AHEAD Asia is adjudicated by an independent panel of experts, comprising leading hospitality architects, designers, owners, operators, developers and industry commentators.
The judging process for AHEAD Asia has been carefully developed to ensure a rigorous, robust and balanced procedure is followed to select the final winners in each category.
The judges for AHEAD Asia are acknowledged industry leaders, who represent a wide spectrum of the disciplines involved in delivering new hotel projects across the region.
Dutch designer Joris Angevaare is renowned for the typical minimalist design aesthetic associated with Dutch Design.
Graduating as Bachelor of Interior Architecture from the Willem de Kooning Academy Rotterdam, Angevaare has nearly 2 decades of experience in creating pragmatic solutions that bend rules and challenge dogmas. His background in business economics helps him to drill down to the core essence of the assignment or client's DNA to spark the creative concept.
Headquartered in Singapore, Angevaare attends to projects that span the globe, exploring diversity in cultures, philosophies and aesthetic juxtapositions to produce new ideas, concepts and inspirations.
Director, Société des Bains de Mer
Troy oversees hospitality, wellness, culture & lifestyle development across the international portfolio at Hong Kong-listed Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG). GEG’s global footprint spans the US, Europe and Asia via strategic holdings in NASDAQ-listed Wynn Resorts, Monaco’s Euronext-listed Société des Bains de Mer (SBM), as well as projects in Japan and China’s exciting Greater Bay Area. He also serves as Director on the Board of SBM and various GEG subsidiaries.
Billie Khoo is the Senior Design & Project Direct for Hilton Architecture, Design & Construction (AD&C), APACx It is a diverse region that spans North Asia, Southeast Asia, Australasia, Pacific Islands and the South-Asia subcontinent.
Educated in Singapore and a trained architect with a Master of Architecture, Billie has worked with established regional and international hospitality design firms such as SCDA, Maps Design and Wilson Associates during her career of 21 years. She has wide-ranging experience in both masterplanning, architectural and interior design aspects of hospitality creation.
Billie and her team are responsible for design overview of all Hilton’s 18 brands in the APAC for both pipeline projects and capital expenditure projects. This involves ensuring that the hotels and resorts achieve their brand equity and are relevant to the markets. It also includes a constant review of brand standards and designs for the regions and to have the finger on the pulse of the hotel developments and hospitality trends in globally.
Since joining Hilton in 2012, Billie has worked with the AD&C team to deliver successful openings and property rejuvenation across all brands, and she continues to be intimately involved in flagship hotels in gateway cities. Some of the hotels include market-leading ones such as such as Waldorf Astoria Maldives Ithaafushi, Conrad Osaka, Roku Kyoto and Waldorf Astoria Bangkok. She is currently working on Waldorf Astoria Tokyo Nihonbashi, Waldorf Astoria Osaka and Waldorf Astoria Jakarta which will be the next flagship properties for Hilton Worldwide.
Being in a region of high growth in the travel industry, Billie is also involved in Development for the technical review of new opportunities in the constant drive to grow the number of new hotels and rooms with an operator that has one of the largest pipeline in the world.
Dharmali Kusumadi is the Senior Vice President, Projects and Business Development of Banyan Tree Group. He is responsible for the design and technical advisory services, projects and business development functions within the Group.
Being with the group for more than two decades, Dharmali has helped to create numerous iconic award-winning architectural and interior designs, which are the hallmarks of Banyan Tree and Angsana hotels and resorts. He was personally involved with the different hotel projects in Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Maldives, China, Mexico, Morocco, Seychelles and other countries for the four hotel brands namely Banyan Tree, Angsana, Cassia and Dhawa. Key milestone projects include Asia’s first integrated destination resort - Laguna Phuket in Thailand, Laguna Bintan in Indonesia and Laguna Lang Co in Central Vietnam under the Banyan Tree Group.
Chris Lee is the founder and Creative Director of Asylum, one of the most respected creative companies in Asia. Since its inception in 1999, the creative company has focused on cross disciplinary projects that include interactive design, product development, environmental and interior design, packaging, branding and graphic design. Featured in numerous magazines from around the world, Asylum is defined as an unconventional maverick in the creative world.
