Room for improvement
Wed, 08 Aug 2012 11:45:00 BST
Student Liz creates the hotel of the future – and wins one of the design world’s most coveted awards
RADICAL ideas for a hotel of the future in which guests staying in the heart of a city can experience the attractions and comfort of the countryside – sleeping in their very own “nest” – have earned talented University of Huddersfield student Liz Beal [on the right] one of the most coveted awards in the design industry.
After just two years of her course, she is now the proud holder of a ‘Yellow Pencil’, as bestowed by the hugely-respected organisation D&AD – founded in the early 1960s by design gurus of the period.
Every year, D&AD holds prestigious awards ceremonies in London, with a range of categories for professionals and students. The Yellow Pencil is the top award on offer and is recognised as a badge of excellence around the world.
Liz, aged 21, confessed that she was “shocked and amazed” when she was announced as a winner in the Environmental Design category. But she was delighted too – and so were her Interior Design tutors Paul Blindell and Penny Sykes, who also attended the ceremony at Spitalfields.
Paul and Penny had four reasons to be pleased and proud. In addition to Liz’s award, students Jennifer Leach [pictured with Liz above] and Kirandeep Dahnjal were also nominated for Yellow Pencils. And Rachel Firth was among the entrants judged to be Best of Year. It was the first time that the Interior Design course had Yellow Pencil nominees.
The winners receive a range of prizes in the shape of networking and mentoring opportunities with top names in the design world. And Liz receives one of the iconic Yellow Pencils.
The Intercontinental Hotel Group drew up a brief to design the Hotel Room of the Future. Seven second-year Interior Design students worked on the concept at the start of their spring term, and four of them – Liz, Jennifer, Kirandeep and Rachel – went on to submit their ideas for the D&AD Awards.
All of them impressed the judges – drawn from the top echelons of the design industry – but it was Liz who scooped a Yellow Pencil with her concept for an “Urban Nest”, described as an opportunity to “escape to the country without leaving the city”.
Her vision is for a hotel room filled with rounded shapes, wooden panelling, slate floor tiles and a padded “nest” for a bed [see below].
“I wanted to do something different,” said Liz, who began by drawing her ideas before transferring them to a 3D computer programme and then creating a short video presentation. Judges commented that she had a “great idea” that was well-executed and stuck closely to the design brief.
Liz hopes that her Yellow Pencil will aid her quest for an interesting work placement year before she returns to the University of Huddersfield to complete her degree. More than ever, she is keen on a career in interior design and will continue to develop ideas that could transform hotels.
Liz lives in Clitheroe and went to Ribblesdale High School, Clitheroe Grammar and Craven College before beginning her degree course at the University of Huddersfield. Her father Mike works for a fabric company and this helped to stimulate Liz’s passion for design.
