner: Hotel Hotel Lobby and Nishi Grand Stair Interior / March Studio. Image Courtesy of March Studio
The “fragmented” lobby of Australia’s Hotel Hotel in Canberra by March Studio has been named World Interior of the Year 2015. Announced at the INSIDE World Festival of Interiors in Singapore, concurrently with the World Architecture Festival’s Building of the Year award, the winning project was selected over 100 nominated and 50 shortlisted projects for being the best global interior completed within the last 12 months. It also took top prize in the award’s hotel category.
The project has created a “Bilbao effect” that has helped rejuvenate the area, said the judges. Adding, it’s a “masterful integration of different spaces into a seamless and delightful interior.”
Winner: Hotel Hotel Lobby and Nishi Grand Stair Interior / March Studio. Image Courtesy of March Studio
Located in NewActon, a diverse new precinct in Canberra, Hotel Hotel is part of a wider scheme that encompasses offices, residential apartments, cafes and a cinema. Designed by March Studio, the signature design of the new hotel is a fragmented lobby entrance, which provides a unique identity for the building. A series of fractured timber pieces line the walls and furniture to create a tunneling effect that leads guests from the reception through to the main areas of the hotel.
At the centre of the hotel lies a grand staircase that services the two floors of accommodation and creates a focal point at the end of the fragmented entrance. A bar is also located on the ground floor and features openings punched through the concrete walls to create views to the central courtyard.
The repurposing of the timber in the lobby grabbed the judges’ attention for what they described as a “poetic use of leftover materials [to create a] powerful but not overwhelming” result.
Winner: Hotel Hotel Lobby and Nishi Grand Stair Interior / March Studio. Image Courtesy of March Studio
The other category award winners were…
Bars and Restaurants: Vivarium (Bangkok, Thailand) / Hypothesis
Bars and Restaurants: Vivarium (Bangkok, Thailand) / Hypothesis. Image © Pakkawat Paisitthawee
Residential: Tree House (Rome, Italy) / MdAA Architetti Associati
Residential: Tree House (Rome, Italy) / MdAA Architetti Associati. Image Courtesy of INSIDE
Retail: KKi Sweets and the Little Drom Store (Singapore) Produce Workshop
Retail: KKi Sweets and the Little Drom Store (Singapore) Produce Workshop. Image Courtesy of INSIDE
Offices: Medibank Workplace (Melbourne, Australia) / Hassell
Offices: Medibank Workplace (Melbourne, Australia) / Hassell. Image © Earl Carter
Display: Ward Village Information Center and Sales Gallery (Honolulu, USA) / Woods Bagot
Display: Ward Village Information Center and Sales Gallery (Honolulu, USA) / Woods Bagot. Image Courtesy of INSIDE
Creative Re-use: Shepherd’s Bush Pavilion Hotel (London, UK) / Flanagan Lawrence
Creative Re-use: Shepherd’s Bush Pavilion Hotel (London, UK) / Flanagan Lawrence. Image © Anthony Weller
Health and Education: The University of Queensland Oral Health Centre (Queensland, Australia) / Cox Rayner Architects
Health and Education: The University of Queensland Oral Health Centre (Queensland, Australia) / Cox Rayner Architects. Image Courtesy of INSIDE
Civic, Culture and Transport: Exploded (Wuhan, China) / One Plus Partnership
Civic, Culture and Transport: Exploded (Wuhan, China) / One Plus Partnership. Image Courtesy of INSIDE
News and project description courtesy of INSIDE.
