Head of Marketing at Yves Delorme UK, Prune Allain des Beauvais reveals how the heritage of the French luxury brand has shaped five generations of exquisite embroidered and bespoke bedding and linen homewares, from timeless classics and fashionable prints, to unique customisations and original hand-painted artwork.
What are the origins of your brand?
Yves Delorme is the French luxury linens brand for the home and our passion since 1845. Since then, the name Fremaux has been synonymous with home linen and the company is proud to be one of the oldest businesses of its kind in Europe. 1845 was a special year which saw the creation of a linen weaving mill near Lille by Ernestine Fremaux and her husband. Time and generations have gone by, the company has grown, consolidated its experience and know-how and achieved a strong authentic personality: creative, demanding and courageous. A creativity which was increased tenfold in the early 80's, with the association between Dominique Fremaux, the current president and Yves Delorme, who was then renowned for his bath linen collections. The excellence of the Fremaux-Delorme’s heritage can be found in the history of the men and women who have built the company, its expansion and all its products to the point that the passion and know-how of five generations are woven into every sheet, every towel and every tablecloth branded Yves Delorme. A member of the Comité Colbert since 2001, Yves Delorme today epitomises a lifestyle which is truly exceptional, when luxury living is a daily experience.
How do you work with interior designers?
For their projects, Interior Designers usually use our classic collections; our percale (Athena collection) and sateen cotton (Triomphe collection) lines. We also have an amazing collection of luxurious quality towels called Etoile. Yves Delorme collaborates directly with interior designers, selecting from our Bespoke catalogue of fabrics, embroideries, monograms and colours to customise a truly unique set of linens. Begin the creative endeavor with a pristine canvas of the finest long staple cotton in percale or sateen, then build from a choice of distinct Yves Delorme embroidered designs, with a selection of 48 stunning thread colours and a range of monogram styles and placements for a personalised and made to measure design.
Yves Delorme Bespoke options apply to flat sheets, duvet covers and all sizes of pillow shams and cases. Monogram services are also available in our Etoile range of bath linens in 19 fashionable colourways. Yves Delorme also offers the option for made to measure sizes.
What value does your sector add to the interior design industry?
Our values are Poetry, Audacity, Excellence and Savoir-faire. Maintaining the highest standards in the selection of natural materials and fine fabrics, and in the excellence of finishings and attention to hand-made details, the Yves Delorme design is recognised for timeless classics and fashion prints, integrating original hand-painted artwork and heritage to Haute Couture. Yves Delorme shares with the designer community its passion for luxury linens!
How do your services/offering enhance an interior designer’s projects?
Our monogramming service is very popular. We can add initials, logos or bespoke designs on any of our products to enhance interiors with unique, personal touches.
What are the latest trends you’ve noticed in your client’s requests?
Today, the desire for beautiful, embroidered and bespoke linen has never been so strong, which is why we founded Yves Delorme Couture. A timeless collection in endless white tones, fresh and delicate percales, silky soft white satins, featherweight cloths and classic linens. A collection designed to be transformed, played out by your imagination to take you beyond wonderland...
Why did you want to become a sponsor of the SBID Awards?
We are proud to sponsor the SBID Awards. We have been partners for the second year and it is a great opportunity to connect with other professionals from the interior and decor industry.
Hotel Bedroom & Suites Category Sponsor | SBID International Design Awards 2019
Sponsorship for the SBID International Design Awards 2020 is now open.
To find out more about becoming an SBID Awards sponsor, click here or email [email protected]
Lalique represents timeless luxury and the French ‘art of living’. Supplying decorative glass and crystal interior homeware, jewellery, perfume and art, it has become the ultimate symbol of French luxury. As a proud sponsor of the SBID International Design Awards 2019 for the Residential Apartment Under £1M category, we interviewed the UK Managing Director of LALIQUE, Frederick Fischer to share insight into the origins of this high-end luxury brand.
It is over 130 years since Rene Lalique founded the company in 1888. His career began as a designer working for Cartier and Boucheron, amongst others, and was regarded as the master of jewellery design in the Art Nouveau style. By the 1890s he was making jewellery for celebrities and public figures of the day including Sarah Bernhardt, who wore Lalique on the stage, which is where the term ‘costume jewellery’ derives.
