Our smart home assistants must do more than play our favourite playlists and tell us the weather. In many ways they are becoming our life assistants; planning our days, telling us the news and controlling our home appliances. For years, homeowners have been able to customise the temperatures of their home using their smart devices. So what’s next?
As homes become smarter, bringing greater benefits, so too will heating systems. By adopting smarter features, heat will be generated only when and where its required to the exact temperature that is optimal for every square foot. Simple upgrades to homes across the country will have a huge impact on comfort, convenience and energy bills. Homes will provide more control and improved thermal comfort of occupants by enabling the personalisation of each room.
Smarter choices
Smart heating systems are designed so users can easily control their thermostat directly from an app on their phone – whether you’re out, on the sofa or having a lie-in. This is an altogether better and smarter choice for people to keep out the cold this winter.
With homes and heating systems becoming increasingly connected, the benefits are continuing to grow. With the Internet of Things (IoT) powering technology, users can control their heating wherever and whenever they want to. They can easily regulate temperatures when they need to, allowing you to schedule the house to warm up as you wake up and for your arrival. Not only this, but it allows you to save on heating when you’re away. These benefits demonstrate why smart heating devices have become so crucial to homes in 2019.
For those who would like to do more to reduce their energy consumption and their heating bill, they must take into account reliability and overall performance when choosing the right heating solutions for their home. The good news is that heating products currently on the market are more efficient than ever thanks to innovations resulting from research and development. The right heating system will be one that adapts to your everyday home routine and begins saving you money. By setting your home to certain temperatures as quickly as possible, the app will help you to do just that.
Take control of your energy consumption
With the explosion of apps, it’s now possible to take control of at home appliances including heating, lighting and entertainment systems. Not only does this make it easier for individuals to control their appliances for heating in particular, it allows individuals to take control of their energy on the go to reduce their long-term energy consumption. With smart home assistants such as Google Assistant and Alexa joining the band wagon, it makes it easier than ever to control your heating. You can ask them to set your heating at a certain temperature, increase/decrease the heating and check what temperature your home is at.
Smart heating systems will enable users to personalise their home environment according to their needs by allowing them to control the temperature and schedule in their home completely independently. By starting with a smart room thermostat and building a full multi-room system over time, this simple upgrade to heating appliances will have a huge impact on overall comfort, convenience and energy bills.
Wiser Heat, a smart heating system by Schneider Electric, is one such solution. Wiser links radiator thermostats through the Internet of Things (IoT), while a phone app provides users convenient and complete control over home heating. This kind of IoT solution allows users to monitor the temperatures of individual rooms and change them remotely via their smartphone, wherever they are.
Home improvers may now be striving for smarter, more connected homes, but they want something that’s plug and play. Smart heating systems fit the bill as they have no wires, no installation and no mess and of course, are better for the environment. Adopting technology like this is necessary if people want to reduce their energy consumption in the future. The most modern heating solutions will be key in facilitating smarter, more energy efficient homes for the benefit of our wallets and our planet.
About the Author
SBID Accredited Industry Partner, Schneider Electric is a global specialist in energy management and automation providing energy technologies, software and digital automation solutions for efficiency and sustainability in the home, buildings, data centres and more.
This article was written by Nico van der Merwe, Vice President of Home & Distribution at Schneider Electric.
If you'd like to become SBID Accredited, click here to find out more.
This week's instalment of the #SBIDinspire interior design series features an exceptional new build residence with 5 ensuite bedrooms, off street parking and leisure suite in the heart of Notting Hill. Fenton Whelan redeveloped and designed the property to create a boutique mansion townhouse, complete with a wellness centre comprising of a gym, sauna, steam room and Notting Hill’s longest swimming pool at 15 metres! The 6,225 sq.ft house is designed with a fresh colour palette and eclectic, contemporary interior pieces, to reflect the properties geography and the vernacular architecture of the surrounding area, whilst still retaining bespoke, luxury detailing throughout.
SBID Awards: Residential Design Over £1M finalist sponsored by THG Paris
Practice: Fenton Whelan
Project: Lonsdale Road, Notting Hill
Location: London, United Kingdom
What was the client's brief?
