Intelligence Made Visible: Travel + Leisure Design Awards 2011
Great design is intelligence made visible, but great travel design must take this idea to the next level -- it can't just look pretty, it has to combine functionality, strength, and ease of use. Those of us who travel do NOT have time for things that don't work, aren't strong, and don't make our lives easier while on the road.
For seven years, the Travel + Leisure Design Awards have rewarded companies, products, hotels, innovators, and innovations of every type with recognition and gratitude in making the travelers lives better and their travel expereience more memorable. In addition, an overall Design Champion is named.
"The 2011 Design Awards underscore and celebrate the significant impact that good design has on travel," said Nancy Novogrod, Editor-In Chief of Travel + Leisure. "Our judges are not T+L Editors. The jurors look for exceptional function, unqiue statement and inventive reinterpretation."
The panel of jurors include:
David Childs, chairman emeritus, Skidmore, Owings, & Merrill
Paulette Cole, CEO and creative director, ABC Carpet & Home
Fred Dust, partner, IDEO
Norma Kamali, fashion designer
Danny Meyer, CEO, Union Square Hospitality Group
Nadja Swarovski, creative director, Swarovski Crystal
Henry Urbach, curator of architecture and design, San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
T+L's Consulting Design Editor Chee Pearlman was the jury moderator.
Winners of these seventh annual awards represent the best new examples of design in a range of categories from hotels and transportation to luggage and travel fashion. They will be honored at the New World Center in Miami on February 23rd.
Below is a list of the Travel + Leisure Design Award winners:
Best Large Hotel: The Yas Hotel (see above) in Abu Dhabi,UAE, is set half on land and half on water, overlooking the Yas Marina & Yacht Club and positioned on the Yas Marina Circuit, which plays host to the annual Formula 1™ Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.
Best Small Hotel: Pantone Hotel Brussels (see below)
Designed by Belgian interior designer Michel Penneman and Belgian architect Olivier Hannaert, each of the hotel's seven floors have different color palettes with distinctive hues - whether vivid or subdued.
The guest rooms are works of art - white walls and bedding provide a clean canvas for saturations of vibrant color. Rooms also feature photographic installations created by Belgian photographer Victor Levy that include a spectrum of Pantone colors to create a unique ambiance in each room. There are a total of 59 rooms and suites in seven different color palettes. The hotel also features meeting rooms and a rooftop terrace.
Lobby, Pantone Brussels
______________________________________________________________________
BEST RESORT Amangiri, Canyon Point, Utah
Amangiri is the second Aman resort built in the U.S, and the only one in Southwest Utah. It is buit in the high desert country, 20 minutes west of Lake Powell. Amangiri opened in October 2009 and is located on a 600-acre expanse of wilderness and rock escarpment in Canyon Point, Southern Utah. The resort is tucked into a protected valley with views over colorful, stratified rock toward the Escalante Grand Staircase at Escalante National Monument. Architecturally, the resort has been designed to blend into the landscape with high desert natural hues, materials, and textures.
Aerial view, Amangiri.
______________________________________________________________________
BEST MUSEUM Ashmolean, Oxford, England
The Ashmolean, England's oldest public museum, recently re-opened a $97M redevelopment.
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology,which first opened in the 17th Century, was renovated to double the gallery space.The new building was designed by architect Rick Mather..
It features the lamp carried by Guy Fawkes during the Gunpowder Plot. The renovation features 39 new galleries, including four temporary exhibition galleries, a new education centre, conservation studios and a rooftop restaurant.
The Ashmolean, Oxford.
___________________________________________________________________
BEST MIXED-USE VENUE 11 11 Lincoln Road, Miami
What began as a parking garage in Miami has become something of a vertical park.
Runners course up and down the ramps in the early mornings. A glass-walled high-end fashion boutique seems to float at the edge of the fifth level. The cars cleared out for Art Basel Miami Beach parties in December. There's even been a wedding. At the top is the developer's penthouse apartment, and green trees and vines seem to cascade down from its gardens. It's a most unusual mixed use building, even for Miami.