His encounter with Francois Coty in1907 heralded his entry into the world of perfume bottles which led to Rene Lalique working entirely in glass by 1912. In 1935 he opened his boutique in Rue Royale, Paris. He died in 1945 and his son Marc Lalique replaced glass with crystal and raised Lalique’s profile to become the greatest crystal producer in France, if not the world. His granddaughter, Marie-Claude Lalique took the helm of the family enterprise in 1977, marrying modernity with tradition.
In 2008, Lalique was acquired by Swiss entrepreneur, Silvio Denz who has ensured continuity in its development, respecting traditional know-how centered on crystal, jewellery, fragrances, home accessories including furniture, lamps and decorative panels and most recently hotels and restaurants – a wide ranging orchestration of the brand’s timeless creations.
Most designers come to Lalique with specific requests concerning pieces from existing ranges. If we receive detailed ideas of bespoke pieces that they would like to be created by us, we then work closely with our studio and the designer to tailor their requirements to the project. We may also adapt current lines to personalise a private interior.
Lalique is a timeless and elegant luxury that befits any interior. Be it a house, hotel or yacht that is adorned with Lalique, it instantly gives off an essence of a ‘prestige property’.
We provide bespoke solutions and build relationships based on trust.
Our clients are not really driven by specific trends. However, I would say recently we have noticed more homes investing in large statement pieces such as the Mossi Vase in XXL for hallways and entranceways to make a bold statement. Our lighting range – chandeliers, sconces and table lamps are eternally popular. Lalique crystal panels are also hugely in demand – back lit in a wall or framed - whether the Merles & Raisins which adorned the interior of the Orient Express or the Eternal butterflies in vibrant colours by Damien Hirst – they are works of art.
To support and enhance the interior design community, which we are honoured to work with.
This week's instalment of the #SBIDinspire interior design series features the SBID Award winning project for Retail Design with leading fit-out specialist, Portview, after completing the retail design for the biggest Lush Fresh Handmade Cosmetics store in the world. Situated in the heart of Liverpool, Lush Liverpool opened its doors after a nine-month transformation into the biggest Lush in the world. Five times bigger than the previous store and spread over three customer-facing floors, the new Lush Liverpool boasts 1,380 sq m of retail space that’s big enough to fit over 9 million of its famous bath bombs. The characterful scheme created by Lush’s in-house Design team with international architecture firm, Hyphen, was executed by Portview with an emphasis on enhancing the building’s original features to achieve a look inspired by the character of traditional departments stores and be both sustainable and synonymous with the cosmetic brand.
SBID Awards: Retail Design winner sponsored by BloomsArt
Company: Portview Fit-Out
Project: Lush Liverpool
Project Location: Liverpool, United Kingdom
What was the client's brief?
The brief was to marry the old with the new by creating a space that was reminiscent of a traditional department store, whilst incorporating new materials and services that have never been seen before in a retail setting.
There was a huge focus on using sustainable materials such as reclaimed FSC certified timbers, brick, and cradle to cradle silver tiles to keep our carbon footprint down to a minimum. We also introduced cherry wood style panelling to give the space a sense of warmth and sophistication, with the fresh, citrus colours of the 300 new products on display giving it a modern twist. The carefully crafted, contrasting textures of new and old furnishings help to add visual weight to the space and create an overall feeling of wholesomeness.
The goal was to create a destination store that brings more innovation and creative personal experiences than ever before to the high street.
What inspired the interior design of the project?
The design was inspired by a photograph of an old section of a department store, similar to that of Lush’s building in Church Alley.
We worked closely with Lush’s in-house design team and international architecture firm, Hyphen, to execute a characterful scheme that enhanced the building’s original features by playing on the character and charm of traditional department stores, whilst staying true to Lush’s strong environmental ethos.
What was the toughest hurdle your team overcame during the project?
Paradoxically, when working with old, historic buildings you will always be faced with new challenges. In this case, we had to install two new lifts, refurbish the existing 1920s-style staircase and replace the whole of the ground floor level façade - all within a tight programme. The central stairway was added late in the project and was our most challenging task, involving an oak over-clad of the existing old stone, with relining of the open string and soffit, along with a new steel balustrade complete with curved cherry timber handrails. The stairwell also required secondary fire glazing of the existing windows, with bespoke moulded architrave details scribed from original profiles on site. The whole stairwell needed to be lined and fitted with period doors and cherry wall panelling to the lower level.