The brief was to redevelop and redesign the traditional Victorian property and create a 6,225 sq ft boutique family town-house whist retaining the original facade. The interior design juxtaposes the traditional and heritage elements of the property by introducing clean lines, large volume spaces and modern pieces to create a luxury family home.
What inspired the interior design of the project?
Inspiration was drawn from the buildings historical proportions and the vernacular architecture of the surrounding area, which has been emphasised in the design and married with meticulously designed and crafted pieces for an elegant and contemporary interior style. By combining these two inspirations the design has created a fresh and light home whilst still retaining the bespoke, luxury feel throughout.
Capitalising on ceiling heights and adding large bi-folding doors to the rear of the property on both the ground and first floors, we maximised the amount of light that flows through the property. The design and layout of the property, notably the creation of a dual aspect reception room, further emphasised the architectural volumes, making spaces feel open and bright.
What was the toughest hurdle your team overcame during the project?
The property was originally a Victorian era pub for which the façade was listed and therefore had to be retained. The process of transforming this into a modern luxury five bedroom home with leisure suite and home cinema came with a number of planning and spatial hurdles that our design team had to overcome By adding additional floors, both above and below ground, the volumes of key rooms could be maintained, and allowed spaces to remain open, maximising the flow of light throughout. Light was on the lower floors was managed through the addition of beautifully designed light wells creating private outside areas below ground. The introduction of a 4 floor sweeping staircase gives a sense of space and volume, from the first moment on entering the property.
What was your team’s highlight of the project?
Our team’s highlight of the project was our success in creating a unique design that harmonises a contemporary and luxurious feel whilst enhancing the buildings attributes. One example of this is the entrance hall and its sweeping four-storey staircase, fitted with made-to-measure balustrades and housing a full height drop chandelier, with custom-made lights inspired by the leaves from the tree-lined road outside.
Why did you enter the SBID Awards?
The SBID International Design Awards are a recognition of talent and achievement, which is very important to use being placed amongst world recognised design companies who are all leaders in their respective fields.
Questions answered by Desariot Ademaj, Creative Director of Fenton Whelan
We hope you feel inspired by this week's Residential design! Let us know what inspired you #SBIDinspire
If you missed last week's Project of the Week featuring a design which emulates the eclectic scene of downtown Frankfurt with an urban aesthetic and cool, artistic flare, click here to see more.
SBID Awards 2019 | Residential Design Over £1M finalist sponsored by THG Paris
This March is all about employee appreciation! As work environments are one of the biggest factors companies are addressing to make sure their workplaces are designed with wellbeing in mind to help keep staff happy and healthy at work, we're sharing a selection of our favourite projects from the SBID Awards 2019 with inspirational office designs!
The design concept for the project focuses on combining industrial-chic style elements with a cosy ‘Soho House’ residential vibe and contemporary workspace, with an added tech-y feel. 5mm Design introduced the concept of zoning to the space, and each zone was named after a continent and assigned a colour. The design theme is translated into the space through furniture upholstery fabric, pop culture and illustration wall art that reflect the continent; the use of different plant species in each zone; and the naming of meeting rooms after artists from that particular continent. The zoning concept, combined with the introduction of breakout areas, and the collaborative shared work island act as the firm’s engine room. This is a fresh workspace that improves productivity through design and encourages different teams to interact and socialise together.
An art déco decorative style combines with the cultural customs of old Shanghai and contemporary features to create a modern and stylish urban space. With blue and orange colours merging into the geometry of the flooring tiles, the space is charged with a stately, luxurious feel. The organic, fan-shaped and radiating elements of art déco are combined with walnut, black and gold marble, monochrome wood and other materials in the furniture to compliment the aesthetic. This creates a look that perfectly suits the preferences and taste of the urban elite.
Rockwell Group’s design concept for Warner Music Group’s new headquarters celebrates the record company’s history, its vast catalogue of work, music making, and performance. Bright, contemporary, and concise workspaces span across the five-storey main building and an adjoining two-storey annexe. The contrast of old and new, hard and soft, and warm and cool materials creates a dynamic, future-forward home base for WMG’s 800 employees.