11 11 Lincoln Road at dusk.
_______________________________________________________________________
BEST CAR Nissan LEAF
The Nissan LEAF ( an acronym for Leading, Environmentally friendly, Affordable, Family car) is a five-door mid-size hatchback electric car manufactured by Nissan and introduced in Japan and the U.S. in December 2010. The United States Environmental Protection Agency determined the range to be 73 mi, with an energy consumption of 34 kWh per 100 miles and rated the Leaf's combined fuel economy at 99 miles per gallon gasoline equivalent.
The Leaf's retail price in the US$32,780 in the United States. These prices include the price of the battery package. Most countries have applicable tax incentives or subsidies for eligible buyers that reduce the effective cost of purchase below the retail prices listed by Nissan.
As an all-electric car the Nissan Leaf produces no tailpipe pollution or greenhouse gas emissions at the point of operation, and reduces dependence on petroleum. Among other awards and recognition, the Nissan Leaf won the 2010 Green Car Vision Award and the 2011 European Car Of the Year award.
Nissan LEAF
_______________________________________________________________
BEST TRANSPORTATION
Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Epic Studios, designed for the solo traveler, on the Norwegian Epic Cruise Line.
The Norwegian Epic Studios,an innovative approach to solo guest accommodations. The studio has a full-size bed – private access to the Studios Complex & Studio Lounge , an innovative bathroom design, with separate sink and shower to provide more personal space , a window to the corridor – you see out but others can't see in , unique storage areas, a flat screen TV and a desk . There are 128 Studios, many connecting.
Norwegian Cruise Line Epic Studio for solo travelers.
______________________________________________________________
BEST RESTAURANT Table No. 1, Shanghai
Table No. 1 is an industrial-chic, minimalist restaurant/ Situated in the base of the new 19-room Waterhouse at South Bund hotel (see below), designed by architects Neri and Hu, the restaurant is a natural wood, gray-brick, Cor-Ten steel, and exposed-cement space flooded with light. There are views of Shanghai's Shiliupu Dock oversize wooden communal tables in the main dining hall,with more conventional seating arrangements nearby and in their private dining rooms.
The Waterhouse
____________________________________________________________________
BEST RETAIL SPACE FreeCity Supershop Supermät, Los Angeles
Located at 1139 N. Highland Avenue in Hollywood, FREECITY supershop supermät is the newest expression of the FREECITY concept. Nina Garduno started FREECITY in 2001 after a visit to Christiania, a freewheeling enclave in Copenhagen. This trip to what she describes as a "free city" within a city- like Tassajara in Northern California, the Earthship community in New Mexico -- places where like-minded people were living an alternative lifestyle.
Much in the way that an old school Laundromat united a neighborhood and provided communal space, the supermät brings together disparate things from a neighborhood and allows them to flourish under one roof. The supershop supermät features a range of products from bicycles to bread. Local artisans bring a fresh mix of merchandise to the store-hand-worked loaves of bread from Breadbar, hand-pressed almond milk and electrolyte lemonade from Life Food Organic, raw vegan "ice cream" from KindKreme, and bicycles from Mission SF, Tokyo Bike and the FREECITY workshop-all for sale, along with the eclectic mix of clothing, accessories, records, and posters
exterior, Supershop
______________________________________________________________
BEST LUGGAGE Tumi Vapor Collection
Tumi's new Vapor collection is an ensemble of ultra lightweight polycarbonate travel bags determined to defy airport impediments. The exceptional luggage label, already known for producing durable suitcases, raises the bar with this triple-layered polycarbonate built to outlast even the toughest circimstances.
Offered in three sizes-an international legal carry on, a medium-sized packing case and a large extended trip case-each has a fully-lined, spacious and an organization system. The Vapor is ideal for outsmarting new airline luggage weight constraints and features such as rubber molded bumpers add to its damage resistance while the striated metallic surface cleverly hides scratches inevitably incurred over time.