Overall, there was a huge amount of construction before the fit-out could even commence, including the manufacturing of columns clad in Portland stone to enhance the 60m long, anodised bronze shopfront. This required very detailed surveys of the existing stripped façade to allow us to draw and schedule with complete accuracy the Portland stone, granite, structural steel and shopfront glazing system, so all could be produced in parallel and fit together without a hitch.
Another challenge was executing the design of all the individual service areas - such as the spa, hair lab, florist, perfumery and shop floor – under the one roof, without it looking disjointed or disturbing the natural flow of the overall space. The design was continuously evolving with various teams working on each area, so a holistic approach to communication and client engagement was absolutely key in ensuring everything came together in a cohesive and collaborative way.
What was your team’s highlight of the project?
We worked in close collaboration with both the client team and Hyphen to ensure that Lush’s high environmental standards were upheld at each stage of the process, from the sustainable design choices through to the responsible sourcing, restoring and repurposing of recycled materials to help reduce our environmental impact and this has been both hugely rewarding and enlightening.
This has been one of our most iconic retail projects to date and it’s a proud moment for us to see it come to life.
Questions answered by Simon Campbell, Managing Director of Portview Fit-Out
If you missed last week's Project of the Week featuring the SBID Award winners for KBB Design with a fusion of Oriental and commercial modernity for a contemporary New Zealand home, click here to see more.
We hope you feel inspired by this week's Retail design! Let us know what inspired you #SBIDinspire
SBID Awards 2019 | Retail Design Winner sponsored by BloomsArt
Sponsors of the SBID International Design Awards for the Club & Bar Design category, Oxley's Furniture provide durable outdoor furniture solutions which are premium in quality and timeless in design. The Managing Director, Simon Hudson tells us more about how their products and services help designers extend the interior design vision to encompass exterior environments.
Oxley’s was started 28 years ago to create timeless outdoor furniture impervious to the weather. Inspired by the longevity of classic cast English garden furniture the company developed ways to personalise aluminium furniture for each customer. In the years since, Oxley’s has developed a worldwide niche market providing a service for interior designers to take their design ideas outside. Large residential and boutique hospitality projects are our forte.
From site visits to prototyping bespoke furniture, the Oxley’s team can be as involved with a project as much or as little as our customer wishes. Designers choose which Oxley’s collection works best for their project, then every item is made specifically for every job with the aluminium frame finished in exactly the colour specified. With cushions added, made with any exterior grade fabric from any of the fabric houses, each project is unique.
We also have an extensive portfolio of curated products from elite brands and often work closely with our clients to select items for their projects. Our services range from producing all technical drawings for bespoke projects, to personally organising and supervising shipping and installation.
Where the client has not included the outside as part of the interior project brief, working with Oxley’s can demonstrate how the interior design can be extended to the exterior environment, thereby enlarging the project.
How does your offering enhance an interior designer’s projects?
Outdoor living & entertaining is often part of the design brief. Oxley’s offer designers a service which allows them to extend their ideas from the inside to the outside, or even create a completely different feel to the project's exterior spaces.
Although every project is different, there does seem to be a trend away from the sleek minimalist look outdoors to a more classical feel, particularly encouraged by the amazing profusion of fascinating outdoor fabrics from all the major houses.
Why did you want to become a sponsor for the SBID Awards?
Interior Designers are our partners in everything we make. Their creations are our business, so it is right that we should support them by sponsoring an SBID Award which recognises their incredible achievements.
To find out more about becoming an SBID Awards sponsor next year click here or email [email protected]
This week's instalment of the #SBIDinspire series features the re-development of DeVere Tortworth Court Hotel, a historic Gothic mansion which is located within a scenic parkland on the Cotswold Edge, beside the Severn Valley and close to Bristol.
Tortworth Court is an elegant and sophisticated hotel surrounded by enchanting scenery located just outside of Bristol and dating back to the 11th Century. Over the past 12 months the hotel has undergone a lavish refurbishment as part of the DeVere property refurbishment programme. Virtual Resolution has been working alongside DeVerve and its design/development teams to visualise the proposals for Tortworth Court, Wokefield Estate, Latimer Estate and Wotton House. This project was particularly challenging due to the listed nature of parts of the building, the complex ceilings, bookcases and fireplaces required detailed modelling. The CGI’s & 360-degree views created within 3Ds Max, Vray & Photoshop have been used not only to inform guests of the re-development, but also assist the design team and management specify fittings and fixtures that would enhance this beautiful building.
SBID had the opportunity to speak with Tim Power, Director of Virtual Resolution about this outstanding CGI & Visualisation project.
