The Sustainable Design Summit (SDS) brings together brand owners, designers, and trusted suppliers from across cruise, hotel, and aircraft interiors to cross-pollinate ideas alongside leading sustainability experts.
Taking place on 29 November 2022 at The Brewery London, SDS is the first event of its kind to unite these three sectors to discuss sustainability as it dominates conversations and market drivers.
In just one day, delegates will gain actionable insights from the panels of experienced practitioners, discover a showcase of intrinsically green products, and come away with a framework for tangible steps to take into their next interior design project.
Sustainable Design Summit tackles the biggest challenges of designing sustainably head on; their crucial plenary Pitching to Stakeholders: How to Hold a Conversation About Sustainability unites the decision makers of all three sectors, including Bryan Liska, Director of Design Caribbean & Latin America Hilton Hotels, Thomas Westergaard, Consultant at Hurtigruten Expeditions sand Tasha Jackson, Sustainability Boeing.
Chatham House Rules will be in place for sector specific breakout sessions, where each sector can frankly and openly discuss the unique challenges of designing sustainably for that sector, the niche governance informing sustainability progress in that sector and what the delegates as brand owners require from certification societies and the supply chain. View the full Agenda here.
The onsite product showcase will be displaying the most forward-thinking sustainable products across the aviation, cruise, and hotel interiors industries. The products were selected with a keen eye on energy efficiency, weight saving, re-cycling and reusing, and reducing carbon footprint. Thought-provoking products include lighting company Cristallux and their zero waste, 100% recyclable alternative material Alamar and Continental’s breathable upholstery material, including the VyP Coffee range created using spent coffee grounds. Aviation specialists Anker will be showcasing their AIRlight ECO surface material made with 100% recycled yarn while Volume Creative will give a glimpse into Spared, a creative service that turns waste destined for landfill into beautiful objects.
Ahead of Sustainable Design Summit, speakers revealed what they were most interested in learning and sharing with the delegates. Alan Stewart, Company Director at SMC Design highlighted his desire for sustainability guidance from classification societies and collaboration with IMO, ‘In order to be truly sustainable, we need to have some type of guidelines in place. There needs to be some sort of classification to allow us to understand just how sustainable products and materials are before we design with them. We'd also like to welcome working with classification societies and receive guidance from them on sustainability.’
Meanwhile Thomas Westergaard, Consultant, Hurtigruten Cruises expressed interest in hearing from how other brands were including sustainability in their value propositions. He wanted to see how ‘important is it for companies to attract not only tomorrow's travellers, but today's travellers.’
Speaker Luke Pearson, Co-founder and Director, Pearson Lloyd, said of seeking cross-disciplinary solutions to sustainable design questions, ‘Working in a multidisciplinary studio, across lots of different fields, we regularly find that we're able to take good ideas from one area and apply them to another. Ultimately, that approach is the one we’re going to have to take if we're really going to solve this problem, because we have very little time to solve it.’
Book your pass today to collaborate with leaders of the cruise, hotel, and aircraft interiors sectors on shaping the future of sustainable interior design.
Our curated calendar of key industry networking opportunities and events for the interior design community features annual trade shows, exhibitions, conferences and design festivals, as well as the latest CPD training, talks, and online webinars.
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For the September 2022 edition, following the past two years surrounded by our own four walls, Maison&Objet Paris is inviting visitors to step inside the new kind of world we’ve all been dreaming of, echoing a deep-rooted need for meaning and emotion.
Where: Paris Nord Villepinte exhibition center
When: 8-12 September
Email [email protected] to claim yours! Non-members can click here to register now.
It’s a fact, the times in which we are living have sparked a yearning for interiors that strike a subtle balance between being anchored in the real world, surrounded by artisan pieces, craftsmanship and tactile materials, and, at the other end of the spectrum, an appetite for digital living, free of all physical ties. Maison&Objet Paris illustrates this social undercurrent with its “META SENSIBLE” mantra, which paints a picture of a physical world that is no longer in opposition with its digital counterpart. Better still, the two worlds are mutually influential, cross-fertilising and even merging to become a brand-new media for creation, communication and distribution. It is a concept that was forged by the NellyRodi agency, and will be rolled out through a range of different activities come September.
