Yas Marina Circuit

Intelligence Made Visible: Travel + Leisure Design Awards 2011

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels, By Design, Architecture & Design

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.

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Maserati Launches Exclusive GranTurismo S Special Editions in Abu Dhabi

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

A stock Maserati may be special enough for most of us, but apparently not for the highly lucrative Middle East market. So to answer the call for exclusivity, the Trident marque has announced a new limited edition of its top-of-the-line GranTurismo S coupe.

Decked out in special matte white paint scheme and items from the company's bespoke MC Sport Line, Maserati will only make twelve examples of this special edition: one for each of its dealers in the region, simultaneously commemorating the twelve drivers', constructors' and teams' titles which the Maserati MC12 has accumulated in the FIA GT Championship.

A second run of 11 coupes, with pearl white paint, is planned for the Italian market as well. Unfortunately that's about the extent of the details Maserati has provided. If you have the means and live in the right place, we're sure your local dealership will be glad to provide more, and if you don't, well it's really not applicable anyway, so the rest of us can just sit back and stare.

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