Tumi Vapor
_______________________________________________________________
BEST GADGET Bowers & Wilkins P5 Noise-Isolating Headphones
For those who travel, noise-isolating headphones are a necessity. And if they are comfortable, even better, and if they LOOK nice, even better! One of the main attractions of the P5's, according to many audi-websites, is the way it looks, and how it feels on the head. The leather comes from New Zealand sheep, so it is softer than some. Both the cups and head band is made from the same leather. The Bowers & Wilkins oval-shaped ear pieces seen on each ear cup are brushed aluminium. The chrome hinges allow turning the ear cups around so when they are resting around the neck, they can sit firmly, but softly.
Bowers & Wilkins PS Noise Isolating Headphones
____________________________________________________________________
BEST GEAR SnowPeak Hozuki Lantern
The sacred Hozuki plant was the original design for the ancient Chinese paper lantern. The Snow Peak company adapted this design to capture the subtle beauty of the Chinese paper lantern with the creation of this product. Now, with te Hozuki lantern, campers can create the romance of a candle without burning down the tent, a true camping advantage! The Hozuki Lantern features an innovative Candle Mode that allows the LED to respond to sound or wind with a flicker of light; press the on/off button twice to enter candle mode. In addition, the Hozuki has three different brightness settings allowing campers a low reading light in the evening, or more overall light while cooking dinner.
SnowPeak Hozuki Lantern
___________________________________________________________________
BEST TECHNOLOGY Apple iPad
The iPad is a tablet computer developed by Apple Inc. Announced on January 27, 2010, it is similar in functionality to the iPhone and iPod touch, running the same operating system (iPhone OS) and almost all of the same applications.
The iPad has a larger 9.7-inch LED backlit multi-touch display with a pixel resolution of 1024x768, 16 to 64 gigabytes (GB) of flash memory, a 1-gigahertz (GHz) Apple A4 processor, Bluetooth 2.1, and a 30-pin dock connector to sync with iTunes and connect wired accessories.
Two models have been announced: one with 802.11n Wi-Fi (available in March 2010 worldwide) and one with Wi-Fi, 3G (which can connect to HSDPA cellular networks), and Assisted GPS. Both models may be purchased with three different memory capacities.
Apple iPad, front back, side.
_____________________________________________________________________
BEST TECH ACCESSORY Jambox Portable Speaker by Jawbone
The Jambox is a stylish portable speaker with superior features and sound.
It comes in four colors, black, red, blue, and gray. The top and bottom have a nonslip rubber coating, and the middle is covered with a wraparound metal grille, embossed with a geometric pattern. On the whole, it is a seriously solid design, with a reassuring 12-ounce heft. Total dimensions are 2.25 inches high, 6 inches wide, and 1.5 inches deep.
Jambox by Jawbone
_____________________________________________________________
BEST BAG Urban Mobility Backpack by PUMA with designer Hussein Chalayan
Hussein Chalayan is a Turkish-born British fashion designer, his impressive achievements include back-to-back British Fashion Awards. In the new PUMA Urban Mobility Collection, Chalayan explores that fine boundary between fashion and technology.
Color - Black
Shine poly with poly lining
Measures approx 16"W x 17"H x 8"D
Adjustable shoulder straps
Zip around closure
Zip exterior pocket
Interior pockets
Urban Mobility Backpack
___________________________________________________________________________
BEST TRAVEL CLOTHING Patagonia M10 Jacket and Ultralight Down Shirt
The Patagonia M10 Jacket (see below) has been made for those who thrive on thin and technical climbs in full alpine conditions. The new M10 Jacket is the lightest 3-layer hard shell. The pliable H2No® waterproof/breathable nylon ripstop fabric yields superb durability for its weight and protects against monsoon-season rain and summit ridge gusts. Details include watertight zippers, a microfleece-lined neck and chin, an exterior zippered left-chest pocket, zippered handwarmer pockets that serve double-duty by extending into pit zips, and cuffs that adjust with hook-and-loop closures. A single pull adjusts the 3-way helmet-compatible hood with laminated visor.