Company: Virtual Resolution
Project: DeVere Tortworth Court Hotel
Project Location: Britsol, United Kingdom
What was the client’s brief?
We have worked on a wide range of projects with the Principal Hotel group to support a major UK wide refurbishment programme. Our CGIs and 360 degree views have helped bring to life proposed multi-million pound refurbishments at a number of their properties.
For this project DeVere’s design and development team partnered with us to visualise their proposals to transform Tortworth Court in the Cotswolds. Each image was to be used as part of the design, sign off and public engagement process and therefore had to accurately portray the internal and external design teams’ aspirations.
Each view clearly visualised the proposed fittings and fixtures as well as showcasing exactly how each detail integrated with the existing buildings and complemented the features that would be retained. We were commissioned to create stunning visuals that accurately represented the design proposals for the mansion house, including its guest suites, bathrooms, main bar, function rooms, meeting rooms and exceptional Victorian conservatory, The Orangery.
What inspired the design of the project?
The inspiration for this tasteful refurbishment was to maximise the essence of a grand English Country Estate, rooted in tradition but with a contemporary and eclectic approach. The space would reflect the grand traditions of Great Britain and the country manor house, with a modern feel that combined comfort and style with grace and character.
Tortworth Court is a Grade II listed Victorian mansion and the complex ceilings, bookcases and fireplaces required detailed modelling. The building has some stunning features and our challenge was to portray these accurately and to scale in each of our visualisations, whilst showing how the contemporary design elements would work seamlessly with these assets to create an impressive overall impact.
The design team at DeVere Hotels had truly great vision and it was a real privilege to work alongside them to bring their ideas to life. The whole Virtual Resolution team found this an inspiring project to work on and we enjoyed playing our part in creating a series of great images which have now been turned into reality.
Why did you enter the SBID International Design Awards?
We do some fantastic work that regularly pushes boundaries and exceeds client expectations. We rarely shout about it but in the case of Tortworth Court we felt the project was a perfect example of how CGI and visualisation can be used effectively to create a more experiential approach to marketing and interior design.
Questions answered by Tim Power, Director at Virtual Resolution.
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If you missed last week's Project of the Week with the artful restaurant Alkimia click here to see more
Entries were received, finalists deliberated and the winners of the SBID International Design Awards 2017 have been announced! Click here to see the full list.
We hope you feel inspired! Let us know what inspired you #SBIDinspire
Virtual Resolution | SBID International Design Awards 2017
This week's instalment of the #SBIDinspire series features Alkimia, an artfully abstract restaurant located within the heart of Barcelona.
Alkimia is located on the main floor of a modernist building (dating back to 1864) which had previously been left unoccupied for 40 years. The project design was carried out taking into consideration two main elements: the pre-existing architectural context (including its old patina & typology) and the specific gastronomic offer of the Michelin-starred restaurant Alkimia (the menu is 80% fish). The designers wanted to establish a meaningful relationship between the architectural context & the new design. Safeguarding the existing architectural context of the building was paramount. Generating a sensory path where customers are indulged by flavours, fragrances, and all sorts of perceptions were also an vital part of the Alkimia experience.
The restaurant has been conceived as a continuous scenography fostering a seamless sensory experience. The different parts of this scenography feature ocean inspired skins, art installations & custom-made furniture which establish a unique relationship with the surrounding space. Nothing is forever, everything is bespoke. In order to preserve the existing architecture, neither structural interventions nor permanent transformation of the building were proposed. Even the vintage patina on the walls has been kept. Overall, the project is based on a dialogue between digital fabrication and craftsmanship.
SBID had the opportunity to speak with Carmelo Zappulla, PHd Architect with External Reference.
Company: External Reference and Chu Uroz
Project: Alkimia
Project Location: Barcelona, Spain.
The restaurant is located in the centre of Barcelona, on the main floor of a modernist building (dating back to 1864) left unoccupied for 40 years. The project design has been carried out taking into consideration two elements: the pre-existing architectural context (including its old patina and typology) and the specific gastronomic offer of the Michelin-starred restaurant Alkimia (which is 80% based on fish).
1 - The relationship between old and new, digital and artisan.
The project was conceived as a series of physical interventions, or artistic installations that work as mobile or ephemeral devices in dialogue with the old apartment. These elements are the ‘fish spine’ which generates a path that bring you from the reception to the dining rooms and which separates the Unplugged from the formal area.
