42 | LUXlife Magazine Best Boutique Hospitality Architecture & Interior Design Studio 2023 – Middle East H+A Architects is a boutique architecture and interior design studio based in Dubai, specialising in healthcare, hospitality, and lifestyle residential design. With more than a decade of experience in the region servicing the hospitality and healthcare sectors, the team has been fortunate enough to collaborate with some of the most elite developers and hotel operators on the planet. We speak with Design Director David Lessard, who tells us more about the success of the business and how it continues to grow and develop. Founded on the core principles of Wellness, H+A offers architecture and interior design services with an ethos of curating the ultimate guest experience through a combination of physical and visual touch points. This is complemented by an impactful arrival, memorable circulation, and an intimate check-in with undertones of simplicity across all the of company’s design elements. By adopting a design approach that is humble and human centric, H+A can best suit the needs of its clients, providing excellent customer service along the way. H+A takes immense pride in resisting an objectbased approach towards its designs, avoiding the temptation of ego in its service philosophy. It is a sense of empathy that sits at the core of the business, not only in client and operator interactions, but also in thinking about how guests will experience the spaces the company creates. At all times, the guiding principle of how to “create destinations for memorable experience” is in effect, regardless of the size or scope of the project. In the crafting of hotel lobbies, H+A tends to stray from the transient, grandiose spaces traditionally associated with these settings, believing these to be impersonal and representative of a desire to create a “wow” moment or appeal to a mass audience. H+A instead favours a more intimate creation, allowing for moments of pause, creating something that feels crafted specifically for the guest to connote that they will be cared for, and the stay will be memorable. To achieve this, the team believe in slowness and specificity being key to creating a lasting first impression. The same good first impression is ultimately clear across the company, with 16 designers and architects currently employed from a variety of backgrounds, the building of a multicultural team with diverse backgrounds has ensured that a homogenous approach is not taken in projects. As David explains, “This is key to the culture of our studio, a bottom-up approach to exploring the opportunities and constraints around projects – striving for what a project “should be” through explorations and collaboration”. By looking for prospective employees who are ambitious, entrepreneurial, and autonomous, H+A ensure the continuing success and innovation of the business. H+A’s understanding of industry shifts stems from experience working with some of the world’s leading hotel operators, such as Minor, Marriott, and SHA. There are trends across these chains that are becoming increasingly commonplace, regardless of price point. The first of these is the omitting of desks inside rooms, and instead offering more vibrant and social co-working spaces. Furthermore, in the food & beverage sector, there has been a shift away from more traditional queueing buffets in favour of the adoption of a one-to-one service philosophy, and a heightened awareness of sustainability drives approaches to physical materials and spaces. Regardless of the shifts, H+A is more than willing to adapt its approach to better suit the needs of the modern guest. Moreover, H+A is one of incredibly few hospitality-focused firms that offers an in-house healthcare experience, having completed two healthcare projects already, transforming the cold and inhumane hospital environment into inviting hospitality spaces that just so happen to provide healthcare services. This ethos of designing the perfect guest experience has evolved to include the perfect patient experience. In 2024, this ethos will grow further to involve the designing of a wellness resort, which will offer 60 guestrooms and extensive healthcare services to a property just outside of Cairo. 2024 will see growth across other avenues, defined by the completion of two huge projects, the refurbishment and extension of the AVANI Hotel in the Seychelles, and the extension of the Ritz Carlton Al Wadi Desert Resort in Ras al Khaimah, both of which H+A provided architecture and interior design services for. These projects faced a lot of challenges, but through perseverance and collaboration are now back on track. This is representative of the commitment to excellence which H+A embodies and provide insight into its continued successes. Contact: David Lessard Company: H+A Architects Web Address: https://h-a.global/
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