Chris’ work in the creative industry is recognised with more than 100 international awards. He is the recipient for the Designer of the year and Design of the year in Singapore’s President Design Award. He has served as a juror for many of the top International creative awards such as D&AD, Red Dot and Perspective awards. His recent Project The Warehouse Hotel won Hotel of the year (Asia) at the AHEAD awards and FRAME awards.
Chris is also a founding member and President of The Design Society, a non-profit organisation that aims to promote visual culture through exhibitions, workshops and education.
Sun Mi is a designer and hotelier with a passion for unique, creative spaces. As the Director of Design Management at 8M, she oversees the development of such spaces – rejuvenating the iconic shop houses of Singapore for modern day use. These heritage buildings are respectfully conserved and transformed into boutique hotels, F&B, office, and retail spaces. Each individual in nature, with design inspiration coming from the property’s rich history.
One of Hong Kong’s foremost creative designers, Ed Ng is one-half of multi-disciplinary international design studio AB Concept alongside co-founder Terence Ngan.
Born and raised with both Asian and Western influences in Hong Kong, Ed’s childhood experiences have heavily shaped his design principles and aesthetic, enabling him to understand different cultures and fuse them together in his design approach.
Through his work with AB Concept, Ed has spent the last two decades creating innovative spaces for the most prestigious clients in luxury hospitality, wellness and F&B, including the Four Seasons, Rosewood, Mandarin Oriental, and Ritz Carlton.
Normal . creates spaces and experiences that shake us out of the routine, raise consciousness of the moment and deliver belonging to a greater purpose. Normal . uses materials that are real and lasting, develops products and services that are modern, elegant and gives peace.
Jinou Park is the founder of Normal . , a hospitality and lifestyle expert in trends forecast, creative concepts and direction and brand development. Jinou brings 20+ years of experience in leading global brands from Disney, Hilton and InterContinenal Hotels. Immediately prior to launching Normal . , Jinou was Asia Pacific leader of Design Hotels AG, hand-selected curation of 300+ privately owned and operated hotels globally.
Jinou was born in Seoul, Korea and has Master's of Management in Hospitality from Cornell Hotel School, Ithaca, New York.
Designer, traveller, and writer, Paul Matthew Wiste is one of Asia's foremost luxury hospitality design experts.
Paul currently leads a boutique Hospitality Design Consultancy providing bespoke solutions to discerning private owners and operators. He has previously worked for IHG as Head of Design and Engineering SEA+K and the Jumeirah Group as Vice President Development Design Asia Pacific. He was first professionally employed in the Asia Pacific region in 1996; and had his introduction to hotel design on Ian Schrager's Sanderson Hotel in London in 1998.
Paul has presented keynote speeches and. participated in panel discussions at various Hospitality and Architecture conferences within the Asia Pacific region. He is active in researching and publishing future trends and theory in design, drawing upon the professional experience he has accumulated across the globe. A true citizen of the world, his passion for design and the built environment is constantly being applied to the Asia Pacific portfolio of projects he leads.
As a partner of LTW Designworks, Su Seam is the lead design principal based in the Singapore office. She is primarily responsible for creating the unique vision and interior concept of each project to ensure that it meets the client’s brief, budget and schedule, and the operator’s brand requirements. Su Seam has tremendous experience in luxury hospitality design throughout the region, and works very closely with her teams in each phase of the project from initial concept through final installation on site.
Prior to joining LTW in 1994, Su Seam worked with renowned interior design firms in the US where she handled numerous notable projects before being recruited by Hirsch Bedner Associates in Singapore. At H.L.Lim & Associates, Su Seam oversaw a number of the firm’s landmark design projects across Asia and steered the company’s growth. She was named Partner in 2001.
The application of design and architecture to deliver great guest experiences are at the heart of AHEAD.
The criteria for success are based not only on creative excellence, but also on commercial viability.
As well as projects that are aesthetically impressive, the judges will be looking for evidence that winning designs have also met the needs of client and customers alike.
The judges will be looking for submissions showing rigorous and appropriate design, demonstrating a sensible use of budget to contribute to the guest experience as well as the 'theatre' of hotel life while satisfying the client brief.
