Personal Interview with Koen Van Malder, Global Hotel Design Leader for Marriott EMEA

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Koen for almost 14 years…besides attending the same school, we were also based in the same office in Brussels for a while. It’s been great to see him grow from strength to strength…and draw inspiration from his work and perspectives. I was really pleased when Koen agreed to an interview, providing insights into his personal journey and design philosophy, plus his thoughts on how AI may impact hotel design as a discipline. Here are the highlights from our exchange:

[JJ] Could you please share a bit about your journey in design and how you arrived at your current role as a Global Design Leader for Marriott International in the EMEA region?

[Koen] I started working as an independent architect right after college in Brussels. At the time, the idea of designing and building my designs seemed very appealing but soon I realized that it was a very small-scale operation and a very solitary existence. So, I soon joined a firm to work on larger building projects; the buzz of multi-disciplinary teams and large construction sites was exciting. This is where I worked on my first hotel project: hotel ‘Het Klooster’ in Leuven Belgium.

In 2004 I decided to move to London, which at that time, was a booming place for architects. With my hospitality experience I joined Reardon Smith Architects, a firm uniquely specialized in hotel construction and renovation, and there I really got immersed into the world of operating companies and their involvement in hotel construction.

At the same time, I decided to do and Executive MBA in London Business School and both streams combined propelled me into a new experience which turned out to be Starwood. I relocated to Belgium and started as Project Director working on Hotel projects in EMEA, from there I continued to apply myself and rely on my MBA experience following the steps up the ladder to the position where I am now.

[JJ] What has been your most rewarding project so far, and why?

[Koen] As a hotel project it must be the renovation of the Alfonso XIII in Sevilla and the renovation of the Sheraton Park Lane in London.

Both historic listed properties that were leased by the company. From an architect’s perspective working in hospitality, they were the ultimate projects for me.

I have since moved in a much more managerial role and now find the strategic planning of the team equally rewarding although less tangible. When a construction project is finished you can walk around in the finished product, but the success of a team is great to celebrate as well.

[JJ] Can you talk about a particularly difficult design challenge you’ve faced in your career and how you overcame it?

[Koen] Design challenges become interesting if there are certain constraints to work with, not uncommonly the budget. For any physical challenge there is a creative solution if you are working with the right people. Too many star architects and designers these days are relying too much on unlimited supply of funds to develop lavish designs and build a name for themselves. But the real art is creating something within the constraints of a set budget. That for me shows real creative skill. I have fond memories of working together with Concrete, an Amsterdam based design company, on the design of the W Verbier in Switzerland.

They arrived with a totally new approach and reinvented all conventional ski esthetics into something new. And as was to be expected some things worked well and some didn’t but that is inherent to designing something new.

[JJ] How would you describe your design philosophy, especially in the context of the hotel industry?

[Koen] Creativity within a framework. Approaching design as an obligation to create something new within the boundaries of the established. A bed will be required in the room until the point where pharmaceuticals are developed that can dissolve the necessity for sleep. But until then design must work around that reality. Anything that is refreshing or offers a different perspective with a story is worthwhile.

Anything that is refreshing or offers a different perspective with a story is worthwhile.

– Koen Van Malder

[JJ] What trends in hotel design are you most excited about and how are you incorporating them into your work?

[Koen] Our collection brands have really opened op a different platform for creativity. Coming out of the strict guidelines of the established premium brands with fixed color schemes. New hotels like ‘The Ivens’ Autograph in Lisbon truly build on a story and implement that into every detail of the development of the design of the hotel and the F&B outlets.

The freedom allows for very different approaches depending on the location and the background story. This offers an opportunity to really tap into the locality and unleash local design talent.

[JJ] What are your thoughts on the current surge in Generative AI tools in design? Do you (and your colleagues) see them as a help or hindrance to your profession?

[Koen] I have not yet seen and implementation of AI in any of the hotel designs that we are reviewing. I am aware of new image making tools like Midjourney and companies like XKool who experiment with AI and I know that some of the design components in Neom in KSA have been using AI but I’m waiting to see the first actual designs developed for our hotel interiors.

However, I also believe that the more AI is being used for designing the more necessity there will be for people who understand the physical reality of building a hotel. AI is now focused on the image, but a next step is to link that image to the quantifying and ordering process. And the next step is of course the building process. We surely are still a couple of years away from that being automated. I had the opportunity to visit those construction sites in KSA and all the labor there is still very manual as are the hand drawn sketches of skillful architects in the design and workers compounds. AI might be finding its way in the conceptual design process of interiors; it certainly isn’t prominent on construction sites yet.

I believe that the more AI is used for designing, the more necessity there will be for people who understand the physical reality of building a hotel.

[JJ] Having seen some AI-generated hotel room designs, what do you think AI does well, where does it fall short, and what potential do you see for it in the future?

[Koen] In terms of design for the future AI is probably already capable of churning out prototypical designs and building packages, which works great for greenfield sites on new city developments. But it’s much more complicated when working custom-made trying to integrate within an historic city fabric.

Again, AI can probably speed up and multiply the design options for a guestroom which could be very helpful at the conceptual stage. But once past that there is a lot of work that needs to be done in terms of selecting real materials and cross-checking prices and verifying suitability.

There are still a lot of steps that need to be taken once the design is done.

[JJ] How do you envision integrating AI or other emerging technologies into your design workflow?

[Koen] One day, maybe soon, AI could do the verifying of prototypical design for us, and we don’t need to submit them anymore to a manual review process. If we can feed enough of the approved designs per brand then eventually AI could do the approving for us and automate that process.

[JJ] What would your personal advice be for young professionals looking to make it in the world of hotel design?

[Koen] My advice would be to go and work in a hotel for some time, so that they can understand the working of the hotel. A hotel is a unique building typology in the sense that it combines a lot of different functions, guest rooms, F&B, public spaces, gym, office space, meeting rooms, retail, etc.. all these working together require complex flows of deliveries, personnel, and guests. It can only be understood by working in the environment. Those designers who have understood that have the best chance to work on hotel projects with real insight and knowledge.