The application of wood in design could seem somewhat traditional, but there is nothing conventional at all about the World Interior of the Year 2015 winning wooden wonder...
March Studio, an innovative design firm out of Melbourne, Australia, are the creators of the winning interiors project claiming the World Interior of the Year 2015, at the Inside Festival, held recently in Singapore. March studio were presented with the award, staving off competition from over a hundred other nominees in their category, for the lobby design of the 'Hotel Hotel' in the Australian capital, Canberra.
The judges reasoned that the design is a ”masterful integration of different spaces into a seamless and delightful interior”, and that the 'Bilbao Effect' helped to reinvigorate the area, in a thoughtful way. "The choice of raw elements gives a warmth and familiarity, mixed with the excitement of the unexpected," they were quoted as saying.
March Studio created a fragmented lobby entrance, repurposing literally thousands of recalled timber planks. The pieces line the walls and envelop furniture, assuming a tunnelling effect, which flows from hotel entrance and reception to main public areas. This tunnel heads towards a feature grand staircase, flooded with natural light, ushered in through the punctuated and fragmented setting, up to the hotel bar, with an outside seating arrangement. March Studio has stated "...the suspended timber filters exterior light and views into and from internal spaces. Spidery, pixellated shadows are cast on the floor and bare walls."
Steel panelling and rods, as well as concrete beams, were also used throughout the design. Combined with the wooden constellations, they scatter irregular and intricate patterns around the traditional structure they adorn. This all provides for a truly unique identity to the building, worthy of such high acclaim.
*Images courtesy of March Studio.