For more than a decade, Hospitality Design magazine has bestowed the honor to a select group of designers, architects, brand executives, and owners as the Wave of the Future. The tagline: young enough to be considered visionary, but tested enough to be considered accomplished.
This year stellar group of honorees, like years past, does not disappoint: Julie Frank, global director of design Le Méridien Hotels; Anwar Mekhayech, partner at DesignAgency; Daniel Scovill, principal at Arcsine Architecture; Kenneth Villamil, global director of product and brand development for Park Hyatt and Andaz Hotels; Rob Wagemans, creative director/founder of Concrete; Joyce Wang, principal at Joyce Wang Studio; and Adam Winig, principal at Arcsine Architecture.
The handpicked individuals have covered the globe in incredible design from Mumbai and Hong Kong to Amsterdam and Toronto, and beyond with incredible projects that inspire and bring to life true creativity in the field.
The honorees were feted during Hospitality Design magazine’s HD NextGen Forum at W City Center in Chicago, wherein the aforementioned individuals spoke during a Pecha Kucha-style panel discussion. For more information, visit the NextGen website at www.hdnextgenforum.com.
The 2014 Wave of the Future honorees include:
• Julie Frank: Born and raised in South Africa, Frank’s creative eye has led to leadership roles in top design firms including AvroKO as an associate, a five-year stint at the Rockwell Group, and over half a decade under Adam Tihany who gave Frank her start in the hospitality sector. As global director of design for Le Méridien, Julie manages the creation of brand design, strategy, direction, and initiatives on new builds, conversions, and renovations.
• Anwar Mekhayech: Former host of HGTV’s The Design Guys, Anwar founded DesignAgency, a Toronto-based multidisciplinary design company for which he applies his eclectic approach to the wide range of projects he oversees. With strong ties to the restaurant industry, having grown up in a restaurant-owner family business, he notes his current projects as Soho House Toronto, Momofuku Toronto by chef David Chang, and all of the Generator hostels for Patron Capital.
• Kenneth Villamil: Helming the global product and brand development for the Park Hyatt and Andaz Brands, Kenneth is responsible for the innovation, ideation, and creation of the respective brands’ new concepts. In his 14 years prior to joining Hyatt, he flexed his muscles in brand strategy and creative solutions on brands including St. Regis, W Hotels, and Le Méridien on behalf of Starwood Hotel’s Luxury Brand Studio.
• Rob Wagemans: As creative director of Concrete, and Amsterdam-based agency, Wagemans and his team of 40 are tasked with the architecture, interior design, urban development, and brand development of hospitality-related projects around the globe including creating the citizenM brand, W Hotels in London, Amman, and Mumbai, as well as Andaz Hotel Munich.
• Joyce Wang: A traveler of Europe, Asia, and the U.S., Wang made her mark on the hospitality design industry only three short years ago, but she has already left quite the impression. Her first project included guestrooms at the Hollywood Roosevelt, and has since gone on to complete Mott 32 and Ammo restaurant in Hong Kong.
• Adam Winig: As co-founder of Arcsine with fellow Wave of the Future honoree Scovill, Winig is committed to thoughtful, well-crafted architecture that is matched with his uncanny ability to bring together teams that bring to life visionary concepts for the industry. Having received a masters of architecture from the University of Michigan and his BA in studio arts from Brandeis University, Adam says of his role: “Having a job that affords me the opportunity to regularly work with highly successful individuals across multiple disciplines makes it easy to come to work every day.”
• Daniel Scovill: Prior to founding Arcsine in 2003, Scovill participated in innovative design on behalf of the automotive industry with Gensler where he served on various showroom and prototype design collaborations for Volkswagen, Mazda, Lincoln, Ford, and General Motors. With Arcsine, he applies his strong belief in the collaborative approach to the design, detailing, and construction of restaurant, hospitality, workplace, and retail projects.
