World-Renowned Architecture and Design Firm’s Infinite Explorer Concept Aims to Bring the American West’s Defunct Passenger Rail Lines Back to Life
SAN FRANCISCO (October 17, 2019) – SB Architects, a full-service architecture firm with a global practice, is pleased to be named runner-up at the 2019 Radical Innovation Awards ceremony, after a live pitch presentation and audience vote that took place at the New Museum in New York City. The firm’s innovative and future-proof concept Infinite Explorer was shortlisted for its design geared toward elevating the guest hospitality experience. A trailblazer of the architecture and design industry, SB Architects designed the Infinite Explorer as a train with cabins designed to open at a variety of stops with newly created, light on the land, outdoor infrastructure, allowing passengers to step from their cabin to enjoy the region’s incredible natural scenery along with adventure and wellness activities and dining.
SB Architects was chosen as one of three professional finalists through a blind judging process, in which a jury of industry experts within the fields of hospitality, design, and investment considered an impressive selection of nearly 50 entries submitted from more than 20 countries. The jury selected the firm’s Infinite Explorer project based on its concept, design creativity, potential impact on industry, narrative, graphics, and viability. Celebrating 60 years of continuous practice in 2020, SB Architects has continuously applied new knowledge and re-interpreted evolving trends to redefine categories and break boundaries with its project designs. Through the firm’s reuse of existing infrastructure, Infinite Explorer is intended to help travelers connect with remote destinations in the American West utilizing defunct passenger rail lines via one-of-a-kind hospitality experience.
“Each stop along the route is uniquely designed with an immersive activity program to astound, delight and capture the guest’s imagination at every turn with outdoor adventures, wellness opportunities and dining experiences,” explained Scott Lee, president and principal at SB Architects. “The Infinite Explorer is a truly one-of-a-kind hospitality experience offering infinite possibilities that may otherwise be unattainable to the adventure-seeking tourist.”
Many railways that were once bustling with excitement are now dormant and forgotten, providing little footing for hospitality development despite spanning untapped, truly breathtaking, locations. Seeing potential in what seemed a lost cause, SB Architects created a hospitality concept to transform the existing infrastructure of these underutilized spaces and make the unreachable, reachable. Train travelers usually only capture a glimpse of the immense beauty that passes by outside their window, but if these travelers could step outside of their cabins into the wilderness to feel, touch, and smell it, the impression would be even greater and long lasting. Via the Infinite Explorer, guests can embark on a five-night odyssey through one of the world’s most spectacular natural landscapes, experiencing five-star service and luxury amenities onboard through a dining and observation car and an exclusive itinerary to satiate the palate of the most intrepid traveler.
Through an annual competition, Radical Innovation calls upon disruptors from around the world to propel the industry forward with imaginative concepts designed to deliver unparalleled guest experiences. Conceived by hospitality developer The John Hardy Group as a platform that connects, inspires, and helps to transform ambitions in reality, the competition accepts entries from both students and professionals and has awarded nearly $200,000 to pioneers in hospitality and design.
SB Architects pitched its Infinite Explorer concept before a live audience against two other finalists, Danny Forster & Architecture, whose Volumetric High-Rise Modular Hotel sought to streamline the building process for builders worldwide, and Cooper Carry, whose concept Connectic proposed collapsible and reusable modular units that could be used for pop-up hotels in remote areas or to help solve problems of space and density in urban cores. Cooper Carry was announced the grand prize winner at a ceremony that took place on October 16, 2019 at the New Museum in New York City.
About SB Architects
With nearly 60 years of continuous practice, SB Architects has established a world-wide reputation for excellence in the planning and design of large-scale hotels, resorts, destination resort communities, and all associated resort amenities, as well as large-scale multi-family residential and urban mixed-use projects. The dedicated staff in the firm’s San Francisco, Miami, Hong Kong and Ho Chi Minh offices successfully merges five decades of experience with the energy, drive and dedication of a second generation of partners. For more information about SB Architects, visit www.sb-architects.com.