14 April is the closing date for submissions from architecture and interior design professionals and students to the 7th Architecture and Interior Design Awards organised by PORCELANOSA Group. Three months in advance of this date, the names of the renowned experts who will compose the jury have already been announced.Olivier Lapidus, Francesc Rifé, Héctor Ruiz Velázquez and Raquel Chamorro will be responsible for selecting the winning projects at the seventh edition of the awards from among the proposals submitted by architecture and interior design professionals and students.Olivier Lapidus. Création Olivier LapidusSon of a prestigious haute couture tailor, Olivier Lapidus followed in the steps of his father, winning important awards such as the “Dé d’Or de la Couture” in 1994. Later, having lived in various locations around the world, the French designer decided to open up the boundaries of his creative side and started to accept interior design projects such as the Le Felicien hotel in Paris. The Création Olivier Lapidus studio was responsible for the entire project, designing every element in the hotel including the furniture, carpets and curtains, creating a personal and exclusive atmosphere throughout the hotel.Francesc Rifé. Francesc Rifé StudioSince his own interior and industrial design studio opened in 1994, Francesc Rifé has established a multi-disciplinary team that is currently composed of 10 professionals who work in different areas so that the studio can undertake a variety of projects. Each project by the Barcelona studio is marked with its concept of design, based on spatial order and geometric proportions. This philosophy is perfectly expressed in national and international works found in both the commercial and private sphere.Among the most noteworthy interior design projects of the Francesc Rifé Studio are designs for well-known fashion and jewellery brands from around Spain, offices and every type of home. In the area of hotels and gastronomy, it has completed projects for some of the best restaurants of today such as Can Fabes (three Michelin stars), and it also refitted El Racó d’en Freixa (one Michelin star). The studio’s latest projects include highlights such as the home of Real Madrid’s first team in Valdebebas.Héctor Ruiz Velázquez. HRuiz Velázquez architecture & design teamThe work of Puerto Rican architect Héctor Ruiz Velázquez is known for the sensitivity of his designs, which take maximum advantage of architecture’s great capacity to convey emotions. Based in Madrid y Dubai, projects by the HRuiz Velázquez architecture & design team studio currently enjoy international recognition and prestige, with numerous inter-disciplinary works completed across Spain.This wide range of designs includes private and commercial projects, public infrastructures, urban projects, offices and homes characterised by the way they ‘multiply’ space, a feature also seen in the Signature Space designed by the studio using natural materials by L’Antic Colonial for the 20th International Show by PORCELANOSA Group.Raquel ChamorroAt the head of her own studio for almost twenty years, Raquel Chamorro has established herself as one of the elite interior design companies in Spain thanks to her multi-disciplinary talent and commitment to creativity. Her most celebrated designs include the three buildings of the Escuela Privada de Artes Gráficas y Diseño in Madrid, the Auditorium in Leon (EUTHERPE) for young people who show promise, the first Mercedes Benz boutique in Spain and many of its franchises, and the decoration and interior design of several palaces in the United Arab Emirates.At present, Raquel Chamorro’s studio is undergoing rapid internationalisation and began 2014 with residential and luxury hotel projects in Costa Rica, Peru, Colombia, Qatar, Dubai, Brazil, Turkey and Florida.