A vast number of designers and makers have, indeed, already got on board with the trend, seeing homes as protective nests with curvaceous silhouettes whose bubble-gum decors are paired with iridescent hues for a new phantasmagorical feel. Objects, fabrics and furniture all draw on a naive or dreamy repertoire. In the age of an ultra-pixelated metaverse, the (real) home exudes a soft and uplifting vibe. In that vein, the brands like Pink Stories, PolsPotten, Mojow or Italian firm Saba – which has already started retailing its sofas NFT form – already look set to be absolute musts.
Once again this year, Maison&Objet Paris will clearly be so much more than simply a trade fair: it will be a place that invites visitors to explore unique sensory experiences and tap into tomorrow’s trends. As well as the “in” event (at the Exhibition Centre), Maison&Objet Paris will also host “off” events (Paris Design Week) as well as “on” events (online via the MOM digital platform and the Maison&Objet Academy). Proof itself that hybridisation is now a firm fixture within decoration, design and lifestyle community, too!
The Designer of the Year – Cristina Celestino – will stage an enchanting new restaurant design in the Signature space in Hall 7. Bonjour Bonjour Bonjour The 'What's New?' programme, meanwhile, will showcase the inspiration spaces put together by Elizabeth Leriche, François Delclaux and François Bernard. These three trend-spotters are returning to the trade fair once more to share their hottest finds for the autumn season, with colour-packed installations that are guaranteed to deliver a decidedly upbeat experience.
That same curative vibe will filter through to every part of the event, with Maison&Objet Paris shining a light on innovation right across the board. Visitors will be able to engage with emerging brands (that have been awarded the new Future on Stage label), discover the new guard of French designers (Bina Baitel, Samuel Accoceberry, Charlotte Juillard and Pierre Gonalons, will be presenting their self-productions for the first time ever in the heart of the Signature space in Hall 7), and meet the up-and-coming stars of the Dutch design scene, who are honoured in this edition’s Rising Talent Awards section and were carefully hand-picked by a high-flying jury (Ineke Hans, Hella Jongerius, Kiki Van Eijk and Wieki Somers).
The “Cook & Share” sector (Hall 3) is also set to be yet another of this edition’s absolute musts. It will give visitors the chance to discover dishes rustled up by Gault & Millau’s carefully curated “109” selection of chefs who are already on track for becoming some of French gastronomy’s biggest names. “Waww la table”, meanwhile, will blow a breath of fresh air through the world of tableware, using installations to demonstrate just how much the sector’s traditions have changed. The team will also invite the jury that judges its year-end table setting contest (India Mahdavi, Thierry Marx and Stéphane Bern) to award prizes and host a one-off talk.
The edition’s final flourish will come in the form of Paris Design Week, Maison&Objet Paris fringe event, which will set up home in three of the capital’s most buzzing neighbourhoods and will also embrace the trend for all things “phygital” (part-physical, part-digital). The importance of craftsmanship and new ecological solutions will notably take centre stage at the Paris Design Week Factory at the Espace Commines. Digital design, meanwhile, will be the focus of numerous exhibitions, showcasing creations from designers and architects alike. A record number of showrooms will also be open right across the capital, with a special itinerary inviting visitors to cast their eyes over Parisian stylists’ favourite furnishings.
About Maison&Objet
For 25 years, Maison&Objet, organised by SAFI, has been engaging with and bringing together the international design, home decor and lifestyle communities. Maison&Objet’s trademark? Its unique ability to generate connections and accelerate business, both during trade fairs and via its digital platform, but also through its unique talent for highlighting trends that will excite and inspire the home decor world. Maison&Objet’s mission is to reveal talent, spark connections and provide inspiration, both on- and off-line, thereby helping businesses grow.
