ABOUT

NEWH invited current and past TopID firms (2013-2020) to participate in the historical publication “BEYOND” Special Edition Magazine.  The list represents the leading design firms within the hospitality industry across the globe; US, Canada and Europe (UK, Paris and Milan regions). For more information on the NEWH TopID program go to: newh.org/resources/top-interior-designers

These prestigious firms were asked to submit design concepts that respond to how the hospitality industry will transform following COVID-19.  NEWH believes these firms possess the talent to deliver the most innovative designs with a heartfelt passion to improve the future of our industry. We assembled a panel of 14 leading hospitality professionals to take on the important but difficult task of judging these design submissions to narrow it down to the top 20 designs they feel showcase innovation, leadership and excellence in design. The BEYOND Special Edition Magazine features these final 20 design concepts that bring optimism through inspiring design.

 

WINNERS

It is with great pleasure we present the 20 finalists for the NEWH BEYOND Special Edition Magazine. Click on logos below to view projects.

 

MEET THE JUDGES

Click on their names for their thoughts on the magazine and the future of hospitality.


Magnus Aspegren
VP/Experience Design & Innovation
Marriott International, Inc.

“Our lives happen together. The COVID-19 pandemic illustrated the devastating impact of being insufficiently prepared, and how our ability to travel, meet, and socialize can suddenly be obliterated. While this event has instigated a wide adaptation of virtual tools for connecting, these tools seem to have demonstrated their limitation in providing us the ability to truly bond and nurture our professional and private relationships. People are ready to come together again to meet up, enjoy a meal, to enjoy life, and to travel. The hospitality industry has a central role in creating the best circumstances to do so, not only from an economic and social standpoint, but also from a human perspective.The future needs solutions that safely facilitates human connection, designs that considers divergent scenarios and is able to pivot to ensure that we are not required to subject ourselves the inhuman lockdown that we have recently been experiencing.

Innovation and Design are key tools that can be used to create the foresight, insight and solutions for people to continue to meet and travel as we might encounter our next, future “COVID-19 moment.”

The concepts published in the NEWH BEYOND magazine illustrate ingenuity, thoughtfulness, and durable opportunities for human gathering and connection, scaled from urban infrastructure, building structures, gathering spaces, restaurants, and rooms utilizing the lens of the hotel. Some ideas are quickly implementable, while others are built on foundational, strategic shifts to operations. All are relevant.

These ideas successfully illustrate that thoughtful innovation and design solutions can be the portal for hotels to generate cost efficient, predictive, pivotal, and implementable solutions that can enable business to create durable connections with their guests and provide the platform for humanity and relationships to thrive, and for our lives to happen together, not apart.”


Donatella Bollani
Free Lance Journalist
Milan Polytechnic School of Design

Rosanna Caira
Editor & Publisher
Kostuch Media/Hotelier Magazine

“As a judge on the BEYOND design competition, it was inspirational to see the number of innovative and creative designs for the competition. Given that COVID-19 has significantly impacted the hotel industry, one can expect hotels to change not only the way they operate in the short term, but also how they are designed and constructed and what they look like in the future. Moving forward, the challenge that awaits hoteliers is how to welcome guests back post-COVID-19 into this new world order, while delivering a quality hotel experience that encompasses the safety requirements now being required without becoming either clinical or sterile. This competition was able to provide us with a glimpse into what that may look like by removing the constraints of the past and letting creativity and technology take us into the future.”

Michelle Finn
VP/Boutique Design Group
Emerald

“The competition entries reflected our current state of industry with a vision for tomorrow. The innovativeness and creativity displayed is a testament to the design teams’ extraordinary talent, passion for our industry with an eye on enhancing the hotel guest experience, and revenue streams.”

Sophie Harper
Editor/Hospitality & Design Portfolio
SPACE Magazine

“The innovation and creativity shown in some of the submissions really captured the spirit of design in a new world without feeling too far removed from reality as we know and love it. The ideas expressed, in both words and imagery, from all of the studios taking part really convey the insightfulness the designers have for the hospitality industry, using their design skills to offer both practical and attractive solutions for their clients and clients’ customers. If these submissions are anything to go by, we have plenty to look forward to in the future of hospitality design.”

Katarina Katolopis
PR/Sales & Marketing Director
Dolphin Capital Partners

Emily Keip
VP/Design Services America
Hyatt Hotels Corporation

Emma King
Head of Interior Design
Intercontinental Hotels Group

“It was great to see the amount of entries and the difference in the submissions. The level of creativity, time, thought, and effort was exceptional, and all of the entrants should be proud of their work and inclusion into this great book. I really enjoyed reviewing the submissions and will take a lot of thoughts away with me from the experience.”

My Nguyen
Director/Interior Design & Interior Operations
Holland America Group

“In a short amount of time, the entire world was faced with change due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This turn of events will affect the way we travel, work, vacation and interact with others now, and in the future. People’s personal space bubble has gotten bigger in a time when we need connection the most. Health & Safety has become an expectation rather than a second thought. Innovation, holistic vision and design play a critical role in positively adapting to change. This magazine showcases a comprehensive range of concepts from our Top ID Design firms that takes our hospitality industry to the next level and Beyond.”

Olga Polizzi
Deputy Chairman & Director of Design
Rocco Forte

“It is very encouraging to see how these designers have created so many innovative and stylish ideas for the post-pandemic hospitality environment. I hope that the extreme ones will never be necessary, but they have given me much food for thought. I can certainly see some of the more pared-down concepts being useful for hotels in the future. Hospitality may be entering an entirely new phase, where hoteliers and their guests will have to adapt to a new normality; these designers have begun to show the way forward. I enjoyed looking at the work of these designers, and salute some of their inspirational ideas for the future.”

Bittor Sanchez-Monasterio
VP/Design Eco & Midscale
Accor Hotels


Barry Sullivan
Senior Director/Luxury & Lifestyle
Hilton Worldwide

“A dear friend told me a long time ago that “change is the only sign of life.” While I’m confident the current conditions that have so drastically changed our world were not the reference point for the statement, it rings true to me today. In order to continually advance our quality of life, we must continually improve and adapt to the environment in which we live. I am impressed with the wide range of ideas that presented creative solutions to address ways that guests might safely arrive, move through, and experience hotels in the future. Many creative ideas were submitted for changing the way we deliver food and beverage—not only in hotels, but as freestanding venues and broad thinking to bring dining outdoors integrated into the city landscape. Congratulations to everyone that participated, infusing creativity into their submittals and laying the groundwork for thoughtfully redefining what hospitality and service will mean in the future.”
 Federico Toresi
Global Vice President Design Premium and Luxury Brands
Accor Hotels

“It was a pleasure to judge such a comprehensive compendium of applied creativity responding to the rigorous rules of hygiene and social distancing that have begun to shape the face of hospitality for our immediate future. Optimism, ingenuity, creativity, celebration of even the common but precious moments in human life have turned this into an eye-opening exercise. From the resourcefully banal to the futuristic originality of the design solutions presented, there has always been something to learn from, inspire, and guide our lateral thinking—all while presenting concrete, usable solutions to help the world of hospitality emerge from the pandemic.”

Teri Urovsky
Vice President Design & Project Management
Marriott

 

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