Inside World Festival of Interiors Shortlist | Barcelona 2011.

Aman Resort, New Delhi, by Kerry Hill Architects.

Devi Ratn, Jaipur, by Aniket Bhagwat.

Kainoosh Keya, India, by Lotus Design.

Laurens Church, Rotterdam, ‘A Monument Filled With Stories’, by Kossmann.Dejong.

Numero Bar, Brazil, by Isay Weinfeld.

M Coffee, Tehran, by Hooba Desin.

The Japanese Restaurant ‘Hanagoyomi’, Kobe, by Nikken Space Design.

The Johnnie Walker House, Shanghai, by Asylum.

Wienerwald Corporate Architecture, Munich, by Ippolito Fleitz Group.

Niseko Look Out Café, Japan, by SEIBU Kensetsu.

Mister Close, Melbourne, by Russell & George. (Read my interview with Ryan Rusell and Byron George from last year.)

Motto Am Fluss, Vienna, by BEHF Architects.

Inside is an inaugural design festival celebrating the finest interiors and their creators. It will run from 2-4 November in Barcelona in parallel with the already hugely successful World Architecture Festival. Inside will consist of  a series of curated events, talks, installations and a prestigious awards program judged by an esteemed jury of internationally respected designers and key industry figures (including my personal hero Ilse Crawford.) The winner of Inside will ultimately walk away with the World Interior of the Year Trophy. Ummm… that sounds pretty serious to me.

Now… Why am I telling you all this. Because this year’s shortlist was announced not that long ago and I wanted to share with you some of my favourite projects. I should also mention that I find events that celebrate and recognise interiors on a world stage hugely exciting. For years architects have celebrated their achievements with a number of prominent world festivals, yet interiors don’t seem to have too many of these kinds of events. Perhaps this is due to the fact that interior designers mostly hate talking about their work and avoid public speaking in general. Ok, I realise that this is a sweeping statement but I’ve had this discussion with a number of my peers and we all came to the same conclusion. Interesting, isn’t it?

Project Dragon, Hong Kong, by HASSELL.

Chanel Soho, New York, by Peter Marino Architects.

The White House, Athens, by Eleanna Horiti Architecture.

Strelein Warehouse, Sydney, by Ian Moore Architects.

The Club Hotel, Singapore, by Ministry of Design.

One Loop Apartment, Singapore, by Matthew Lai.

Shophouse At 18 Everitt Road, Singapore, by Matthew Lai.

Ipes House, Brasilia by studioMK27 – Marcio Kogan. (I blogged about Marcio’s work back here.)

Anyway, what I was really wanting to tell you is this – I was beyond excited to look at the project shortlist, only to find myself somewhat disappointed. I know – what? Well, the truth is I was expecting that each shortlisted project was going to be remarkable and outstanding. Although there were a number of projects I loved (clearly – just look at the bombshells I am showing you here), I am sorry to say that quite a few left me feeling unimpressed and disappointed. It seems as though most design awards get mixed in with a bit of politics as I really cannot see the reason why at least one third of the projects deserved to be shortlisted. It appears as though the organisers were aiming for a good selection of projects from as many different countries and sectors as possible. Perhaps I am way off course with this comment, but the bottom line is that I found a big number of projects which, in my humble opinion, did not deserve to be shortlisted. I know, I’m such a party pooper sometimes.

If you have time, you can browse all projects in the gallery. Once you’ve had look at a few I’d love to hear what you think.

Also, no post on Monday. I’m taking the long weekend off. Hope you are too…

x dana

Hotel Nuts, Tokyo, by Upsetters Architects.

Alemanys 5, Gerona, by Anna Noguera.

Hostem, East London, by James Plumb.

Pollen Street Social, London, by Neri&Hu Design and Research Office.

Scala Vinoteca, Athens, by Kokkinou Kourkoulas Architects.

P-box, Athens, by Kokkinou Kourkoulas Architects.

Table No.1, Shanghai, by Neri&Hu Design and Research Office. (Previously blogged about here.)

Studio Sc, Sao Paulo, by studioMK27 – Marcio Kogan.

The Waterhouse Hotel, Shanghai, by Neri&Hu Design and Research Office. I previously blogged about this hotel back here.