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Opening in the heart of Clerkenwell’s design quarter during Design Week 2022, RAK Ceramics is launching their inaugural Design Hub – a go-to destination for designers, architects and developers looking to explore the possibilities of choosing RAK Ceramics products for their projects.
The Design hub will feature the first UK display of a brand-new collaboration with renowned fashion designer Elie Saab which will feature a range of edits from the Elie Saab Maison collection.
To mark the opening several renowned European designers will provide their Design Insight in a series of inspirational talks and seminars during Clerkenwell Design Week.
These include Giuseppe Scutella, who collaborated with RAK Ceramics on its luxurious RAK-Cloud and RAK-Petit collections and Federico Sandri, one half of the design duo behind the beautiful RAK-Variant collection. Guests at the Design Hub opening events can also hear from Patrick Norguet, on the thinking behind the RAK-Valet sanitaryware range.
Tours of the Design Hub will take place during the launch party on Tuesday 24 May, with guests invited to enjoy a cocktail and evening entertainment to mark the opening ceremony.
For a full list of events and to book visit the Clerkenwell Design Week website.
About RAK Ceramics
RAK Ceramics is one of the largest ceramics’ brands in the world. Specialising in ceramic and grès porcelain wall and floor tiles, tableware, sanitaryware and faucets, the company has the capacity to produce 123 million square metres of tiles, 5 million pieces of sanitaryware, 24 million pieces of porcelain tableware and 1 million pieces of faucets per year at its 22 state-of-the-art plants across the United Arab Emirates, India and Bangladesh. Founded in 1989 and headquartered in the United Arab Emirates, RAK Ceramics serves clients in more than 150 countries through its network of operational hubs in Europe, Middle East and North Africa, Asia, North and South America and Australia.
ARCHITECT@WORK reaches higher than ever before with lofty ambitions to explore air and architecture when it returns to its physical format at London’s Truman Brewery for its 2022 edition.
When: 13th & 14th April, 13:00 - 20:00
Where: The Truman Brewery, London
Visitors are invited to attend and meet industry experts showing their innovations to the architecture and specifier markets, as well as partaking in the stellar line-up of talks; for which the show is known.
This year A@W will feature panel discussions focusing on topics including: the future of public space design, biophilia, the utilization of airspace and many more.
In addition to the panel discussions running throughout the two-day event, visitors can explore the curated content on display. In order to ensure the optimal contact between exhibitors and visitors, visitors are automatically led along a route that winds its way through small, uniform modules. First contact takes place at the stand.
Every single product on display has been thoroughly assessed by a jury of architects and interior designers, and traditional aisles are transformed into lounge areas: places to enjoy a drink, to chat and to provide further explanation about innovative products, applications or services.
PURE OXYGEN, a materials curation designed by MaterialDriven, will explore the key role that design plays in supporting our society, protecting us from contaminated air as well as actively purifying and regenerating it. As visitors immerse themselves in the exhibition, they will delve into innovative solutions that are available to designers and architects, which will help them secure our future and make a positive impact on the world.
Click here to register for free access, or here to find out more about the exhibitors.
After a year of virtual events, Surface Design Show is getting ready to host the design industry again enabling people to meet, be updated on the latest surface materials and designs, be enthused by its unique content and educated by a range of talented speakers who have come to tell their inspiring design stories.
When: 8-10 February, 2022
Where: Business Design Centre, London
With over 160 exhibitors signed up to participate, including over 35 New Talents, the UK’s leading event for architects and designers to explore the best in surface material innovation is getting ready to make up for lost time and is back with some much-loved areas as well as some new ones for visitors to discover.
Many of the exhibitors will bring to the show an abundance of new product launches, inspired by the theme ‘Sense of Place,’ with the goal of putting humanity and the planet's wellbeing at the heart of all decision making.
In the realm of new product launches, Armourcoat, a decorative surface finishes specialist, has just announced the launch of its new natural clay lime plaster ‘Clime,’ adding to their ever-growing sustainable product range.
