Dezeen promotion: this year's edition of the Radical Innovation Award has opened its call for entries, with both professionals and students invited to submit forward-thinking hospitality designs.

The annual awards programme, organised by hospitality developer The Hardy Group, celebrates pioneering ideas for hotel accommodation in any country.

Radical Innovation is asking designers, architects, hoteliers, students and other creatives to submit their most forward-thinking hospitality designs, which are capable of "transforming the industry standard".

Submission categories include either new or existing hospitality designs and concepts, as well as a newly introduced product category.

"Radical Innovation discovers and spotlights creative thinkers from around the world with the ideas to propel the hospitality industry forward," explained John Hardy, founder of Radical Innovation and CEO of The Hardy Group.

"It's our goal to connect them with experienced business leaders that have the connections and resources to bring those ideas to reality, while supporting their effort, through year-round marketing and PR verticals."

""We are thrilled to add a hospitality products category to this year's competition."," he added.

Entries must be submitted by 23 April 2020. A jury of industry experts within the fields of hospitality, design, and investment will review all submissions entered online, and finalists will be selected through a blind judging process.

All entries will be evaluated based on their originality, creativity, design, feasibility, and quality of presentation.

Jury members include Hardy, as well as Claude Amar, managing director at The Hardy Group International, James Woods from WeWork, Mark Friesen from Beyer Brown & Associates, Jena Thornton from Kinzer Partners, Michael Medzigian of Watermark Capital Partners and Simon Turner of Alpha Lodging Partners.

While Radical Innovation encourages "brave" and innovative ideas, all entries must be realistic and realisable within a three- to five-year time period.

Each design must be submitted with a clear brief as to how the concept could be achieved, alongside renderings. Entries can also be accompanied by an optional video pitch.

Last year's award was won by Cooper Carry Architects with its Connectic concept design, which proposes employing modular and adaptable construction techniques to fill under-utilised spaces in a variety of different environments.

The concept could be used to build a pop-up hotel in remote area, for example, or to help solve problems of space and density in urban centres.

The 2019 student winners were Ruslan Mannapov and Airat Zaidullin with their Rooftop Hotel Gardens concept, which would see a hotel chain offer various rooftop modules in any city that people could book to have peaceful skyline views.

Finalists will be flown to New York to present their ideas live at the Radical Innovation event in October 2020.

Members of the audience will vote to determine the grand-prize winner of the professional category, who will receive a $10,000 prize, while the runner-up will receive $5,000.

The student winner, who is chosen by the jury before the event, will receive a $1,500 prize and is offered the chance to pursue a two-year graduate assistantship in the Masters of Architecture programme at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas.

The winner of the product category, for either a student or professional submission, will receive $1,500.

Submission fees for professional submissions will be $250, while student submission fees will remain complimentary. However, students must be currently enrolled full-time in order to qualify.

To submit your concept or to find out more about the Radical Innovation Award visit its website.

Partnership content

This article was written by Dezeen for Radical Innovation Award as part of a partnership. Find out more about Dezeen partnership content here.