In May of this year, the American Institute of Architects will present the 2008 Institute Honor Awards for Interior Architecture award to the La Purificadora hotel, located in Puebla, Mexico. The property, belonging to the HABITA Group, obtained this award thanks to the original combination of contemporary elements with the ancient architecture of the water purification company that was previously based in that place. "This project mixes living indoor and outdoor spaces, old buildings with modern ones, historical and contemporary materials, modern and traditional lifestyles, all this to create an atmosphere that allows you to breathe a relaxed and rejuvenated air inside a historic water purification plant." That was what the different members who made up the jury during the award ceremony agreed on. The award that is commonly given to museums, art centers and residential projects, this time had a strong presence in the residential sector, four out of ten awards were given to this division.
Important juries were present for the election, including representatives of Frankel Coleman Architects, Scherer & Rockcastle Ltd, Brennan Beer Gorman Architects, HOK Architects and Zabriskie Company.
"The working group during the election was very connected and paid important attention to detail, materiality and how to craft a unique concept," said Neil P. Frankel, one of the jurors.
Likewise, Frankel emphasized that during this year, as is unusual, there were several novelties in interior architecture, however, the absence of trends or preferences in the use of some styles was highlighted.
In addition to this recognition, the HABITA group will start this year with more good news for the sector and announces the opening of new properties in Mexico. For May the north of that Central American country will be the destination for HABITA Monterrey, later Santa Fe, in Mexico City and Acapulco, will also be other places chosen to open new hotels to the visiting public.
Finally, the representatives of the group were enthusiastic and proud that 2008 is an important year for the opening of their new properties and qualify it as a platform for the creation of a new tourism strategy taking into account international and governmental trends. They also assured that they still have to work hard to be able to open the new properties, but they will continue to make their best efforts to achieve these objectives in the second quarter of 2008.
