The internationally-acclaimed European Hotel Design Awards (EHDA) is now open for entries. Currently in its 16th year, the awards are widely acknowledged as a leading pan-European scheme focusing on excellence in hotel architecture and design.
The awards are part of Sleep, a prominent event in the hotel design calendar. This year, Sleep will be held in mid-November, beginning with a glamorous awards dinner on the evening of Tuesday 19th November at Park Plaza Westminster in London – where the EHDA winners will be announced. This will be followed by the rest of the event on 20th and 21st November in London’s Business Design Centre.
EDHA entries are judged by a panel of expert judges. The rigorous judging process involves each shortlisted entry being judged by a panel member – a feature that distinguishes the awards from many other competitions.
The awards’ longevity has been achieved by constant reinvention, as Simon Ford, chair of the judging panel, explains: “Every year we review feedback from previous awards, consider the types of project we may be seeing in this year’s entries and consider the overall process.
“One of the things we have seen over recent years has been the emergence of bars as stand-alone design features, and so this year they will be having their own award.
“We have also been challenged previously in comparing very high- end projects with very simple, budget ones – equally well-designed, but for different customers with different budgets, and this year we are going to recognise both within each category if the need arises.”
The EDHA categories for 2013 are:
“¢ Architecture of the Year: Conversion and/or extension of an existing hotel building
“¢ Architecture of the Year: Conversion of an existing non-hotel building to hotel use
“¢ Architecture of the Year: New-build hotel
“¢ Interior Design of the Year: Lobby, lounge and public areas
“¢ Interior Design of the Year: Cafe or all-day dining
“¢ Interior Design of the Year: Restaurant
“¢ Interior Design of the Year: Bar
“¢ Interior Design of the Year: Bedrooms and bathrooms, sponsored by Keramag
“¢ Interior Design of the Year: Suite
“¢ Interior Design of the Year: Spa, health and leisure facilities
“¢ The Hotel Brand of the Year (by invitation only)
“¢ Tomorrow’s Hotel Award, sponsored by Arup
“¢ The European Hotel Design of the Year (chosen from entries into the above categories)
“¢ The Outstanding Contribution Award (for an individual, selected by the judges)
“¢ The Sleep ReardonSmith Student Award – this year’s challenge will be to design a resort hotel
The deadline for entries is Friday 14th June. Readers can find more information and submit entries here.