Patagonia M10 Jacket
____________________________________________________________________________
The new nylon ripstop Ultralight Down Shirt (see below) delivers lightest-weight insulation but also the greatest comfort range. Premium 800-fill down provides warmth and pack-to-nothing compressibility. The sewn-through construction, tight channel pattern and just the right amount of down, increases versatility for use in more moderate temperatures and diverse activities. The slim fit maximizes thermal efficiency, the Deluge® DWR (durable water repellent) finish sheds snow, and the simplicity complements the function.
Patagonia Ultralight Down Shirt
_________________________________________________________________________
And finally, the Design Champion or 2011 is Micky Wolfson, founder of the Wolfsonian-FIU Museum in Miami Beach, Florida. Micky Wolfson, is a renowned art collector and philanthropist, who joins former T+L Design Champions André Balazs, Amanda Burden, Ian Schrager, and Adrian Zecha, who have also received this honor in previous years.
Congratulations to all the winners!
Designed by Belgian interior designer Michel Penneman and Belgian architect Olivier Hannaert, each of the hotel's seven floors have different color palettes with distinctive hues - whether vivid or subdued.
The guest rooms are works of art - white walls and bedding provide a clean canvas for saturations of vibrant color. Rooms also feature photographic installations created by Belgian photographer Victor Levy that include a spectrum of Pantone colors to create a unique ambiance in each room. There are a total of 59 rooms and suites in seven different color palettes. The hotel also features meeting rooms and a rooftop terrace.
Lobby, Pantone Brussels
______________________________________________________________________
BEST RESORT Amangiri, Canyon Point, Utah
Amangiri is the second Aman resort built in the U.S, and the only one in Southwest Utah. It is buit in the high desert country, 20 minutes west of Lake Powell. Amangiri opened in October 2009 and is located on a 600-acre expanse of wilderness and rock escarpment in Canyon Point, Southern Utah. The resort is tucked into a protected valley with views over colorful, stratified rock toward the Escalante Grand Staircase at Escalante National Monument. Architecturally, the resort has been designed to blend into the landscape with high desert natural hues, materials, and textures.
Aerial view, Amangiri.
______________________________________________________________________
BEST MUSEUM Ashmolean, Oxford, England
The Ashmolean, England's oldest public museum, recently re-opened a $97M redevelopment.
The Ashmolean Museum of Art and Archaeology,which first opened in the 17th Century, was renovated to double the gallery space.The new building was designed by architect Rick Mather..
It features the lamp carried by Guy Fawkes during the Gunpowder Plot. The renovation features 39 new galleries, including four temporary exhibition galleries, a new education centre, conservation studios and a rooftop restaurant.
The Ashmolean, Oxford.
___________________________________________________________________
BEST MIXED-USE VENUE 11 11 Lincoln Road, Miami
What began as a parking garage in Miami has become something of a vertical park.
Runners course up and down the ramps in the early mornings. A glass-walled high-end fashion boutique seems to float at the edge of the fifth level. The cars cleared out for Art Basel Miami Beach parties in December. There's even been a wedding. At the top is the developer's penthouse apartment, and green trees and vines seem to cascade down from its gardens. It's a most unusual mixed use building, even for Miami.
11 11 Lincoln Road at dusk.
_______________________________________________________________________
BEST CAR Nissan LEAF
The Nissan LEAF ( an acronym for Leading, Environmentally friendly, Affordable, Family car) is a five-door mid-size hatchback electric car manufactured by Nissan and introduced in Japan and the U.S. in December 2010. The United States Environmental Protection Agency determined the range to be 73 mi, with an energy consumption of 34 kWh per 100 miles and rated the Leaf's combined fuel economy at 99 miles per gallon gasoline equivalent.
The Leaf's retail price in the US$32,780 in the United States. These prices include the price of the battery package. Most countries have applicable tax incentives or subsidies for eligible buyers that reduce the effective cost of purchase below the retail prices listed by Nissan.
