In the build up to the inaugural AHEAD Americas programme on 28 June, designer Anda Andrei has discussed with Dezeen how the interiors of 11 Howard Hotel came to be.

Appearing as a finalist in five categories, the hotel is a renovation of a former Holiday Inn property in SoHo, New York.

Navigating tricky zoning regulations, the hotel eschews the traditional lobby in favour of a small self check in space.

Andrei, who collaborated with Danish design studio Space Copenhagen on the project, says getting rid of the check-in desk gave them the freedom to design the lobby like a sculpture garden, which features a mobile by artist Alexander Calder suspended from the ceiling.

“If you ask me which hotel I would like to stay in, it’s this one,” she explains. “It’s the one that’s super classic and homely.”

Taking place at Herzog & de Meuron’s Perez Art Museum Miami, AHEAD Americas will celebrate the best of hotel design and guest experience throughout the region.

An esteemed judging panel, representing all dimensions of the industry and chaired by Larry Traxler, Senior Vice President, Global Design Services – Hilton Worldwide, has judged the shortlisted projects based on both commercial and creative merits, with the eventual winners going on to compete in AHEAD’s global biennale in 2019.

www.aheadawards.com