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Eli Papouchado. 'My profession is my eyes'

Israeli businessman wins design award

Eli Papouchado gets prestigious European prize for rooms he designed himself in his luxurious London hotel. 'I build hotels for the opportunity to design them,' he says

LONDON – Businessman Eli Papouchado thought he had won every possible title, until last week. His luxurious hotel in London, Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, won a prestigious European design award in the category in the bathroom interior design category. The hotel was designed by Papouchado himself together with another architect.

 

The European Hotel Design Awards is a prestigious annual competition organized by Sleeper Magazine, which recognizes the achievements of hotel architects, designers and developers in various categories of architecture and interior design.

 

The winners of this year's competition were announced recently, and the Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel's bathroom design was defined as "extraordinary, of high quality and comfortable."

 

The judges in the prestigious competition included senior hotel industry officials from leading chains like InterContinental and Marriott.

 

The win was more than just an award for Papouchado. The veteran businessman engages in designing as well, and he designed the award-winning bathrooms together with architect Eyal Shoan of the Digital Space studio. The two cooperated in designing the Park Plaza, as well as other projects.

 

One of the most intriguing projects the two are working on these days is the prestigious Art'otel in Amsterdam.

 

The Park Plaza Westminster Bridge Hotel is located on the southern bank of the River Thames, near the Waterloo station. It overlooks London's main attractions, enjoying the growing popularity of the neighborhoods located south of the River Thames.


Hotel located on southern bank of River Thames (Archive photo: CD Bank)

 

Papouchado was thrilled with the award. "Why do I build hotels? Because of the design. It's the element which appeals to me more than anything else," he said a day after discovering that he had won.

 

"In apartment buildings or offices there is no soul. As a businessman, the moment I rent out the apartments of offices, my role ends. In hotels there is an exciting element of being involved in a creation. I don't just plan and fund my hotels – I'm involved in the entire design issue, in developing the concept, building and managing. You won't find another person who is so involved in every area and stage of hotel building. As far as I'm concerned, a hotel has a soul, it's sexy. This is what interests me in the hotels I build."

 

Is designing a new habit?

 

"No. I had always given out orders related to design. I chose the materials and was involved in designing my hotels. Eyal Shoan, the architect who designed the winning design with me, is a talented architect I have nurtured, and together we design rooms which maintain beauty and aesthetics along with a lot of functionality."

 

Have you ever studied design properly?

 

"All my life I only studies once: In first grade. I never went to school and I don't have a profession. When people ask me about my profession, I say that it's "my eyes". That's the way it was with the Park Plaza bathrooms' design. We wanted to do something different, not to copy. The hotel in London is unique and you won't find many like it in the world. Not every city can contain the hotels I build."

 

 


פרסום ראשון: 12.15.10, 09:33
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