Squire & Partners designed this first social workspace and private members’ club by Ministry of Sound as the antithesis to a nightclub environment. Housed in a former Victorian printworks in London, light-filled flexible workspaces for 850 people are as suited to morning coffee and lunch meetings as evening networking and social events. A concept of ‘premium raw’ was established, with stripped-back raw elements of the existing building contrasted with a layer of premium finish including refined furniture, artwork and lighting. The bold aesthetic delivers a distinctive and desirable offer for different sized organisations and pushes the boundaries of current workplace culture. Combining the creative and social aspects of a members’ club with dynamic workspace for those in music, film, arts, fashion and technology sectors, the aim was not just to offer a place to do business, but to provide an environment for a convivial and creative way of life.
Uncommon is a flexible workspace provider, whose spaces are carefully designed to make its members work smarter, not harder. Using innovative design inspired by activity-based working (ABW), carefully curated ergonomic furniture, biophilia and sensory elements, Uncommon aims to deliver a holistic and mindful experience. With four unique spaces across London, Uncommon draws inspiration from Italian and Scandinavian design, with rich textures and tonal colours handpicked to help stimulate productivity, promote wellness and evoke creativity in its members. Located within an exclusive gated development, Uncommon Fulham offers 26,000 square foot of flexible workspace arranged over four floors; perfect for entrepreneurs and freelancers, start-ups and long-established businesses. Uncommon Fulham is adorned with a warm and muted colour palette, enhanced with hand-selected ergonomic furniture from Italy and over 500 living plants including a striking 3.3-metre Ficus nitida tree.
This week's instalment of the #SBIDinspire interior design series features a striking yet stylish boutique hotel design in Germany's fifth largest city; Moxy Frankfurt City Center emulates the exciting nightlife and eclectic scene of downtown Frankfurt with neon play area, modern guest lounge, urban aesthetic, vibrant wall murals and cool, artistic flair.
JOI-Design created Moxy’s new European guestroom brand standards and implemented them into this new-build project. This rethink led JOI-Design to also develop Moxy’s next generation of public areas featuring clean-lined, industrial architecture with a more “grown-up” vibe than previous locales. Multi-functional public areas fuse the urban with the urbane, picking up on the street culture and warehouse aesthetic prevalent downtown. Visible ceiling pipes and exposed concrete walls create “industrial chic” with a coordinated mix of stylish furniture, loud beats, humorous touches and textured details discovered upon second glance. Typeset artwork along with bear and bull references allude to the nearby stock exchange and the site’s former life as newspaper Frankfurter Rundschau‘s headquarters.
SBID Awards: Hotel Public Space Design finalist sponsored by Viva Lagoon
Practice: JOI-Design
Project: Moxy Frankfurt City Centre
Location: Hessen, Germany
Moxy Frankfurt City Centre, Germany. Image credits: SV Hotel
Our brief was to fully understand the Moxy spirit and create a world that would allow it to flourish. We were initially commissioned to develop new guestroom brand standards for Moxy hotels in Europe, and then also to bring these to life through the Frankfurt property. It was important that our design would let guests soak up local culture.
Image credits: Courtesy of Christian Kretschmar for JOI-Design
Many things! Moxy’s target market is moving towards a digital nomadic lifestyle. The flexibility of mobile working has led to a greater mix between work with play, with short stays lasting one or two nights. These are travellers who fit everything into carry-on luggage and make the most of travel adventures with party nights out. At the same time, they also remain conscious of their health and wellbeing. As a result, the guestrooms are a relaxing retreat for sociable guests, places where they can rebalance with calm and organized interiors designed for maximum efficiency and minimal wastage. Closets aren’t needed, since travelling light means minimal storage is required, so we designed the latticed “functionality wall”.
In the public areas, influences from the site’s former life as newspaper Frankfurter Rundschaut’s headquarters appear through allusions to typography and journals. The nearby stock exchange also comes into play with bull and bear motifs referencing the rise and fall of market shares. A geometric bull sculpture hangs on a bare concrete wall, while a gigantic teddy bear welcomes guests with a wink. Located at the hotel entrance to attract the attention of passersby is a graffiti mural by Herakut, an internationally acclaimed artist duo with roots in Frankfurt.
Marriott initially asked us to design guestrooms in line with the existing brand standards. As the project progressed, they asked us to develop the new Moxy identity, which of course we were very happy to do. The challenge came when they asked us to apply it to the new-build Frankfurt hotel at a very late stage in the project. The building was already under construction with the layout, power points, etc… for our first design, so we needed to work around these restrictions and make the guestrooms function as best possible with the new guidelines.