2. The ‘Alkimia Lab’ is making a new interpretation of the nobiliary entrance of the apartment.
3. The winery, the gallery, the sofa, all the elements are contemporary, new filters that allow you to see the old space and patina.
All these elements are designed using cutting edges parametric software. The fabrication is created through a digital fabrication process, artisanal knowledge and hard work. For example the mold of the AURA chair is 3D printed however its production is completely traditional: cast aluminium, hand welding and polishing, upholstery…
4. The Jordi Vila’s Cousin and his vision of mixing together traditional ingredients with new techniques like an alchemist. From this, the name Alkimia.
To design all the custom made furniture, components and manage and instruct manufacturers who had never completed something as challenging.
Because it is a very prestigious award.
Questions answered by Carmelo Zappulla, PHd Architect at External Reference.
If you missed last week's Project of the Week with the historic York Theatre Royal click here to see more
External Reference| SBID International Design Awards 2017
This week's instalment of the #SBIDinspire series features the grand refurbishment of the historic York Theatre Royal completed by De Matos Ryan.
York Theatre Royal received a significant re-development by De Matos Ryan in 2016, dramatically transforming the theatre’s spaces and visitor experience. The theatre has occupied the site since 1744 and has since under gone several alterations over the years, including the construction of a new foyer, a vaulted concrete pavilion built alongside the original building by Patrick Gwynne in 1967. The redevelopment of the Grade II* listed building unlocks the full potential of a complex site that had developed incrementally over 270 years. It has created additional space the theatre urgently needed in order to appeal to and engage a wider community, bring more people into the building and create the opportunity to increase revenue, enabling it to be more financially resilient in the future.
Company: De Matos Ryan
Project: York Theatre Royal
Project Location: York, England.
York Theatre Royal was founded in 1744 and is one of the UK’s oldest producing theatres, serving audiences of all ages and welcoming over 200,000 visitors each year.
The buildings are Grade II* listed and a wonderful patchwork of periods starting with the Georgians and culminating in 1968 with a Patrick Gwynne Modernist glass and concrete vaulted foyer extension.
The project needed to unlock the full potential of a complex Grade II* listed site that had been developed incrementally over 270 years with the aim to engage a wider community, bring more people into the building, ensuring increased revenue, enabling York Theatre Royal to be more financially resilient in the future.
We focused on three fundamental actions. Firstly, to improve the customer experience by creating the conditions for a better welcome, improved access and enhancing the audience experience in the main auditorium by increasing the rake of the seating to improve sight lines.
Secondly, to create the context for a sustainable business by making a more commercial front of house, but also, by making efficiency savings through backstage technical and storage upgrades, there was an aspiration to reduce operational costs and improve safety.
Thirdly, to improve the scope for creative output by creating the conditions for a wider scope of artistic possibilities by expanding the potential of the staging and improving acoustic separation between the main spaces in the theatre.
We applied the '7 lenses', a strategy we have developed at De Matos Ryan to scrutinise the benefit of every intervention and make a judgement about what to prioritise.
All aspects of the building - the front of house and auditorium - have been improved with a new contemporary language that binds all periods together without stifling them, bringing a sense of cohesion to the whole site. The most demonstrable changes are within the Front of House spaces with the glazing of the Victorian colonnade. Occupied by the café it gives an animated face to the street akin to a storefront.
The toughest hurdle was the discovery of archaeology below the stalls and new foyer that was of greater significance than previously anticipated. This added to an already tight construction programme as more time was required to properly record the findings. The Georgians had built their theatre on top of the foundations of the 13th century medieval Hospital of St Peters. From extensive archive research, we had overlaid the plans of each historic period in order to understand how the theatre had evolved and, as such, we knew where the medieval column bases would be if we dug down. What we had not anticipated is that the Georgians had left this ground absolutely intact. The ability to sift through the layers of fine deposits between these columns and walls, over such a large city centre area gave the community a unique insight into their past.
We entered the project in the category of Public Space Design because the project demonstrates successfully how the public sector should be operating under increasing financial constraints. The public sector needs to review and upgrade its assets and capital investment architectural interventions need to be considered more carefully through the lenses of resilience and sustainability. Our careful and strategic upgrade of York Theatre Royal has created a more welcoming space, which is used by all members of the community – not just theatre goers - at all times of the day. It demonstrates how culture can operate as an intersection for people to meet and help to cement a community and develop a strong sense of place in our increasingly homogeneous cities.