Surface Matter will also be displaying its sweet materials pop-up shop stand. The stand is inspired by Surface Matter’s material studio in London Fields which is described by architects and designers as a ‘sweet shop for materials.’ Visitors to the stand will find anything from LED lights sprinkled like 100s and 1000s, to chocolate bars made of compressed paper composite Richlite and circular Plasticiet lollipops.
There will be a comprehensive talks programme with over 50 speakers from diverse design backgrounds. New for this year are the ‘Legends Live’ sessions, taking place on the Main Stage and involving industry leaders interviewing someone in or connected to the industry who is their ‘Legend’.
Visitors will also be able to enjoy the Stone Gallery, which in partnership with Stone Federation GB, brings to Surface Design Show an exclusive preview of natural stone. The Stone Tapestry, curated by Squire & Partners, is a bespoke installation piece exploring innovative textures, light, colour and pattern to create a tapestry of inspiring materials from around the world.
Italy’s Confindustria Marmomacchine will, for the first time, be bringing a pavilion of 10 natural stone companies to exhibit in Stone Gallery.
One of the highly anticipated and unique parts of the show is the New Talent section. Supporting new talent is a key focus for Surface Design Show. This year over 35 participants, will display a range of sophisticated and innovative designs, from textile designs featuring augmented reality to 3D tiles of eco resin and waste materials. Many of the participants this year also show a recurring focus of using natural materials and dyes.
New Talent is curated by Trendease International and held in Partnership with Canon UK.
Each year visitors also look forward to Surface Spotlight Live, a focal point of inspiration for designers to touch and compare the very latest material prototypes. Sustainability is the key for SSL as developers look to bring to market an extraordinary range of materials.
Surface Spotlight Live will highlight the Show’s ‘Sense of Place’ theme and will be curated again by trend and colour expert Sally Angharad and held in Partnership with CD (UK).
About Surface Design Show Surface Design Show is the UK’s leading event for architects and designers to explore the best in surface material innovation. It is the place where people immerse themselves in the latest materials for the built environment, gain new insights and network with like-minded designers and specifiers. Revealing the latest innovations in surface design, over 175 UK and international suppliers will showcase their materials at the Show.
If you’d like to become SBID Accredited, click here to find out more.
Maison&Objet makes a return in March 2022! Following a theme of Inspiration, expect to see a heap of new luxurious furnishing and product designs.
For 25 years, Maison&Objet, organized by SAFI (a subsidiary of Ateliers d'Art de France and RX France), has been engaging with and bringing together the international design, home decor and lifestyle community. Its hallmark? Its unique ability to generate connections and accelerate business, both during tradeshows and via its digital platform, but also its unique talent to highlight trends that will make the heart of the home decor planet beat. Maison&Objet’s mission is to reveal talent, spark connections and provide inspiration, both on- and off-line, thereby helping businesses grow.
Email [email protected] to redeem yours!
Such is the direction in which the brazenly buoyant luxury sector is heading, exploring new paths that draw on haute-couture artisan craftsmanship and high technology on the one hand, and pop culture and the values of inclusivity on the other. This new phenomenon has served as inspiration for the upcoming edition of Maison&Objet, underpinned by the desire to showcase the very best of design. “When people come to Paris, it is to tap into an expertise and this one-of-a-kind lifestyle, which can be found nowhere else,“ explains Philippe Brocart, the trade fair’s General Manager. Vincent Grégoire, trend hunter at international style and innovation consultancy NellyRodi , offers his own insight into this increasingly strong craving for luxury: “in uncertain times, people feel the need for something different, the need for emotions and experiences, the need to push fantasy to its limits.”
Echoing these emerging trends, at the January fair the premium selection will be concentrated in hall 7’s appropriately named “Signature” section, bringing together the industry’s most creative brands and designers. This zone, which will complement the ever lauded uniqueness of the Craft, métiers d’art sector in hall 5A, is set to host a number of exceptional events:
About Maison&Objet and more Through two yearly tradeshows reserved to professionals, Maison&Objet Paris - and Paris Design Week, a public event in September that gathers all the creative energies of designers and brands altogether in the City of Lights, Maison&Objet is the essential platform for companies and designers who want to thrive in the home decor industry.
