Hotel Hotel, a contemporary hotel in Canberra, Australia, has been named as the World Interior of the Year for 2015. The project by March Studio has beaten over 100 nominees across nine categories to be named the best global interior of the last 12 months. The winner was presented with the accolade at a gala dinner at the INSIDE – World Festival of Interiors in Marina Bay Sands in Singapore.
The judges described the project as a “masterful integration of different spaces into a seamless and delightful interior.” The judges felt that the thoughtful and innovative design creating a ‘Bilbao effect’ that has helped to rejuvenate the area.
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 tunnelling 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.
“As a global paints and coatings company, AkzoNobel, through Dulux, are well aware of the importance of colour and design in people’s lives. The Interior of The Year Prize awards exactly this – today’s most inspiring interiors that aim to celebrate our thriving design scene. The extraordinary quality of entries submitted this year is testimony to the dedication that designers have in producing stellar designs that push the boundaries of architectural excellence to greater heights,” said Jeremy Rowe, Managing Director of AkzoNobel Decorative Paints, South East & South Asia, Middle East.
March Studio are now the fourth winner of the prize and will return to INSIDE Festival in 2016 to act as a judge for next year’s awards; previous winners include Joyce Wang and David Kohn.