Questions answered by Angus Morrogh Ryan, Director of De Matos Ryan.
If you missed last week's Project of the Week with the opulent Cumberland Art Gallery, Hampton Court Palace click here to see more
De Matos Ryan| SBID International Design Awards 2017
This week's instalment of the #SBIDinspire features the remarkable design of the Cumberland Art Gallery Suite located within the grandeur of Hampton Court Palace.
The Cumberland Art Gallery is a dedicated space that allows visitors to view artworks from the Royal Collection in a stunning setting, which reflects the Palace’s history as a destination for the work of artists such as Holbein, Caravaggio and Gainsborough. The Gallery occupies a newly restored suite of rooms designed by William Kent in the 1730s as private apartments for the Duke of Cumberland.
With architects and designers Purcell, Hoare Lea Lighting developed a scheme to illuminate the paintings while minimising impact on the sensitive building fabric. Hoare Lea CGI combined its expertise in the niche area of accurate lighting visualisation with a mastery of 3D-modelling and physically-based rendering tools, such as 3ds Max and Vray, to create photo-realistic visuals. The resulting visualisations (created without the benefit of CAD drawings) accurately represented the final, relit Gallery and proved highly effective in communicating design ideas and showing how the Gallery would look.
SBID had the opportunity to speak with Simon Dove, Associate at Hoare Lea & Karam Bhamra, Principal CGI Designer of Hoare Lea.
Company: Hoare Lea
Project: Cumberland Art Gallery Suite
Project Location: Hampton Court Palace, England.
The Cumberland Gallery at Hampton Court Palace is a dedicated space for artworks from the Royal Collection. It enables visitors to view the artworks in a stunning gallery setting, which reflects the palace’s history as a destination for the work of artists, such as Holbein, Van Dyck, Rembrandt, Caravaggio, Bassano and Gainsborough. The Gallery occupies a newly restored suite of rooms designed by the architect William Kent in the 1730s, as private apartments for George II’s son, William Augustus, the Duke of Cumberland.
The brief given to architects Purcell and the lighting design team at Hoare Lea was to return the Cumberland Suite as closely as possible to Kent’s original scheme. Historic Royal Palaces wanted to create a dedicated space to highlight some of the works of the Royal Collection, and to use Art as the lens through which to understand the royal history, stories and material culture of the Palace.
With architects and designers Purcell, Hoare Lea developed a scheme to illuminate the paintings, while minimising impact on the sensitive building fabric.
While remaining faithful to the architecture and finishes, the intent was for the environment to have the feel of a gallery, and the lighting immediately announces that this is a different type of space. Picture rails supply power to LED spotlights, which highlight the paintings. Although, Tungsten has often been used in gallery settings, the quality of the white light now produced by LEDs, together with benefits, such as energy efficiency, small size, high-colour rendering of 95+, warm colour temperature, ease of dimming and the lack of ultraviolet light created, made LED an ideal choice.
The look of each fitting was carefully considered to ensure the scheme complemented the space during the day, as well as enhancing it at night. These fittings, developed in favour of the traditional linear picture lights usually specified in heritage buildings, give a contemporary elegance to the rooms.
To incorporate flexibility, achieve the precise lux levels required, and create the desired visual impression, individual dimming control of every fitting was important. Simon Dove, Associate, Hoare Lea explains: ‘It was a key requirement to dim each luminaire from within the space, rather than from a remote location or via a complex lighting control system.”
Understanding the heritage of the space, while creating a contemporary solution, was crucial. Simon Dove explains, ‘Working within a listed building such as Hampton Court inevitably presented challenges, and mock-ups were used to explore the implications of introducing light fittings and to communicate design ideas.’ For lighting designers, one of the biggest challenges is to communicate the lit impression of their proposed designs, and this is where our use of specialist visualisation came in. Hoare Lea CGI combined its expertise in the niche area of accurate lighting visualisation, with a mastery of 3D-modelling and physically-based rendering tools (such as 3ds Max and Vray) to create photo-realistic visuals. The resulting visualisations accurately represented the final, relit Gallery and proved highly effective in communicating design ideas.
In terms of hurdles we faced for the visualisation of the project - there were no existing plans, drawings or models of the Cumberland Suite. A survey was carried out to obtain basic room dimensions, but this did not include any of the bespoke, heavily ornate detailing present in each room. Producing accurate and realistic 3D scenes to give as true a representation as possible of the proposed refurbishment - including new paint, material finishes, furnishings, artworks and of course the lighting scheme – was a challenge.