Held under the patronage of Her Highness Sheikha Latifa bint Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Chairperson of Dubai Culture & Arts Authority (Dubai Culture) and member of Dubai Council, registrations are now open for Downtown Design, the region’s leading fair for high-end and quality design. The fair returns this November and will take place in its purpose-built venue on the waterfront terrace in Dubai Design District (d3).
David Ross, Director, Downtown Design, comments: “With the return to a live, in-person edition of the fair this November, coinciding with demand for interior design and architecture services at levels not seen across the region for many years, Downtown Design will provide a perfectly timed, exciting and purposeful platform to reconnect the industry and celebrate original and high-quality design.”
Downtown Design Dubai
When: 8-12 November 2021
Where: Dubai Design District (d3) waterfront, United Arab Emirates
SBID Members can access exclsuive brand activations & tours with the Trade Connect Programme. Email [email protected] to find out more.
Over the past decade, Dubai has established itself as the design capital of the region, with Downtown Design as a key meeting point bringing together the region’s interior designers and architects who this year are enjoying a post-pandemic boom, fuelled by some of Dubai’s highest property sales in 12 years.
The fair will showcase more than 150 international and regional exhibiting brands and designers, complemented by extensive collateral activities that include an interactive talks programme featuring global industry experts, conceptual exhibitions by leading designers and interactive installations.
A key feature of Dubai Design Week, the fair will host brands from over 20 countries as well as major national representations from European countries including Austria, France, Hungary, Italy and Spain. Downtown Editions, the fair’s boutique section dedicated to limited-edition and bespoke design, will once again uncover the latest in design by individual designers, studios and creative collaborations, with a spotlight on the region.
Downtown Design will showcase the latest global interior design trends, ideas and inspirations featuring over 150 leading international and regional brands, with highlights including furniture from LEMA, Minotti, Giorgetti and Vitra; textiles from Illulian, Kvadrat and Verdi; major kitchen and bathrooms brands including Grohe, Villeroy & Boch, Laboratorio Mattoni and RAK Ceramics as well as lighting brands including Lasvit from the Czech Republic, Baranska Design from Poland and Shakúff from the USA.
The Italian national presentation, 'Luxury Interiors – The Art of Italian Design' from ICE, will be the largest in the fair’s history, featuring over 40 Italian companies showcasing their latest work whilst the French presentation by Business France will bring fine examples of the 'Art de Vivre' – with over 15 companies that combine traditional savoir-faire with avant-garde innovation. Spain’s design sector will present a united installation from ICEX with eight leading brands curated by Dubai-based Spanish architect Juan Roldán; WKO, Austria Economic Chamber will showcase seven leading homegrown furniture, lighting and accessories manufacturers and the Hungarian Fashion & Design Agency will present the work of emerging national designers under their ‘Budapest Select’ umbrella brand.
Downtown Editions will present a boutique showcase of limited-edition and bespoke pieces from designers and brands including Aline Hazarian, The Line Concept, Nakkash Gallery and Zieta Studio alongside emerging regional creative talents. These individual exhibits will be complemented by a range of showcases uncovering the latest in design from the region, including The Beirut Concept Store, which will feature works by 50 established designers and emerging creatives based in Lebanon, while the UAE Designer Exhibition 2.0 is set to unveil works by 25 emerging and undiscovered creative talents based and producing locally. The works of four designers selected by Tashkeel for the 2021 Tanween Programme will also be unveiled at the showcase.
The Forum at Downtown Design will host a series of compelling live interviews and discussions between leading regional and international architects, interior and product designers on each afternoon of the fair.
Staged in a dynamic amphitheatre specially designed by ema to promote interaction and engagement, The Forum is a space where professionals can engage in energising and candid design dialogue, with topics ranging from changing industry dynamics, behaviours and opportunities to how architecture and design can truly embody authenticity and place, and from implementing sustainability in the real world with real clients to placemaking and the future development of Middle Eastern cities.
