W Hotels Designers of the Future 2013

Thursday 13 June 2013

Criss Cross by Bethan Laura Wood


W Hotels has announced the site-specific installations made by the three winners of W Hotels Designers of the Future 2013. Launched at Design Miami/Basel this week, each is based on the theme of Making Connections.

The three winners, Seung-Yong Song, Jon Stam and Bethan Laura Wood, were asked to respond to the regional context of a particular W Hotel, with the results ranging from Aztec-inspired lighting to furniture inspired by Bangkok's street food culture.

Bethan Laura Wood with Criss Cross


British designer Bethan Laura Wood created a collection of glass pieces called Criss Cross for W Mexico City. Inspired by Mexico City's colourful flowers, markets and Aztec/Art Deco architecture, the piece combines the skills of two glass artisans: Italian Pyrex specialist Pedro Myver and Mexican coloured glass experts Nouvel Studio.

Criss Cross by Bethan Laura Wood


Korean designer Seung-Yong Song travelled to W Bangkok and created the Wheeljek Collection, a range of versatile furniture inspired by the city's many street food carts.

Wheeljek Collection by Seung-Yong Song




Wheeljek Collection by Seung-Yong Song

With the soon-to-open W Verbier as his starting point, Amsterdam-based designer Jon Stam designed a timepiece called Claude Glass inspired by the landscape of the Swiss village and how it changes through the seasons.

Jon Stam with Claude Glass


Working with photographer Guido Perrini, Stam created a black mirror that can be turned to adjust the speed at which the landscape changes.

Homebuildlife subscribers can read more about incorporating local idioms into a design direction in our spring/summer 2013 macro trend, Idiomatic.