The only option was to build our 3D models from reference photographs, which we took on-site. Every room has a different feature ceiling design and none of it was simple! Making sure we captured and modelled all the necessary detail was a difficult and time-consuming task – but well worth it when you consider the realism of the final result.
‘The lighting was carefully designed to provide beautiful illumination of the paintings using the latest LED technology, but minimising the impact on the sensitive building fabric. The result greatly enhances the artwork and the room’s architectural features.’
The Historic Royal Palaces team we worked with know the spaces intimately, so for them to commend the accuracy of our visualisations was very satisfying. The positive feedback Hoare Lea received regarding how valuable the visuals proved in communicating the design proposals was unanimous across the team.
We had followed the SBID Awards Visualisation category but had not previously submitted our work. This time we thought we would give it a shot as the Cumberland Suite project seemed very different to the visualisation projects usually entered. We felt its uniqueness and the way the lighting design and visualisation worked together to play such an integral role in the project delivery, deserved recognition.
Winning an SBID International Design Award is a real achievement as the Awards are regarded as one of the highest accolades of interior design excellence.
Commenting on the award win Karam Bhamra of Hoare Lea said: “It means a lot to us to have the quality of our work recognised by the judges. We didn’t think we would win as this is the first time we have entered the SBID Awards and the standard in the category is really high… we are absolutely delighted!”
Questions answered by Simon Dove, Associate, Hoare Lea & Karam Bhamra, Principal CGI Designer, Hoare Lea.
If you missed last week's Project of the Week with InterContinental New York Barclay Hotel's decadent Presidential Suite click here to see more
Hoare Lea| SBID International Design Awards 2017
This week's instalment of the #SBIDinspire features a design project with particular grandeur. Stonehill & Taylor upheld a traditional design scheme sympathetic to the historically Federalist architecture as they crafted a hotel suite fit for royalty - or in this case, a Presidential audience.
Located on the 14th floor and newly expanded to 4,000 square-feet, the Presidential Suite features historic accents and elegant furnishings, as well as an array of artwork ranging from pastoral landscapes to Chinoiserie accent pieces. Immediately upon entrance to the space, the grand entry hallway sets the tone for the suite, with floors elaborately patterned in three types of marble. This exits dramatically into the rotunda, a bright, 12-foot-high octagonal dome that opens to the reception, fitness room, and master bedroom entryway. The living room area features gold, rich red, and pewter details with a baby grand piano as the focal point, while the bedrooms have a palette of powder blue, cream and taupe. The master bedroom leads to a spacious bathroom haven that features a steam shower and the only freestanding tub in the hotel.
SBID had the opportunity to speak with Vince Stroop, Principal with Stonehill & Taylor.
Company: Stonehill & Taylor
Project: InterContinental New York Barclay Hotel - Presidential Suite
Project Location: New York, United States
In 2012, Stonehill & Taylor came on board to manage the architecture and interior design of room 702 of the InterContinental New York Barclay hotel. Because the hotel has been renovated multiple times throughout the years, its style was often mismatched. Our brief was to strip the hotel back to its original intention, following a Federalist style of architecture and interior design. More specifically, we wanted to create flourishes in the Presidential Suite to distinguish it from the rest of the hotel—as a result, you’ll see lots of symmetry, millwork detailing, and the layering of materials like marble and stone.
The hotel was originally built in 1926 when there was a revival of the Federalist period. We sought to return to these design principles. Take for example, the Presidential Suite’s grand entry hallway. It features a classic floor pattern created using three types of Italian marble and leads to a dramatic rotunda featuring an 11-foot-high octagonal dome and acts as the centre point of the suite which opens to several of the other main spaces.
The Presidential Suite is heavily used by world dignitaries and demanded the latest in technology and high security standards—it required a separate HVAC system, shatter-proof glass, bulletproof wall construction, and sound-proofing—which was tricky to reconcile with the classic nature and traditional style of the design brief.
This hotel is located very close to the United Nations Complex and deeply rooted in political history. Bill Clinton even ran his 1992 Presidential campaign from its very address. The real excitement however, is that former President Barack Obama has stayed in the Presidential Suite both before and after restoration and former Vice President Joe Biden was the first to occupy the suite post-renovation. Our involvement with the hotel and the suite was a labour of love, and it’s thrilling to think that it’s used and appreciated by leaders from around the world.