As an all-electric car the Nissan Leaf produces no tailpipe pollution or greenhouse gas emissions at the point of operation, and reduces dependence on petroleum. Among other awards and recognition, the Nissan Leaf won the 2010 Green Car Vision Award and the 2011 European Car Of the Year award.
Nissan LEAF
_______________________________________________________________
BEST TRANSPORTATION
Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Epic Studios, designed for the solo traveler, on the Norwegian Epic Cruise Line.
The Norwegian Epic Studios,an innovative approach to solo guest accommodations. The studio has a full-size bed – private access to the Studios Complex & Studio Lounge , an innovative bathroom design, with separate sink and shower to provide more personal space , a window to the corridor – you see out but others can't see in , unique storage areas, a flat screen TV and a desk . There are 128 Studios, many connecting.
Norwegian Cruise Line Epic Studio for solo travelers.
______________________________________________________________
BEST RESTAURANT Table No. 1, Shanghai
Table No. 1 is an industrial-chic, minimalist restaurant/ Situated in the base of the new 19-room Waterhouse at South Bund hotel (see below), designed by architects Neri and Hu, the restaurant is a natural wood, gray-brick, Cor-Ten steel, and exposed-cement space flooded with light. There are views of Shanghai's Shiliupu Dock oversize wooden communal tables in the main dining hall,with more conventional seating arrangements nearby and in their private dining rooms.
The Waterhouse
____________________________________________________________________
BEST RETAIL SPACE FreeCity Supershop Supermät, Los Angeles
Located at 1139 N. Highland Avenue in Hollywood, FREECITY supershop supermät is the newest expression of the FREECITY concept. Nina Garduno started FREECITY in 2001 after a visit to Christiania, a freewheeling enclave in Copenhagen. This trip to what she describes as a "free city" within a city- like Tassajara in Northern California, the Earthship community in New Mexico -- places where like-minded people were living an alternative lifestyle.
Much in the way that an old school Laundromat united a neighborhood and provided communal space, the supermät brings together disparate things from a neighborhood and allows them to flourish under one roof. The supershop supermät features a range of products from bicycles to bread. Local artisans bring a fresh mix of merchandise to the store-hand-worked loaves of bread from Breadbar, hand-pressed almond milk and electrolyte lemonade from Life Food Organic, raw vegan "ice cream" from KindKreme, and bicycles from Mission SF, Tokyo Bike and the FREECITY workshop-all for sale, along with the eclectic mix of clothing, accessories, records, and posters
exterior, Supershop
______________________________________________________________
BEST LUGGAGE Tumi Vapor Collection
Tumi's new Vapor collection is an ensemble of ultra lightweight polycarbonate travel bags determined to defy airport impediments. The exceptional luggage label, already known for producing durable suitcases, raises the bar with this triple-layered polycarbonate built to outlast even the toughest circimstances.
Offered in three sizes-an international legal carry on, a medium-sized packing case and a large extended trip case-each has a fully-lined, spacious and an organization system. The Vapor is ideal for outsmarting new airline luggage weight constraints and features such as rubber molded bumpers add to its damage resistance while the striated metallic surface cleverly hides scratches inevitably incurred over time.
Tumi Vapor
_______________________________________________________________
BEST GADGET Bowers & Wilkins P5 Noise-Isolating Headphones
For those who travel, noise-isolating headphones are a necessity. And if they are comfortable, even better, and if they LOOK nice, even better! One of the main attractions of the P5's, according to many audi-websites, is the way it looks, and how it feels on the head. The leather comes from New Zealand sheep, so it is softer than some. Both the cups and head band is made from the same leather. The Bowers & Wilkins oval-shaped ear pieces seen on each ear cup are brushed aluminium. The chrome hinges allow turning the ear cups around so when they are resting around the neck, they can sit firmly, but softly.
