With the World Interior Awards springing up on us (ok, not yet, but it’s certainly coming), it’s an exciting time to take stock of what being shortlisted means for us as a team. Nominated in the Emerging Interior Practice of the Year Award, we submitted 3 of our favourite projects:
Mast Brothers Chocolate, HEN restaurant, Do Something Different HQ
showcasing expertise in interior design, branding & identity and web – a fraction of the services we offer here at Ardour. If making it through the rigorous judging rounds wasn’t enough, Ben Kelly (Yes, THAT Ben Kelly) offered up these charismatic words:
“The work had a total freshness about it. Ardour Design are not afraid of using interesting materials and developing a language which enhances the design brief. Very good to see a simple scheme looking so alive.”
Once we were finally able to stop leaping on the furniture Tom-Cruise-style, we looked up (read: stalked) the other fantastic agencies we were up against. And they didn’t disappoint. With an array of fresh, distinctive and innovative approaches throughout, we’ve set our fan-girl tendencies upon the work of some of our fellow shortlists.
Established in 2006, Smartvoll’s ability to create charming spatial experiences is nothing less than, well, charming. Shortlisted for their loft apartment conversion in Austria featuring a sweeping sculptural concrete staircase, it was, as applauded by Elly Ward, their confident use of this sustainable material -we love sustainable materials – , which caught our eye.
Full disclosure: we love these guys! Their meticulous dedication to user experience on the Oggi restaurant received a thumbs up from the whole team. Between the plethora of soft curves, rich teak wood, calming colour palette and textures, we’re unsure whether we’re salivating more over the menu or interior. Heck, we’re doing both!
Last year’s winners of not one but two WIN Awards whilst also making the shortlist for Emerging Interior Practice of the Year…what can we say about TomMarkhenry which hasn’t been said already?! Embodying genuine smart design with an energetic finish, their diverse portfolio integrates what we treasure most at Ardour: a mix of natural fabrics and textures.
Displaying blocks of jade green and soft pinks punctuated with gold-coloured accents, the duo brought their obvious love of colour to their very own apartment to demonstrate their signature style. Seductively commanding a stunning use of colour and materials – also witnessed on the Kasa Restaurant brief – Lim + Lu’s work delivers freshness and character.
With the total entries originally amounting to fifty and now down to six, we are grateful for the WIN Awards’ recognition of our hard work. Thank you also to our clients who invited us onto such creative projects, pushing us to stay in pursuit of our ethical and playful experimentation to design.
In the run up to the awards at ©Somerset House, we hope you’ll wish us the best of luck.