Also, the public areas floor area is not actually very large, but we needed to accommodate four zones as specified in Moxy’s standards: the library/work space; the welcome section; the F&B facilities; and the lounge. We created a layout with a natural, open feel that flows well from one space to the next.
Creating a new destination in a style that is different for Frankfurt hotels, and within the exciting building designed by the respected Hamburg-based architect Hadi Teherani, was inspiring.
Herakut’s graffiti mural is one of our team’ favourite parts of the interiors. We specified the art should relate to the bull and bear theme and the stock exchange, while also instilling an impression of the locale. The result is a street art-styled mural that shows two children playing in bear and bull costumes – a young-spirited approach that hints at German fairytales and helps establish the lively, light-hearted atmosphere that attracts not only guests, but also locals wishing to work, relax or meet others.
The SBID International Design Awards celebrate imagination, talent and commitment to interior design excellence across many types of projects around the world. It’s an honour to have our creativity and passion recognised by a highly respected professional organisation, the impressive award judges and our colleagues in the global design community.
Questions answered by Corinna Kretschmar-Joehnk and Peter Joehnk, Co-managing Directors of JOI-Design
We hope you feel inspired by this week's Hotel design! Let us know what inspired you #SBIDinspire
If you missed last week's Project of the Week featuring fluid architectural curves with the V Line Cosmetic Center in Hong Kong, click here to see more.
SBID Awards 2019 | Hotel Public Space Design finalist sponsored by Viva Lagoon
Surprisingly, there is no current UK legislation to control the composition of quartz work surfaces, nor set a minimum material performance standard for the quartz materials marketed and sold in the UK. SBID Accredited Industry Partner, Italian Luxury Surfaces expresses concerns over consumer safety and the importance of proper material certification as the Sales & Marketing Director, Phil Winter tells us more.
The quartz manufacturers who currently hold independent verification of their material quality, do so voluntarily or because consumer protection legislation in other markets demands it. There are three recognised dangers posed by untested & uncertified quartz materials. These are the potentially harmful levels of VOC emissions (Volatile Organic Compounds), the micro porosity that can make the surface difficult to clean or sanitise and most importantly, the surface finish leaching of toxic chemicals that can contaminate food.
The Risk of VOC
The VOC risk within quartz comes from the ‘resin’ element, the composition of which is often unknown, and it can vary hugely from manufacturer to manufacturer. Typically, the resin content when measured by weight, represents between 7% - 15% of the material. By volume, the resin proportion is much higher. Because VOC’s are volatile, these compounds vaporize and emit gasses, even long after the quartz has been formed and fabricated. Paint, for example, emits only half of its VOCs in the first year after application.
Marc Lallanilla, a sustainable living and green design expert, and Member of the Society of Environmental Journalists, summarized the issue in stark language in his recent article, ‘VOCs are linked to a range of health problems, including some very serious diseases. Benzene, for example, is one of several VOCs that's known to cause cancer. It's not suspected, it's known, beyond any doubt. Other health effects besides cancer include kidney damage, liver damage, damage to the central nervous system (including the brain), as well as minor complaints like headaches and eye, throat, and nose irritation’.
Consumer Misconception
An understandable misconception made by consumers, designers and interior architects alike is to assume that ‘country of origin’ or familiarity of a brand name provides a guarantee on a specific quartz material’s test and certification status. It does not. Fully certified quartz surfaces originate from all parts of the globe and worryingly, so do many currently uncertified and therefore potentially harmful quartz materials.
Thankfully, responsible counterparts within the kitchen industry are now starting to act, insisting that their sales and design teams are communicating the importance of only specifying independently tested and certified worktops to their customers. But many continue to place their customers at potential risk.
The only way to be 100% sure that your own quartz work surface is not placing the users at risk is to check if your quartz brand is certified for low VOC emissions by visiting www.greenguard.org. For material composition and food contact suitability, you can also check www.nsf.org.