Bowers & Wilkins PS Noise Isolating Headphones
____________________________________________________________________
BEST GEAR SnowPeak Hozuki Lantern
The sacred Hozuki plant was the original design for the ancient Chinese paper lantern. The Snow Peak company adapted this design to capture the subtle beauty of the Chinese paper lantern with the creation of this product. Now, with te Hozuki lantern, campers can create the romance of a candle without burning down the tent, a true camping advantage! The Hozuki Lantern features an innovative Candle Mode that allows the LED to respond to sound or wind with a flicker of light; press the on/off button twice to enter candle mode. In addition, the Hozuki has three different brightness settings allowing campers a low reading light in the evening, or more overall light while cooking dinner.
SnowPeak Hozuki Lantern
___________________________________________________________________
BEST TECHNOLOGY Apple iPad
The iPad is a tablet computer developed by Apple Inc. Announced on January 27, 2010, it is similar in functionality to the iPhone and iPod touch, running the same operating system (iPhone OS) and almost all of the same applications.
The iPad has a larger 9.7-inch LED backlit multi-touch display with a pixel resolution of 1024x768, 16 to 64 gigabytes (GB) of flash memory, a 1-gigahertz (GHz) Apple A4 processor, Bluetooth 2.1, and a 30-pin dock connector to sync with iTunes and connect wired accessories.
Two models have been announced: one with 802.11n Wi-Fi (available in March 2010 worldwide) and one with Wi-Fi, 3G (which can connect to HSDPA cellular networks), and Assisted GPS. Both models may be purchased with three different memory capacities.
Apple iPad, front back, side.
_____________________________________________________________________
BEST TECH ACCESSORY Jambox Portable Speaker by Jawbone
The Jambox is a stylish portable speaker with superior features and sound.
It comes in four colors, black, red, blue, and gray. The top and bottom have a nonslip rubber coating, and the middle is covered with a wraparound metal grille, embossed with a geometric pattern. On the whole, it is a seriously solid design, with a reassuring 12-ounce heft. Total dimensions are 2.25 inches high, 6 inches wide, and 1.5 inches deep.
Jambox by Jawbone
_____________________________________________________________
BEST BAG Urban Mobility Backpack by PUMA with designer Hussein Chalayan
Hussein Chalayan is a Turkish-born British fashion designer, his impressive achievements include back-to-back British Fashion Awards. In the new PUMA Urban Mobility Collection, Chalayan explores that fine boundary between fashion and technology.
Color - Black
Shine poly with poly lining
Measures approx 16"W x 17"H x 8"D
Adjustable shoulder straps
Zip around closure
Zip exterior pocket
Interior pockets
Urban Mobility Backpack
___________________________________________________________________________
BEST TRAVEL CLOTHING Patagonia M10 Jacket and Ultralight Down Shirt
The Patagonia M10 Jacket (see below) has been made for those who thrive on thin and technical climbs in full alpine conditions. The new M10 Jacket is the lightest 3-layer hard shell. The pliable H2No® waterproof/breathable nylon ripstop fabric yields superb durability for its weight and protects against monsoon-season rain and summit ridge gusts. Details include watertight zippers, a microfleece-lined neck and chin, an exterior zippered left-chest pocket, zippered handwarmer pockets that serve double-duty by extending into pit zips, and cuffs that adjust with hook-and-loop closures. A single pull adjusts the 3-way helmet-compatible hood with laminated visor.
Patagonia M10 Jacket
____________________________________________________________________________
The new nylon ripstop Ultralight Down Shirt (see below) delivers lightest-weight insulation but also the greatest comfort range. Premium 800-fill down provides warmth and pack-to-nothing compressibility. The sewn-through construction, tight channel pattern and just the right amount of down, increases versatility for use in more moderate temperatures and diverse activities. The slim fit maximizes thermal efficiency, the Deluge® DWR (durable water repellent) finish sheds snow, and the simplicity complements the function.
Patagonia Ultralight Down Shirt
_________________________________________________________________________
And finally, the Design Champion or 2011 is Micky Wolfson, founder of the Wolfsonian-FIU Museum in Miami Beach, Florida. Micky Wolfson, is a renowned art collector and philanthropist, who joins former T+L Design Champions André Balazs, Amanda Burden, Ian Schrager, and Adrian Zecha, who have also received this honor in previous years.
Congratulations to all the winners!