Submitted material should demonstrate clearly why the project is thought to be worth an award in its chosen category and how the design sets the project at an award winning level.
Click here to see our AHEAD Checklist, which guides you through the entry process.
RH Contract provides a business-to-business partnership like no other in the industry. With our multi-category product assortment, unparalleled product design and curation capabilities, uniquely integrated interior design approach, the benefits of RH’s purchasing power, and our global supply chain and logistics scale, RH Contract has proven to be a unique, valuable project partner.
Visit siteThe brand Lasvit, founded in 2007 by Leon Jakimič, sheds new light on Bohemian glass and takes it into the next millennium. Lasvit combines the authenticity of glass craft with innovative technologies and creative craftsmanship. In a few short years, Lasvit has established itself as the authority delivering bespoke lighting sculptures and art installations made from hand-blown glass.
Collaborations with renowned designers and artists produce also unique glass collections. Nendo, Ross Lovegrove, Daniel Libeskind, Maarten Baas, Czech legends René Roubíček and Bořek Šípek are among those who choose Lasvit in order to embody their unconventional artistic vision, endow it with the precision and mastery of our glassmakers, and produce impressive creative oeuvre. This is a manifesto of Lasvit’s uncompromising mission: To transform glass into breathtaking light and design experiences.
Visit siteTOPHOTELPROJECTS is the heart of a global community of suppliers and decision-makers which initiates and supports the communication relating to building, design, furnishing, and operation of hotels.
We are a German research firm covering global hotel constructions, that over a decade branched out into hospitality events, media, and hotel design.
No other company comes close in supporting the hotel industry by efficiently combining different business areas into one integrated solution.
Ever since the hotel industry veteran Rolf W. Schmidt founded the company in 2009, our core activity is building the world’s most comprehensive directory of:
We took the complex, ever-evolving global hospitality industry and introduced it to our German sense of efficiency and sheer hard work.
Our research team of some 25 experienced professionals spends 1,800 hours a month researching hotel projects around the world.
Our database has been 10 years in the making, during which we gathered information on over 24,000 hotel projects and 120,000 related companies. Currently, our database has information on more than 6,500 ongoing hotel projects worldwide – important details included.
TOPHOTELPROJECTS today represents an exhaustive, ever-growing network of professionals from all major sectors of the hospitality industry: owners, developers, investors, brands, operators, architects, designers, and suppliers.
In 2019, TOPHOTELPROJECTS and Sleeper Media signed a strategic partnership with mutual co-investment. This partnership combines digital expertise and in-depth data of TOPHOTELPROJECTS with Sleeper Media’s leading hospitality offerings. It is all about synergy and a win for all sectors of the industry.
Visit siteKALDEWEI – your worldwide partner for iconic bathroom solutions shaped from superior steel enamel. KALDEWEI’s extensive range of bathtubs, shower surfaces, and washbasins are ideally suited to the demands of the hospitality industry delivering an increased level of health and wellbeing awareness for your hotel. The smooth, non-porous glass surface not only gives you security against germs and dirt but is also the material of the future. KALDEWEI steel enamel is made of 100% natural materials and is 100% recyclable, so it’s good for your guests and the planet too.
To learn more visit KALDEWEI.com
Visit siteFounded in 1892 in Switzerland, LAUFEN has become one of the world's leading companies for sanitary ceramics. Today LAUFEN Bathrooms provided integrated bathroom concepts with high-quality products, ranging from sanitary ceramics to bathtubs and shower trays, furniture, faucets, and accessories.
Visit siteVilleroy & Boch, formed in 1748, is a leading ceramics manufacturer steeped in European culture and history, and one of the biggest international premium brands in the areas of bathrooms and wellness.
Villeroy & Boch offers the finest and most innovative bathroom products and furnishing concepts for both private customers and property developers. The company is a pioneer in the realm of ceramic product design and innovation. Villeroy & Boch beautiful, high-quality products are hallmarks of French design flair and German engineering efficiency.
Visit siteDesigning and manufacturing everything in bathrooms.