We entered the competition to bring recognition to this project and to offer the SBID audience a window in to the hotel’s design. The wider public may not have the opportunity to visit the hotel, but through this competition, they can get a glimpse of what it would be like to stay in the Presidential Suite.
Questions answered by Vince Stroop, Principal with Stonehill & Taylor.
If you missed last week's Project of the Week with Zebrano in the City click here to see more
Entries to the SBID Awards 2017 are now closed. To find out more about booking a table, click here
Stonehill & Taylor | SBID International Design Awards 2017
This week's instalment of the #SBIDinspire interior design series features the eclectic London bar, Zebrano in the City. 4M Group aimed to merge the interior basic shell of this space with the exterior energy of the streets, highlighting the vibrant design scheme and the materials used to create the space as a unified whole. At the same time the environment makes free use of forms inspired by and representative of the natural world.
The interior design scheme is a combination of organic impulse and urban elegance. Starting completely from scratch, 4M Group worked with a range of recycled urban materials – wood, brick and steel – to create an area where the corrosion of metals reigns supreme, in a manner that creates a striking multi-dimensional sensory experience and sparks a conversation on sustainability. The grand metal doors were corroded for several weeks prior to installation. They were also both made out of reclaimed oak and were installed by local specialists.
SBID had the opportunity to speak with Perparim Rama, CEO of 4M Group.
Company: 4M Group
Project: Zebrano in the City
Project Location: London, United Kingdom
The client wanted to create a multi-functional place, where you would arrive for afternoon drinks, eat fabulous food and continue the night downstairs with live music and performances. As a result, Zebrano in the City is brave and bold. It is different, and not afraid to show it. It is a restaurant that on many levels is not about the end result—it is also about the processes that occur in nature and a celebration of them. The space incorporates the rustication of materials, aging, movement flow, deterioration, explosion, force fields, and the transformation of energy into mass. It is about celebrating nature and the life of the materials as they are transformed though the processes of oxidation, aging, or maturing, and it is also about revealing the true nature of construction processes and how things are put together. Zebrano in the City is about exploration using all of the senses. It is about the unknown, about the search for the new and the love of surprise. It is about being true and open. The design may appear to be complex, but it is actually a result of the interaction of simple rules combined with the parameters that have created it. The design is ultimately about the path of least resistance, the energy, the flow. It is about celebrating explosion and what happens to the elements that are transformed as a result of these forces, it is about the transformation of energy into functional form, into mass.
Nature and the subconscious human mind are my two key inspirations. These two always coupled with and adapted to specific sites and contexts, programs, clients and budgets. The above are key parameters, but they are always different in different contexts, and as such the outcome is never the same. Zebrano in the city is an emergent outcome of the context related to the above parameters.
When you think of the two existing Zebrano Bars you cannot help but feel the explosion of fun in these places. They celebrate an explosion of energy and are filled with fun-loving people having a great time. This was the initial idea of explosion of energy, and we created the space by asking what the effect of this explosion would be once it was intertwined with materials and space.
When one discusses concepts which start with an abstract base or out-of-the-box thinking, one has to also surround oneself with like-minded people that have a passion for exploration and are excited about finding creative solutions to problems. Together, you must create a platform of collaboration where a problem is only a parameter for an interesting and innovative design, thus becoming a positive part of the process. In this respect I was very lucky to have clients such as Don, Cevat and Pauline, who were completely open and embraced the explorative and unknown. I was also lucky to have collaborators, staff, manufacturers who did not shy away from this challenge but plunged into the deep to help reveal the new and unknown. I believe that the result is truly explosive, exciting and unique.
Many of the interior furniture was manufactured abroad, in Kosova. We therefore had to send precise drawings and information and at the same time have people in the factory control the items locally. Having all of the fit together as one large puzzle was quite challenging, especially with the lighting sculptural components on the underground level.
Pulling it all together within a very limited budget and timeline - all to the client’s satisfaction. To see a client happy and pleased with the results at the end of a project, money simply cannot buy.
We recognise SBID's International Design Awards as a great platform to showcase and measure our latest interior design thinking and developments around various parts of the world. We also love the team behind it, and the event ceremony itself is a joy to be apart of.
Questions answered by Perparim Rama, CEO at 4M Group.
If you missed last week's Project of the Week with Siddharta Lounge, Dubai, click here to see more
Winners of the SBID Awards 2017 have now been announced! To find out more click here
4M Group | SBID International Design Awards 2017
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