Accor Reveals Winners of 2024 Design Awards at Maison&Objet Fair

A creative melting pot

Accor will announce the winners of the 2024 Accor Design Awards during the Maison&Objet Fair in Paris on September 5. The awards, held in partnership with Sofitel, attracted architecture and interior design students worldwide to participate in the competition focused on hotel design.

Envisioning the luxury hotel of the future

In the eighth edition of this competition, participants were asked to envision the luxury hotel of the future as part of a biannual series on luxury. To honour Sofitel's sixtieth anniversary, students focused on reimagining the future of luxury hospitality for this iconic brand. Their task was to enhance the guest experience through immersive, contemporary, and engaging design, offering a unique experience combining art, culture, sustainable design, and French art de vivre for guests and employees.

A successful 2024 competition

The Accor Design Awards received almost 100 applications from budding global design talents studying at around 20 schools in 8 countries across 4 continents. This year, the judging panel, led by designer Lázaro Rosa-Violán, who created designs such as the Sofitel Legend Casco Viejo Panama, the rooftop restaurant at Sofitel Athens Airport, and the Maison Delano Paris hotel, must now choose the winners from ten finalists. The 2024 awards edition was well-supported by sponsors Laufen, Roca, Flos, Led C4, Ligne Roset, and JVD, bringing together a diverse design community.

"One of the main goals is to contribute to the future of design in the hospitality industry by providing a forward-looking perspective on what guests expect regarding culture, sustainability, and well-being. The Accor Design Awards offer a unique opportunity to rethink the future of luxury hospitality and showcase new talents and trends through the vision of each participating school. By inviting international students to consider Sofitel, a quintessentially French luxury hotel brand, they are encouraged to imagine and conceptualize innovative projects that are both refined and socially conscious," explained Elodie Noël, Global SVP of Brand Design for the Sofitel Legend, MGallery, and Emblems brands.

The winners for 2024 will be revealed at a ceremony at Maison&Objet on September 5, in the presence of the Chair of the judging panel, designer Lázaro Rosa-Violán, and the patron of the 2024 Accor Design Awards, Elodie Noël.

Accor Design Awards practical information

• The 30th Maison & Objet Fair is scheduled to take place in Paris from September 5 to 9, 2024.
• Accor stand (designed and produced by Emilie Roz and her team): Hall 6 K98-L99, Parc des Expositions, Paris Nord Villepinte
• Place and time – September 5, Hall 7, “The Talks” space:
  16:00 Local Time– “The Public Areas of Tomorrow’s Hotels": Join Elodie Noël, Global SVP Brand Design for Sofitel, Sofitel Legend, MGallery, and Emblems brands, along with interior designer Lázaro Rosa-Violán, for a discussion. The session will be moderated by Roddy Clarke, a design journalist specializing in the positive social and environmental impacts of design.
  16:45 Local Time– Accor Design Awards 2024 awards ceremony, with Anne Becker-Olins, Global Chief Design & Technical Services Officer Ultra-Luxury and Luxury, Accor

 

About the shortlisted projects

Fashion Institute of Technology, NYC, US

• Sofitel, Le Terminal: Adventure and hospitality are combined to create an experience inspired by travel. This concept draws on the imaginative world of French travel to establish a renowned property in New York.
• Sofitel Chinatown: This project aims to offer travellers and visitors an immersive Chinese culture experience. It serves as a Shanghai-inspired homage to Gen Z and the Chinese-American community, infusing Chinatown with its distinctive vibrancy, blending modernity with tradition.
   

École Camondo, France

Sofitel Nourishing Garden: This project aims to unite humanity and nature by inviting people to share and consume responsibly. The lobby features a vegetable garden, blurring the distinction between indoors and outdoors. Guided by a spirit of generosity, harmony, happiness, and the French art de vivre, the designers have created an environmentally sensitive design that maintains a luxurious hotel experience without compromising the environment.
 

UNSW, Australia

• Sofitel (Re)trouvaille: The project combines French sophistication with the magnetic appeal of Australian nature and culture. With (Re)trouvaille, the students have explored intimate connections between the two worlds to design a lobby inspired by the Little Prince. The lobby aims to connect travellers to sustainable practices.
   

Pratt Institute, NYC, USA

• Sofitel, The Light Beyond: This project is inspired by the brand’s aesthetic roots and Sofitel’s history in Shanghai. Utilizing joie de vivre as its creative guiding principle, the team's proposal aims to provide a memorable experience for both guests and employees. 
   

École de Design Nantes Atlantique, France

• Sofitel Copacabana: an exceptional setting for a space that unites tourists and locals. The students have utilized food, dance, music, and entertainment to create not just a venue but a must-visit cultural hub.
• Sofitel Midori Hotel: For Sofitel's 60th anniversary, the team has brought the brand to Kyoto, reinventing hospitality with a lobby that changes seasons, offering luxury, harmony, and expertise.
   

Esail, France

• Sofitel Eclat des Bulles: The lobby of this imaginary Sofitel sparkles with bubbles of brut, white, and rosé Champagne. Furniture and materials are carefully chosen, and every space is filled with art to create an environment that inspires joy for guests and staff alike.
   

IFAT, France

• Sofitel Célébration: As soon as you step through the door, you are welcomed into a highly sophisticated space. The team has transformed the lobby into a transitional area resembling a meticulously crafted crystal.
   

Academy of Art University, SF, US

• Demantin Hotel Sofitel: Drawing inspiration from the Icelandic word for diamond, the New York-based team sees Sofitel as a gem among luxury hotels. For the Accor Design Awards 2024, they have designed a lobby illuminated with brilliant light. What better way to pay homage to Sofitel's expertise, elegance, and luxury?

Some 20 schools have met the requirements and submitted student projects for the Accor Design Awards 2024, including: Academy of Art University, SF, US | American University of Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Baeksok University, South Korea | Berlin International University, Germany | École Camondo, France | Esail, France | Fashion Institute of Technology, NYC, US | Florida International University, Miami, US | leD Bilbao, Spain | leD Madrid, Spain | IFAT, France | École de Design Nantes Atlantique, France | Pratt Institute, NYC, US | SCAD, Savannah, US | UNSW – Australia