InterContinental Hotels Group & BWM Designers and Architects have been shortlisted for Hotel Design – Europe Award and Lobby Public Areas – Global Award in The International Hotel and Property Awards 2023. Read more about CEO and Architect Erich Bernard:

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Name: Erich Bernard
Company: BWM Designers and Architects
Position within company: designer, architect, CEO, founding partner

Tell us a little about your background in design (education, experience, etc) I started to study architecture at the technical university in Graz and after two years, having the Bachelor degree in my pocket, I did the entrance exam at the University of Applied Arts in Vienna in order to continue to study at the Master class of Wilhelm Holzbauer. I enjoyed very much the creative and somehow intimate atmosphere within this very vivid master Class, with discussions on design issues going on every day. In the early 90ties after my master degree, my former assistant teacher Jan Tabor, a well known writer and architecture critic, who was preparing a big exhibition on art and architecture in times of the big dictatorships of the 20ties cy, asked me to join the team as co-curator for the architectural part. This was a lifetime experience, as well regarding my knowledge as my network of friends and experts. At the same time I started to run my own small office together with a colleague from the university expanding to a larger scale after winning a big competition for a “book-stores-future-concept”. After nearly 10 successful years with 3 partners we decided to go in different directions and together with colleagues from my former office we founded a new office BWM – named after the initials of the founding partners. 

How would you describe your personal interior design style?
Our handwriting is the approach to projects. BWM stands for a personal approach and a cooperative development process – we always work together closely with the client to develop each project’s unique formal language and corresponding design concept.
For us it is important to work on an interdisciplinary basis; design and interior architecture is only one part of the puzzle contributing to a successful project. It is the holistic experience that we have in mind.
Especially Hospitality projects have to consist of different experts. From an architect’s point of view it is important to understand the people who work in the hotel or restaurant, people that are responsible for food & beverages, for event management, front desk management. As experts in their field, in the team. We always to start with a story or at least a positioning process in order to be clear about the direction. And we try to listen to the people involved, listen to the guests, listen to the employees, listen to the visitors and of course to our clients, as our design will be their surroundings and has to fulfill their needs.

In what direction do you feel that design is moving towards in a general sense? Perhaps refocusing on sustainability. Not (only) in an ecological sense, but in an aesthetical way. Design that lasts and pleases over time.

Name five key themes to consider when approaching design in 2023 and beyond. Individualisation is the topic, above all, this includes making a hotel a binding place. Conversion, Environmental Social Governance (ESG), „Restaurant with Rooms“.

How important are The International Hotel & Property Awards as recognition of talent and achievement? Very 

What projects are you currently working on?Hotel Ensemble Straubingerplatz, Bad Gastein: BWM Designers & Architects were commissioned to develop a sophisticated hotel concept that extends far beyond just the buildings themselves and are responsible for the overall realisation of the project that aims to restore Bad Gastein’s Straubingerplatz to its former glory – in line with the principle of preserving history while judiciously complementing it with new elements.

What was your favourite project to work on and why?
Maybe hotel Entners. We renovated and repositioned the distinguished hotel Entners at Lake Achen as a place full of spaces. The hotel boasts an exceptional location right by Lake Achen and surrounded by the Karwendel mountains. Because it is nestled between the magnificent peaks in the west and the clear water of Tyrol’s largest lake in the east, the views and the light conditions in the hotel are extremely varied. Our aim was to work with these conditions to bring out the best in the hotel. The design of the new spa, which spans three floors, reflects the character and tonality of Lake Achen with an analogous gradation. The breakfast room was also given a full makeover. Upon entering, guests feel like they are walking into a delicatessen with regional specialities presented on serving tables and shelves mounted on walls and doors. Generally speaking, the aim was to create a “place full of spaces” that conveys a sense of homeliness on the one hand, while providing elements of tension scattered throughout the hotel on the other. The successive renovation process means that the hotel changes from year to year, so even returning guests will discover something new.

Final thoughts; tell us a little more about yourself and your daily inspirations: Once a week, the conference tables are cleared away in the BWM’s office and the Jazz@BWM formation comes together. We are musician friends, professional musicians and very ambitious hobby musicians. I’ve been playing (bass) with the guitarist for 40 years. Some people play tennis, we play music once a week. Besides architecture, it’s our passion. With Markus Kaplan (BWM partner and playing the trombone) I have been playing jazz music together “forever”, “longer than the office exists …

Your favourite holiday destination? Trieste is the city where I saw the sea for the first time as a small child and that did not let me go. Later, I found it exciting to discover the everyday life of Trieste for myself. I was fascinated by the city’s long and chequered history as well as the fact that Trieste is slow to open up to the observer. I also wrote a book about this city with travel and culinary journalist Georges Desrues. In the book, we looked at an authentic Trieste away from the tourist highlights and tried to uncover connections and find links that are not so obvious. I consider Trieste my second home. I even live there a good amount of time around the year.

Your favourite hotel, restaurant & bar? I think the Manzara in Istanbul is great, an absolute masterpiece. It’s not a hotel in the classic sense, because it consists of public spaces and various flats that you can rent. I find it similar in many ways to the grätzlhotel in Vienna, which we designed and run ourselves. The manzara is charming and conveys the soul of the city – there is heart, know-how and a lot of ideas in it. It comes very close to what the hotel of the future could be: a cultural meeting place of people with common values and interests.

If you weren’t a designer, what would you be?
I love my job as designer and architect, as it is the only job that is uniting so many careers: a bit of an historian, a bit of a writer, a bit of an artist, a bit of a host, a bit of a craftsman, a bit o f psychologist, a bit of a lawyer, a bit of a technician and – as we have our own office band where I am the bassman – a bit of a musician.

InterContinental Hotels Group & BWM Designers and Architects

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