International speakers contributing to the Forum include design studio founders Sebastian Herkner, Elliott Barnes, Gregory Gatserelia, Massimo Iosa Ghini and Adrien Gardère. In addition, Micael Calatrava, CEO of Calatrava International LLC, will discuss the current flow of their global projects with particular emphasis on their creation of the UAE Pavilion and the Qatar Pavilion at Expo 2020 Dubai.
More than a dozen areas of key importance to the broad spectrum of visitors to Downtown Design will be addressed in panel discussions, with contributions from leading lights of the regional architecture and interior design community including Jonathan Ashmore, Founder & Principal Architect, ANARCHITECT; Laura Bielecki, Group Design Director, Ellington; Pallavi Dean, Founder & Creative Director, Roar; Andy Shaw, Managing Partner, AMA and Chair, RIBA Gulf Chapter; Diane Thorsen, Design Director, Gensler and Isabel Pintado, SVP Design & Innovation, Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts.
Visitors will be immersed in an interactive installation at the entrance to the upcoming fair, which will bring together contemporary design and technology in a unique multisensory experience. Designed by award-winning Dubai-based studio NIU, the highlight of this year’s entrance will be an oversized mosaic clad caricature by artist Antonello Blandi, which will be decorated by Fantini Mosaici, one of Italy's leading brands of hand-cut mosaics found in luxury boutiques, homes, hotels, and palaces. The installation will also be strategically illuminated with sustainable, innovative lighting from Artemide.
Dubai-based Broadway Interiors has designed The Lounge Bar for Downtown Design 2021, creating an eclectic, stimulating environment inspired by the Dubai landscape and vista. Situated in the main exhibition area, The Lounge Bar will provide another important yet informal meeting space for brands and buyers to connect, and comprises two distinct sections including an outdoor water-facing terrace.
Downtown Design will also give visitors the opportunity to comfortably network and foster contacts in The Lighthouse Café created by prominent Dubai-based practice Lulie Fisher Design Studio and inspired by Virginia Woolf and her Bloomsbury Set contemporaries. Featuring a large, boldly patterned and richly coloured mosaic feature wall by Trend Middle East, the café will include a custom-built bar counter clad in matching mosaics and topped by a timber canopy that will sit beneath the tented exhibition roof.
About Downtown Design
Downtown Design is the leading platform in the Middle East for the region’s trade professionals to discover original, high-quality design and the commercial centrepiece of Dubai Design Week. Alongside brand debuts, product launches and the latest collections from contemporary international and regional design brands, Downtown Editions, the fair's boutique showcase for limited-edition design presents established and emerging designers, collectives and individual studios from around the world, with a spotlight on the Middle East. Offering visitors a dynamic design experience, Downtown Design’s curatorial approach encompasses large-scale installations and specially commissioned projects by leading designers. The fair’s programme of talks, The Forum, annually brings global design leaders, strategists and editors together to discuss the industry’s most pressing matters.
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Changes to the way we travel, work, rest and play post-Covid are forcing hotel designers to rethink the entire guest experience. Hotel Interiors Experience (HIX) 2021 explores how these social shifts have transformed the role of hotels, highlighting the opportunities for operators beyond these pressure points.
When: 18th - 19th November 2021 Where: Business Design Centre, London
Visitor registration is free! Click here to register now.
As Europe’s hotel and hospitality industry sets about rebuilding its recovery and in-person events make their return, the launch of HIX 2021 marks an important moment for the hotel community: a new event for the hotel sector dedicated to making inspirational and extraordinary design experiences.
HIX will showcase the most exciting established and emerging design-led brands in a boutique exhibition alongside a conference which will explore the story of social change over the past 18 months, setting the scene for 3,500 hotel industry professionals to share ideas that will transform the guest experience.