Sadly, there are those within the kitchen industry who choose to hide behind the consumers’ ignorance of the very real health risks posed by poor quality quartz materials, with excuses such as, ‘no one has ever asked me for it’ when referring to material certifications or worse still ‘they won’t pay for it’, inferring that somehow a low price absolves the specifier from a professional duty of care towards their clients.
How are quartz surfaces certified?
When a surface is tested and certified by NSF International for food contact, they verify the composition of the material and they certify that the finish will not leach toxic chemicals that could contaminate food. Since quite literally anyone could mix their own blend of random materials, ‘bake it’ and sell it as ‘quartz’ in the UK.
Materials certified for specification in a ‘Food Zone’ are also evaluated for the temperature they can withstand before degradation occurs. High temperature resistance being an indicator of resin stability and therefore material quality and safety.
NSF’s testing is less stringent for materials designed to be specified and used in ‘Splash Zones’, where the focus is on durability, construction and clean-ability. Here micro porosity of quartz has practical issues as well as health risks. Materials with porosity are more susceptible to staining as the (relatively) open structure creates pockets that fluids can fill, discolouring the surface.
It would be incorrect to say that all untested and uncertified quartz materials are definitely dangerous. Until they are tested that is of course unknown. Equally, unless regulators insist that the quartz brand owners, importers and manufacturers submit their products to suitably qualified and independent agencies for testing, it is not possible to say with any certainty that they are 100% safe.
Verifying Certification Claims
Worryingly, the growing trend of unscrupulous manufacturers claiming certification they do not have has forced NSF to issue a warning on their website as they are “concerned about fraudulent downloading and manipulation of website text." Encouraging consumers to always confirm this information by obtaining accurate information, here.
No doubt there will be manufacturers and agents of other consumer product groups reading this article with a degree of disbelief. Most likely, reflecting on the rigorous R&D work and testing that they will have done. Quite rightly, they will be wondering how this vital element of a 21st century kitchen has escaped regulation!
Do the right thing, protect your family and clients by only using NSF 51 and GREENGUARD certified quartz.
Phil Winter is the Sales & Marketing Director at Italian Luxury Surfaces, the sole UK Distributor of Stone Italiana. Previously, Phil has had the privilege of working with some of the most respected brands in the Kitchen & Interiors industry, such as Poggenpohl, bulthaup, Gaggenau and Bosch.
This article was written by Phil Winter, Sales & Marketing Director at Italian Luxury Surfaces.
senior partner, Conran and Partners
Architect and designer Tim Bowder-Ridger, senior partner, Conran and Partners, is passionate about creating authentic experiences centred around cultural spirit and personality. Drawing on his hospitality and residential experience, Tim leads the design direction of the practice as a whole, as well as being responsible for its operations. Recent projects include the conversion of the Brutalist-style Centre Point in London from an unused office tower into residences, and Kita Aoyama, a high-end residential development in Japan.
As senior partner of Conran in Hong Kong, Tim is also responsible for the overall leadership and coordination between the UK and HK subsidiary and has been building the company’s reputation with new work in Japan.
How do your projects embrace the Japanese concept of wabi sabi, the celebration of imperfect, impermanent and incomplete beauty?
Our approach in Japan has been to use authentic materials in their natural forms, for example timber that patinas with age to add further life and spirit. We call that the “honesty” of the material, with every piece being unique compared with artificial printed timber that always looks lifeless compared to the true thing. The Japanese and the British cultures have a similar connection to the landscape and nature, a romantic view about enjoying them. We tend to use a lot of natural materials, but Japan has particularly good techniques for concrete, which is used a lot due to earthquakes. Being a poured material, there are always imperfections, but even these are embraced as beauty.
How is COVID-19, the coronavirus, affecting your work?
We are reducing our long-haul travel a bit, which is probably not a bad thing, and our Hong Kong studio are all working remotely from home at the moment. We have a very good technical team here who’ve set up the computers to work, so there’s not been a hit on our productivity nor our new business development. But I think it’s a bit too soon to know where it’s going to end up, really, and the commercial knock-on effect of China being shut down. Statistically you’re far more likely to die of flu than coronavirus but the difficulty is whether people have confidence in their various government actions. We just review it on a case-by-case basis - but give it another four weeks and we might have a clearer idea of which way we’re heading. The fear is that so much is made in China that it will have an impact on construction stages. Luckily, at the moment we have a lot of pre-construction work.