Roca began life as a family business manufacturing cast iron radiators at a factory in Gavà, near Barcelona in 1917. Over the years, the portfolio gradually expanded and by 1929, Roca entered the bathroom environment for the first time. With an attentive focus on social changes, Roca has since been pioneering when tackling issues surrounding sustainability, design, and technology, and remains at the forefront of these innovations today. Today, Roca reaches over 170 countries, supplied by 76 production plants with more than 20,000 employees worldwide. After one hundred years, Roca is still proud to call itself a family business.
Visit sitePreciosa Lighting elevates the heritage of Bohemian crystal through contemporary lighting designs since 1724. The company is built on centuries of tradition and the unique art of master glassmakers from Crystal Valley. We honour this heritage and craftsmanship by creating innovative lighting products that stand the test of time.
Our lighting styles range from individual luxury lighting to dynamic and interactive installations. As a global company, Preciosa cooperates with designers worldwide to create exclusive lights that reflect our spirit. Our historic chandeliers and contemporary projects can be found in hotels, resorts, fine restaurants, luxury residences, cultural institutions and on board yachts and cruise ships in locations as varied as New York, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, Moscow or London.
Preciosa Lighting can create unrivaled emotional experiences by combining the traditional art form of chandelier craftsmanship with cutting-edge technology. This knowledge is what drives our intention to unveil the symbolic as well as the aesthetic power of decorative lighting. It led us to create Preciosa’s Signature Designs which are highlighted by countless customization possibilities to perfectly fit the owner’s desires.
Signature Designs are authentic, timeless, and celebrate design. We are inspired by the allure of crystal combined with light. Creative craftsmanship is evident through the versatility of each light; customizable for space and its uses. Preciosa’s advanced use of technology is seen in every element of the design. They present contemporary styles with a timeless quality.
Visit siteEstablished in 2002, FOH® is a women-owned global foodservice and hospitality company that manufactures smart, savvy, commercial-grade products including plateware, drinkware, flatware, hotel amenities, and more. Driven by innovation, FOH® is dedicated to delivering that WOW experience that restaurants and hotels crave, all while maintaining a competitive price. All products are fully customizable, and many are also created using sustainable, eco-friendly materials, such as straws and plates made from biodegradable paper and wood and BPA-free drinkware. FOH® has two established brands: Front of the House®, focused on tabletop and buffet solutions, and room360®, which offers hotel products. Check out our collections today at
Visit siteJUNG
Progress as tradition
Founded in 1912 in Schalksmühle, Germany, JUNG is one of the leading manufacturers of switches, sockets, and intelligent building technology systems in Europe, with over 90 offices and partners worldwide. With innovation, passion, and precision as guiding principles, JUNG continuously hone its craft to create premium experiences desired by homeowners and hotels alike. Lighting, blinds, air conditioning, energy, security, multimedia, and door communication - the functional diversity of JUNG systems covers all areas of modern electrical installation. Genuine metals, velvet matt, and the 63 original Les Couleurs® Le Corbusier colors are available in a variety of finishes.
Explore more about JUNG today at
Visit siteBorn in 2017 under the creative direction of Gil Saul, SOPHSTONE speaks to a niche clientele
which values individuality over current trends. Driven more by creativity than profits,
SOPHSTONE remains steadfastly independent. A family-owned boutique manufacturer,
providing the flexibility required to incorporate age-old techniques and old-world craftsmanship
absent in a market saturated by global brands.
Within the picturesque surroundings of the Malang Region of East Java, Indonesia, Gil borrows
inspiration, not from concrete and steel, but rather the harmony of living within nature. There is a
realization that tradition, craftsmanship, and innovation can coexist. Overcoming the familiar and
continually producing recognizable, ambitious, and culturally relevant luxury. The SOPHSTONE
brand is proudly manufactured entirely in-house, creating exclusive, original designs of
uncompromising quality.
No product created by the human hand will ever be without flaws, yet the human touch is vital to
SOPHSTONE’s philosophy of unrivaled craftsmanship. There is beauty within the subtle flaws of
imperfection and warmth in the human touch. At the same time, SOPHSTONE has standards
and practices throughout its manufacturing process that are as rigorous as any you’ll find in any
industry. The perfect balance between modernity and tradition.
