MEETING…MICHAEL BEDNER


ABOVE LEFT: Ritz-Carlton Beijing Financial Street ABOVE RIGHT: Waldorf Astoria Shanghai is one of HBA’s most recent projects


work on just one hotel project because he has such a wealth of experience,” she continues. “He’s walked through thousands of properties and understands the dynamic of a hotel beyond the design in terms of structure, planning and service.” Bedner believes that it is the firm’s skills in planning that sets them apart, along with its relationship with the client. “The most important thing I have learnt in 45 years is to listen, to understand what the client is saying and really truly meaning. We ask a lot of questions up front and really spend a lot of time doing research,” he says. Another factor that Bedner is particularly proud of, is that the firm isn’t pigeonholed as having one specific style. Nor does it pay much interest to so-called trends: “They have a lifespan of months, not years,” he says. “I find that irksome because it’s a huge waste of time, energy and money... We believe in something that will stand the test of time.”


034 SEPTEMBER / OCTOBER 2011 WWW.SLEEPERMAGAZINE.COM


Does he have a favourite of the 250+ projects the firm carries out each year? “That’s like asking me who my favourite grandchild is,” he smiles. As for the future, Bedner believes the firm’s only limiting factor is the talent pool: “If we don’t have the talent we can’t grow,” he states. “So we’re looking at the acquisition of small, intimate firms basically to get their people and their experience.” This seems a good point in which to conclude and so Bedner takes to the stage in ‘20 Questions with Michael Bedner’. I begin to hear the same stories and anecdotes that make this design leader such an entertaining interview. One audience member asks what he would say to Howard Hirsch if he were still alive. Bedner’s response shows for the humble man he really is: “I’d tell him that he started something that I hope he would be proud of today, because I know I am.” But for now, Bedner isn’t going anywhere: “I’m giving myself thirty more years...”


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