12th September 2025 | IN DESIGN ADVICE | BY SBID Share Tweet Pinterest LinkedIn The SBID UK Interior Design Icons were selected to recognise leading design practices throughout the UK who have consistently displayed exceptional standards within our esteemed industry network. This week’s instalment of the SBID Icon Insights series features MKV Design. MKV Design is internationally recognised for combining visionary use of space with design that reaches out beyond trends to create commercially astute, innovative and delightfully surprising work. MKV Design Can you share a project that best represents your design style? Our 10-year re-creation of Bürgenstock Resort overlooking Lake Lucerne in Switzerland exemplifies the diversity of our work because it is a collection of so many different parts, each a one-off project in itself – a new hotel in a modern vernacular, a heritage hotel refurbished in a grand fin-de-siècle manner, ultra luxury residences in a new property built behind an original 19th Century façade, a huge Zen-like spa, restaurants and so on, each with their own distinctive character. However, we planned and designed all these places to “click” together and create a homogenous destination. MKV Design What trends do you see shaping the future of interior design? In the hospitality sector, design is becoming much more human centric. The industry is now looking at a lot more than aesthetics – the changing demographics of guests for example, the growth in private groups of family and friends travelling together and, as business travel returns, the more nuanced expectations of many guests for a work/leisure experience. It is interesting to note the influence of residential design. Over recent years, hospitality design trends have led the way and had impact on residential design, but the barometer has swung and now it is now aspects of residential design, especially the notion of highly personalised environments, that are shaping hospitality design. MKV Design How do you incorporate sustainability into your designs? In the world of hospitality, many of the most treasured establishments are housed in old buildings and, as designers, we restore, refurbish and repurpose these legacy buildings. We also repurpose and restore antique pieces. Both buildings and their contents have a key role to play in telling the unique story that guests are eager to find. For much the same reason, we like to incorporate local materials, colour palette, crafts and artwork and, of course, buying locally and supporting neighbouring communities are inherently more sustainable than sourcing from far afield. The great thing now is that the luxury experience and sustainability are recognised as totally compatible, and increasingly guests are prepared to pay a premium to stay in a hotel that achieves both goals. MKV Design How do technology and innovation influence your work? They drive what we design. As far back as some 15 years ago, we created a concept installation that proposed the advent of flexible hotel guestrooms which, enabled by technology together with innovative design, could easily adapt through work, rest and play scenarios. More recently, when the man-made pollution of our oceans was just becoming headline news, we designed another installation that stripped back the concept of luxury on a paradise island to what really matters – seamless engagement with the environment in a landscape as nature intended. In the real world of our projects, we integrate technology, but are not victims to it, and like to utilise new materials and systems whenever they might benefit operations and the guest experience. MKV Design Can you highlight one or two of your most iconic projects? In addition to Bürgenstock, another resort project was and remains seminal – Costa Navarino in Greece. We began our work with the client not long after MKV was founded. The guiding spirit of the vision was to create a premium, sustainably driven destination in Messinia – a beautiful and historic part of the country – bringing opportunity and prosperity to the neighbouring communities. The first phase of work included the design of two luxury hotels, the Agora village, a large conference centre, a spa and a golf clubhouse. Since then, we have worked on additional facilities as the resort expanded, as well as occasional refurbishments. In 2023, we completed the W Costa Navarino, Greece’s first W hotel, and we have just delivered a five-bedroom Mandarin Oriental villa. Costa Navarino is a celebration of its natural location. It offers a contemporary experience but one rich in the stories and traditions of its region as well as engagement with the landscape. Both Bürgenstock Resort and Costa Navarino feel like they belong in their location, as if they are growing out of the very land and legacy of their context. MKV Design Are you involved in mentoring or education within the interior design industry? Yes, I am one of the founding partners of Kindling, a biennial competition for students of architecture & design which launched in 2022. The inaugural edition aimed to highlight the work of Ukrainian students, inviting them to submit their concept for a new hotel in Ukraine when the war with Russia was over. More than 40 students participated, and we brought the winners to London to celebrate and enjoy a long weekend in the capital. The current edition, is open to students across Europe. Subtitled Sanctuary, it is inviting them to design places of hospitality which welcome, nurture and help break down barriers, as well as which cater for the practical needs of those who are displaced from home, whatever the cause. MKV Design Do you have key partnerships with suppliers, manufacturers, or brands? In our opinion, collaboration with manufacturers, suppliers and artisans is paramount. What they contribute to projects is as equally important as the design itself. So, MKV has many long-term relationships with all three groups. However, this doesn’t mean we are not open to new project partnerships – far from it! About MKV Design Maria Vafiadis established MKV Design in London in 2000 after an early career which took her from Athens to Milan and Vienna and onto the UK. Since then, she has cultivated a business which has worked in Europe, the Middle East and Africa and is internationally recognised for combining visionary use of space with design that reaches out beyond trends to create commercially astute, innovative and delightfully surprising work. Projects include a multitude of prestigious hotels and resorts, both new-build and heritage, spas, restaurants and golf clubs as well as residences. Celebrated as a practice of distinction, MKV has been garlanded with numerous design awards, most recently: AHEAD Europe Best Resort, Gold Key Best Hotel Luxury, World Best Spa Design and Hospitality Design Guestrooms Luxury. Visit Profile If you’d like to feature your news or stories on SBID.org, get in touch to find out more. If you’d like to become SBID Accredited, click here for more information.