Over the years, SOPHSTONE has been honored to be the chosen product in commercial
projects throughout the Americas and abroad. Ranging from hotels, resorts, restaurants,
schools, airports, and more. Whether it is a small independent location or a large scale
corporate project, SOPHSTONE is there to meet and exceed all expectations, on time and on
budget
Visit siteFor nearly a quarter-century, TUUCI has revolutionized outdoor spaces with durable, innovative shade platforms featuring nautically inspired designs. Founded by Dougan Clarke in 1997, The Ultimate Umbrella Company, Inc., (simply known as “TUUCI”), was born from seaside roots in Miami, Florida where Dougan began his career as a marine outfitter for high-performance yachts.
With a keen eye on design and a passion for form and function, Dougan applied his craftsmanship to the shade industry to create TUUCI’s unique brand of marine-grade, shade architecture. Today, TUUCI’s distinctive shade designs and furnishings may be experienced around the world and are sought by leading design professionals within the architectural and residential design community.
TUUCI’s primary manufacturing campus is in Miami, Florida, and serves as the company’s global headquarters. The organization maintains two additional, wholly-owned manufacturing centers in Northern Europe and Southeast Asia providing localized customer service including fully integrated internal sales teams and distribution support across each continent.
TUUCI’s sense of community is a cornerstone of the company’s foundation, providing charitable outreach across a host of environmental and humanitarian concerns. The company’s broad mission is to provide sustainable comfort and accessibility around the world.
Visit siteFor 30 years Gessi has been designing and creating concepts to enhance the use and benefits of water with the commitment to realise the aspirations of style, personalisation, physical and mental wellbeing of individuals in the most private of living spaces. Creating a new sector, the Private Wellness sector, Gessi has transformed places that were previously utilitarian into environments capable of exciting and regenerating those who live in them on a daily basis.
Created in a zero impact green park, the company's creations bring a message of beauty, love of nature, attention and safety for the user into the homes of those who choose them. The serenity and passion with which they are made, engraved in each object, give a positive vibration to whoever uses and enjoys them.
A global reference for lifestyle, innovation, design and sustainability, the Gessi collections furnish the world's most beautiful hotels, public spaces, yachts and private homes.
Visit siteSince 1995, Orientop Limited, specializes in the business of decorative architectural glass and thrive on exploring its creative potential to produce stunning glass. Having over 25 years’ experience for laminated glass production, we remain keenly attuned on keeping close to the architecture and interior design.
Orientop always desperate for collecting the latest materials with the best quality to satisfy customers’ needs. Not only pursuing and developing extraordinary and innovative glass technology, but also aim for unique masterpiece of glassworks for various customer groups and all of our production and fabrication is complying with International Standard.
Starting from the procurement of raw glass material, to tempering and heat soak process, and all the way to the strict management and control. We provide comprehensive one-stop production which assures the best quality of all glass product we produce. To ensuring every product is manufactured in good condition and delivered timely, quality assurance is implemented in strict compliance, we consistently strive to offer a top-level complete solution to our customers.
Two factories were set up which located in China Xinhui and China Taishan to become more efficient, productivity and capable to serve the public with the enhancement of the demand for glazing products. We are an eco-friendly business with technologies to promote sustainable building materials, and always strive to become an organization with green certification.
Our subsidiary company, Orientop Building Material Limited, has embarked on key partnerships to further expand our capabilities. We have partnered with DOWSIL™, the global leader in high performance sealing solutions. Additionally, we have formed a partnership with Kuraray to become the distributor of their high-performance products and advanced interlayer solutions throughout Southern and Western China, responsible for the trading of PVB interlayer and SentryGlas® Interlayer.
From the initial stages of conceptualisation and design, to the production and installation phases of a project, Orientop is thrilled to be with DOWSIL™ and Kuraray every step of the way to create a unique and unrivalled masterpiece for the customers.
Visit siteThe Awards were first launched at the House of Lords in 2016 to recognise, celebrate and reward accessibility across hotels, restaurants and other public venues worldwide.
The judges focus on style, thoughtful design, innovation and liberty that delivers exceptional accessibility. The aim is to encourage hospitality industry bosses, architects and designers worldwide to consider ways in which they can address the current and future needs of disabled guests.
Visit site