Radical Innovation unveils 2023 winners
Having searched the globe for cutting-edge hospitality concepts, Radical Innovation has unveiled its 2023 winners.
On 24 October, 100 industry architects, designers, real estate moguls and visionaries convened at New York’s New Museum for the 17th annual Radical Innovation awards ceremony, where new ideas for the hospitality sector were presented and deliberated. Since its launch in 2006, the annual competition has provided a platform for design professionals and students to showcase their groundbreaking visions, with the ultimate aim being to have a positive impact on the future of hospitality.
Project Presentations
Following welcome drinks at New Museum’s Sky Room, the finalists in the Professional Project category took to the stage to present their ideas, with Joel Mbala-Nkanga representing Populous and Graeme Labe speaking on behalf of Luxury Frontiers. Mbala-Nkanga showcased Spinhous, which combines the comfort of a hotel room with the flexibility of a vehicle, while Labe spoke about The Turtle Bungalow, an aquatic nomad designed to sail from island to island.
Following the presentations, a question-and-answer session saw Mbala-Nkanga and Labe field questions on the creativity of their vision, as well as its feasibility and potential impact. Finally, the ceremony’s live audience voted for their favourite, with votes combined with a record-breaking number of public ballots, totalling over 1,500.
Project Winners
Five winners were ultimately named across four categories, with The Turtle Bungalow – submitted by Graeme Labe, Juan Cloete, Rick Van Heerden and Idalina Silva Grech-Cumbo – scooping the prize for Professional Project. Spread across two levels, the accommodation concept has ample space for relaxation, with an overwater hammock, rooftop bar, lounge and hot tub, as well as a slide offering direct access to the water. Developed for minimal impact, it also incorporates solar panels, a desalination plant and environmentally-safe sewage treatment, ensuring that both luxury and sustainability work hand-in-hand.
The Student Project winner meanwhile was The Rocky Hotel by Nadia Shumeeva – a student at Kazan State University of Architecture & Engineering – who will be awarded US$5,000 and the opportunity to apply for an assistantship and full scholarship from one of Radical’s three university partners. Built into existing mountain terrain, The Rocky Hotel is set across multiple levels, making use of natural materials and offering direct access to the landscape in a move that results in true immersion into the surroundings.
Product Winners
The Gourd Project was the recipient of the Professional Product award, with Jun Aizaki from Crème Architecture & Design taking home the trophy. A sustainable alternative to disposable plastic cups, The Gourd Project draws inspiration from centuries-old Japanese tradition, taking the form of a biodegradable and compostable drinking vessel crafted from dried and hollowed gourds, a fleshy fruit with a hard skin.
In an unprecedented move, two winners were crowned in the Student Product category: PulpaTronics by Barna Soma Biro, Chloe So, Jingyan Chen and Rui Ma from Imperial College London and The Royal College of Art was named a winner, as was H+S Health Spring by Wen Shin Zeng, Sin- Yu Lin, Yun-Jhen Wu and Yin-Chi Lu from Ming Chi University of Technology.
The entries tapped into varied elements of the hospitality experience, with H+S Health Spring envisioning a relaxing shower experience through a volcanic stone tank, herbs and essential oils, and PulpaTronics aiding smart inventory management in hotels via a sustainable radio-frequency identification tag.
