A place to connect: The Social Space shortlist

If it’s one thing we all love to do it’s to be social and the shortlist in The Social Space at the INDE.Awards this year showcases myriad extraordinary places that help us connect and also give great pleasure.

With a diverse offering, 2022 signals a very sophisticated array of restaurants, bars, hotels and meeting places. It’s an eclectic group but each is a superb iteration of a hospitality project that has been designed for purpose, people and place.

As supporter of The Social Space, Verosol is aware that it is the detail that defines a project. Since 1965, Verosol has been designing and manufacturing window coverings for the architecture and design community and its products help architects and designers to deliver exemplary projects for discerning clients.

Realising that a point of difference can make or break a social space, each of the shortlisted projects is particular, ooze style and exemplify refinement. The devil is in the detail and, whatever the project interior, fine craftsmanship, authentic materials and innovation is displayed and celebrated. While restrained palettes set the scene with a number of the shortlist, conversely bright colour or dramatic aesthetics prove that a design for a hospitality venue is singular and needs to be appropriate for brand and situation.

Lighting is central to the design intention of all projects with some featuring enormous pendant lights that create a unique “wow” factor for the interior. Furnishings are, in the most part, spare and pared back, where less is more, however, it is the materiality of timber, stone, porcelain and bricks that informs many of the colour palettes and helps set the tone and atmosphere.

The Social Space shortlist is a unique group of projects that are all show stoppers in their own right but together they help define the social landscape of our region.

The winner of The Social Space and all other categories of the INDE.Awards will be announced at the gala party in Melbourne on 4 August. We can’t wait to see you there and to celebrate together, so mark the date, it’s just around the corner.