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 twelve months. The winner was presented with the esteemed accolade at a gala dinner at the INSIDE – World Festival of Interiors in the world famous 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.

INSIDE – World Festival of Interiors coincides with the World Festival of Architecture and together they form the largest celebration of contemporary architecture and design in the world. 2015 marks the last year that the festival will be staged in Singapore and next year it will return to Europe to take place in Berlin, Germany.

Images of all the winners are available to download here

For information on all category winners please visit https://www.insidefestival.com/winners-2015

Press, image and interview requests:
Caro Communications: 020 7713 9388; @carocomms
Jordan Lewis [email protected]
Lizzie Colville [email protected]
 
Notes to Editors
 
INSIDE 2015 Award categories:

Bars & Restaurants
Civic, Culture & Transport
Display
Health & Education
Hotels
Offices
Residential
Retail

About INSIDE – World Festival of Interiors 

One of the most important fixtures in the global design calendar, interior designers and architects will come together from around the world in Singapore to learn, connect and share ideas at this unmissable annual fixture in the interior design calendar. Held in Singapore on 4 – 6 November alongside World Architecture Festival, INSIDE is your opportunity to be inspired by the latest and greatest in global interiors. Over three days INSIDE shines a spotlight on the people, projects and developments that are changing the face of global interiors. At INSIDE’s heart is a global awards programme, which will be judged by more than 20 distinguished designers and editors from around the world. Finalists that are shortlisted across nine categories will present their project in person to international judging panels. The category winners will then go head-to-head before our super jury, which includes luminaries such as Matteo Thun and Sadie Morgan. In a hard fought-over battle, one practice will win the ultimate accolade of World Interior of the Year, which will be presented at a glamorous Gala Dinner awards ceremony on the evening of Friday 6 November.