Joel Butler, co-founder of HIX, said: “All Together Now has been our mantra since the first UK lockdown. When a group as creative and energetic as the hotel design community are separated from one another for so long, this rallying cry seems like a pure and simple objective for HIX.” The hotel design community have endorsed HIX: Henry Reeve, director of interior design at the InterContinental Hotels Group, said the event represents “an exciting new opportunity for the Hotel design scene [as] disruption and new thinking are required now more than ever.”
The exhibition will offer a visual showcase of ‘100 design stories’ where cutting-edge suppliers including Chelsom, Morgan, Sanderson Design Group, Hansgrohe, Hypnos and Villeroy & Boch, from across the entire hotel and design supply chain including bathroom, fabrics, FF&E services, furniture, lighting, surfaces and technology. Each stand will tell its own unique story, providing designers, interior architects, developers, suppliers, and hotel operators with an opportunity to see first-hand exceptional design concepts and experiences. “Right now, HIX is exactly what the hotel design community need. We can't wait to be back at an authentic community event”, said Ilker Hussein, global projects corporate director, Laufen.
Running parallel to the exhibition will be the HIX talks, featuring six seminars, each exploring one of the seismic social shifts to have occurred since the start of the pandemic. Starting in a challenging place of anxiety and the need for hotels to carve a new value proposition, moving towards community and togetherness, trust, compassion and new opportunities for hotels as workplace. Among the speakers confirmed are Robbyn Carter, founder of Brooklyn’s new Studio Carter; Vince Stroop, founding partner of stroop; German design visionary and owner of sieger design & SIEGER, Christian Sieger; and, globally renowned London-based studio, Tina Norden, partner at Conran and Partners; Jason Steere, managing director of brand & experience at The Student Hotel; and Technology and communication leader Dex Hunter-Torricke, formerly of Google, Facebook who will share insights in building trust and meaningful loyalty with communities, specifically tomorrow’s Generation Z travellers.
About HIX Hotel Design Interiors (HIX) 2021 is an annual exhibition for the hotel and hospitality supply chain, taking place over two days 18-19 November 2021 at London’s Business Design Centre. The event will bring together the entire design and interiors supply chain, including bathroom, fabrics, FF&E services, furniture, landscaping, lighting, objects, outdoor, spa & wellness, surfaces, technology plus many more, with the designers, interior architects, specifiers, project management, hotel operators, procurement, consultants and developers involved in bringing the guest experience to life.
If you'd like to feature your product news here, get in touch to find out more.
Launched in January this year, Workspace Design Show is an exciting addition to the global design events calendar, with the inaugural edition taking place from 4-5 November 2021 at London’s Business Design Centre, at the heart of the UK’s commercial interiors community.
After all the recent disruption to the Workspace industry, there is huge change underway in how we are designing our office interiors to improve the employee experience. The Workspace Design Show will be a great chance to listen to the latest thought leadership, check out the newest and most innovative interiors products, and network with your industry peers again.
Workspace Design Show
When: 4-5 November 2021
The Workspace Design Talks will feature top level A&D speakers from Gensler, Grimshaw, Perkins&Will, AECOM, Arup, Areen, MCM, tp bennett, MF Design Studio, BDP Architecture, and end-user clients such as HMRC, PwC, BBC, McCann, Aviva, The Office Group, Co-space, DLA Piper and more. Panel discussions will open up challenging debates to uncover the latest thinking in how design can influence employee wellbeing, engagement, creativity & productivity, as well as the latest workspace design trends in sustainability, flexibility and inclusivity.
The attendee list includes delegates confirmed from Government Property Agency, Oktra, Unispace, Vodafone, Barclays Bank, NHS Property Services, Crown Commercial Service, Faith and Gould, We Work, CBRE, British Land, Morgan Lovell.
Your complimentary guest pass will give you access to the exhibition as well as all the talks featuring the above speakers, the Leisure Area to use as a co-working space or a meeting space or just a place to relax/ work from during the 2 days as well as free coffee, tea, hot chocolate throughout the 2 days at 3 dedicated coffee stations sponsored by Liquidline.
