November 20th, 2019.
Each year, the Eat Drink Design Awards reaffirms the importance of design in the overall dining experience. Eating and drinking has always been a social occasion, whether feasting fireside under the stars or celebrating a milestone with friends in the atmospheric surrounds of a cutting edge inner city restaurant, the connection between each of the sensorial experiences that converge to culminate in the act of imbibing and dining is centuries old.
Last week, the annual Eat Drink Design Awards once again cemented that some of the most outstanding end to end design to be realised in the past twelve months falls firmly in the hospitality category of our built environments.
Appealing to a patrons phenomenological leanings is no easy feat. The success of design in hospitality is as allusive as it is rare and often comes down to a deep understanding of the facets of operation that the individual spaces will ultimately trade in. I’ve lost count of the times I have sat in stunning surrounds with a ludicrously expensive cocktail in hand just to glimpse the struggles of a member of the staff quietly dragging rubbish through front of house, or a bar tender straining to hear across the beautiful but vacuous expanse of bar just to take an order. These breakdowns in the design brief can render a beautiful establishment as a not to be repeated experience after often years of planning. The Eat Drink Design Awards, however, shine a spotlight on some of the countries most profound establishments not only for their immediately apparent design sensibilities, but for the subtle considerations that are invisible but absolutely paramount to the final realisation and ultimate success of the end user experience.
So, without further ado, here is the final wrap of this years winners;
Best Hotel Design | The Calile Hotel by Richards and Spence
Best Restaurant Design | Di Stasio Citta by Hassell
Best Cafe Design | Via Porta by Studio Esteta
Best Bar Design | Blacksmith Lake Mulwala by The Stella Collective
Best Retail Design | Piccolina Collingwood by Hecker Guthrie
Best Identity Design | Studio Hi Ho for Lagotto
Best Installation Design | The Magic Box by Liminal Objects with Van Tuil
Words by Tiffany Jade.