JKIA VIP lounge redesign wins decor firm award

A Kenyan decor firm has won the African property award for Best Public Service Interior.

Planning Interiors Limited last month beat hundreds of other competitors from 25 African and Arab countries to

clinch a five-star honour for remodelling the Kenya Airways Lounges at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport in Nairobi.

They were declared winners at the Africa and Arabia International Property Awards Summit held on November 12 at the JW Marriott Marquis Hotel, Dubai.

The Africa and Arabia Property Awards are part of the International Property Awards, which in 2015 received more than 2,000 entries globally from over 110 countries, 16 of which were from Africa.

Planning interiors

In addition to receiving the award, Planning Interiors was also nominated for the Best Public Service Interior Africa, whose winner was announced at the International Property Awards finals at The London Marriott Hotel, Grosvenor Square on December 7.

Eugene Ngugi, the CEO of Planning Interiors Limited, praised his team of designers and Kenya Airways who gave them the creative licences to come up with the award-winning design.

“When we were selected to design the lounges, we realised that this was not our normal project - the airport after all is the first point of contact for visitors to our country.

We needed to come up with a design which created a memorable impression. Kenya Airways customers are discerning and used to high international standards, so our challenge was to create a design which had elements of our country, but with an international look and feel,” he said.

Stuart Shield, President of the International Property Awards, said: “Once again, African interior designers have excelled in this competition by demonstrating their flair for creating innovative and impressive interiors that also prove ideally suited for their purpose.”