The Show floor will also feature re-creations of commercial interiors such as the Design Talks Lounge designed and curated by The Furniture Practice, The VIP Lounge designed by Rainlight Studio, built by AASK US and curated by Obolife, and the exhibition area including leading brands such as Humanscale, Spacestor, Tarkett, Interface, Actiu, Zumtobel, Andreu World, Benchmark Furniture, Buzzispace, and many more.
About Workspace Design Show Workspace Design Show is the UK’s only exhibition focused purely on Workspace Design, including the latest thought leadership from the country’s top architects, designers & corporates. It brings together the entire commercial interiors community to discover and discuss tomorrow’s workspaces.
As we return to the office, many organisations are looking for inspiration on how to best prepare and adapt to the post-COVID hybrid working model. In May 2021, KI had the pleasure of hosting 'Designing for a neurodiverse workspace' with networking group Women in Office Design. The hybrid event brought together a small group of people from across the workspace sector both at the KI Showroom and via Zoom.
During this interactive session, Julie Lecoq of HoK was joined by Sarah Miles from Arcadis, to discuss the growing importance of worker wellbeing, and how companies can optimise their workplaces from very early on in the design phase. There was a strong consensus that there is a business case for diversity, equity and inclusion - and designers are in an important position to help their clients understand early on that it is affordable, achievable, and essential.
Julie did a fantastic job of laying out the research and examples of neurodiversity and its importance in the workplace; whilst Sarah presented a great case study that resulted in a completely new workplace concept developed in collaboration with KI's 'Infinity' design team - Colonnade.
Neurodiversity is an umbrella term that covers a range of conditions such as dyslexia, autism spectrum disorder, ADHD and others. It is estimated that 1 in 8 people fall under this umbrella, and whilst awareness is improving, only half of those affected will know it. The complexity and severity in which these conditions affect different individuals are also highly variable. So, unlike many other considerations when creating more inclusive spaces, neurodiversity factors might often be unknown or unseen.
Workplaces that support neurodiverse employees allow every individual to perform to the best of their abilities. This is an exciting opportunity for any organisation, ensuring that everyone in their team has the tools they need. Having a one-size-fits-all approach might deprive a company of hiring or retaining fantastic individuals who have so much to offer, simply because the working environment compromises their wellbeing so badly. For example, vast uninterrupted, busy open-plan spaces can be filled with noise and visual distractions during a workday. For some individuals, this would be overwhelming and overstimulating - so if they aren’t able to find a quieter space, they would not be able to cope and would have no choice but to seek an alternative place of work.
COVID has really disrupted traditional workplace strategies with new emphases on work-life balance, hybrid working models and heightened sensitivities around personal safety. But what's most important to remember is that inclusivity measures will benefit neurotypical individuals as well as those who are neurodiverse.
Nurturing individual needs can be enhanced by offering greater user control within the workspace. Rather than expecting individuals to adapt to their environment, create an environment that can be adapted by the user to suit their requirements.
This has already been important for a number of years with growing emphasis on collaborative and creative working, rather than process-driven static work done at an individual workstation. But now, the remote working model has been thrust upon all kinds of organisations, pushing forward a hybrid working model. One of KI's major clients faced these challenges pre-pandemic, working with Arcadis and our design team to create Colonnade to help meet the project requirements.
Sarah and her team worked with us to develop this brief which manifested in some really clever ideas that maximised user-controlled customisation. It was important for users to have full autonomy to reconfigure the space without having to call in support from facilities or IT. This makes it easier for those with varying physical abilities to be able to use the space. It also facilitates easy modification to help control noise and visual distractions.
HOK's extensive research also looks at other factors that can be quickly and readily addressed such as:
A recording of the event is available via YouTube, below. If you'd like to discuss Colonnade, or anything else from this session, please get in touch with KI: [email protected]
About KI In 1941, KI introduced their first product – the folding chair. It answered the call for portable, stackable seating. Today, this chair symbolizes a legacy of listening to the customers. They've grown well beyond their origins, designing locally in response to their customers' needs and providing contract furniture solutions that fit their environment, brilliantly.
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