MILAN – As many as 180 submissions from around the world, 71 nominated projects, and now 18 finalists.
These numbers signal the success of HOSThinking – A Design Award, the international competition dedicated to the design of innovative formats for professional catering promoted by Host and Fiera Milano in conjunction with POLI-design, Consorzio del Politecnico di Milano, under the auspices of ADI, the Industrial Design Association Italy.
A less measurable indicator, but no less significant in importance, was the high quality of the projects submitted from Korea, Israel, the Netherlands, Portugal, Serbia, Spain, Turkey and Venezuela, as well as from Italy.
This made even more difficult the task of the illustrious panel, including Armando Bruno – Representative of the ADI Industrial Design Association Italy, General Manager of Studio Marco Piva; Luisa Collina – professor at the Politecnico di Milano, expert in hospitality design; Matteo O. Ingaramo – Director of POLI.design;Giuliano Simonelli – President of POLI.design; and Francesco Trabucco – professor at the Politecnico di Milano, Design Department.
In selecting the finalists, experts evaluated the general innovative quality of the concepts of the product, place and service, the coherence of the elements and the degree of incorporation of the sensory experience.
Designers Giuseppe Arezzi, Stefania Barba, Vanessa Anna Bossi, Pino Caliandro, Irene Cancian, Hooni Choi, Hyunchul Choi, Roberta Co, Matteo Fioravanti, Norbert Fischbach, Antonella Gigli, Mersiha Karic, Sebastiano Marchiò, Marco Pellici, Edita Righetto, Catarina Sinde, Maria Antonietta Strigari, and Silvia Tolozzi captured the attention of the panelists.
“The projects demonstrate the fluidity of the concept of ‘living’, distributed consciously from public space to private space, both heightened through the functionality and beauty that have always distinguished high quality product design,” remarked Luisa Bocchietto, President of ADI.
“The designs all share a pervasive quality that arises from the attention to detail, the end user, and the social repercussions of the design.”
From the zero kilometer restaurant with its own vegetable garden and automated handle to greet guests, to the original interpretations of the show-cookingexperience and the design hall conceived for use in museums and historic residences, down to the fresh interpretation of the unconventional hotel concept.
These were only a few of the themes touched on in the projects presented, with particular attention to environmental sustainability, social responsibility, culturaland territorial development, and local Italian production.
Visitors to the International Professional Catering Exhibition at fieramilano in Rho from Friday 18 to Tuesday 22 October 2013 will appreciate up close how the finalists have taken on the challenge launched by HOSThinking to designers around the world to develop innovative and original visions.
The 18 projects selected will be displayed in a dedicated area. Also as part of Host 2013, the panel will announce the three winners, who will receive cash awards for a total value of Euro 7,000.