How do the lifestyle preferences of Tokyo urbanites compare to those in London, and how did your design approaches for Kito Aoyama and Centre Point vary to accommodate these differences?
Both are world cities but different in the sense that London is more international, more akin to New York than Tokyo. Tokyo feels distinctly Japanese, which is why we all like going these because it’s such a unique place. However they are both prime residential markets where people are well-to-do and well-travelled, so those individuals probably have more in common than they would otherwise. It’s less nationalistic as people are from the same global tribe. There was a lot of commonality in our approaches, but with Centre Point the apartments react to the existing structure of the 20th century heritage building, whereas Kito Aoyama is a new build. For all our projects around the world we’re determined to have a sense of place, we try and engage in the context, local culture, all those things. One specific Japanese requirement is the way you pass into an apartment. There’s one entrance, but then doughnut-shaped circulation paths with private family areas in one direction and public reception spaces the other way. In traditional Japanese houses, people step over a threshold – although today they are level. And then there’s a small space to pause and greet one another and, then a separate, and sometimes quite large, room to take off and store your shoes.
There’s a layer of privacy that creates a physical manifestation in the apartment while still trying to enjoy all those different moments and thresholds. It’s like landscape design, a layered approach of being led from a sculpture to a temple to a lake. The difference is that with Japanese apartments, we do it twice, one way for the family and the other for guests. The kitchen and dining spaces are where it all comes together. Even in Tokyo where space is a premium, they make it work. We’re also working in Hong Kong, and the reason why people eat out so much for entertainment is because their apartments are so small. Even there we try to create a layering of experiences.
What qualities make a product’s design exceptional?
It's very simple: combining functionality with emotion. You can see that with Apple products or the ultimate cliché, BMW cars. They function very well and are desirable, so therefore sellable. It’s about effectiveness, intelligence in functionality and cost. With architecture and interior design, it’s very complex because it’s just about the world's most collaborative profession to be in with so many different people involved. The job of the architect is really to distil that into a single point-of-view that balances all these different requirements. If you apply that to running a business, like I do, it's no different. There are so many different things I need to bear in mind that I am forever designing the business. There’s a lot of crossover between running a business and designing a building, given the complexity and judgement – that’s where the creativity comes in.
How does good design equate to good business?
That depends – is business just about selling things or is it our business, a big part of which is trying to leave the world a bit of a better place than we found it. Terence Conran, our founder, always used to say that good design improves lives and it is absolutely the partner of commerce. When he founded his businesses, what he was doing and what we still try to do is provide ideas people want but might not even know they want until their exposed to it. That’s where we’re adding value. The future of the British economy has to be entirely about providing ideas. The creative industry is the UK’s largest after finance. Our great design schools and artistic heritage have a real worth that feeds creative ventures for their continued growth. Whilst this adds value to the world, it can also benefit business and the economy, which is key in the current post-Brexit climate.
Tim is one of the prestigious experts invited to join the extraordinary jury for the SBID Product Design Awards, alongside other renowned professionals across industrial and interior design, brand development, architecture, educational research and forward-thinking enterprise.
Click here to view the full judging panel.
The SBID Product Design Awards 2020 will close for entries on 13 March!
To find out more about entering, visit www.sbidproductdesignawards.com
ceo and director, Simone de Gale Architects
Not only has Belgravia, London – based Simone de Gale, ceo and director of Simone de Gale Architects, been named Architect of the Year in the 2017 Women in Construction Awards; the International Entrepreneur of the Year in 2018; and a Westminster Lion in 2018, she is also the inventor of a patented materials defence technology developed in partnership with the Ministry of Defence. SGA is currently working on a £200m masterplan in Tbilisi, Georgia as well commercial and residential projects in Croatia, Abu Dhabi, the Caribbean, the USA, and a feasibility study for the London Hammersmith Flyunder.
What social trends are driving change and how do your designs respond to them?
Automation and technology. Our clients expect their homes to have the same kinds of tech found in commercial spaces. For example, we’re designing residential bathrooms with sensors to automatically turn on the lights and taps. This kind of demand will continue to intensify.
How will your pioneering work with the Ministry of Defence influence the way products and buildings are created in the future?
We invented a process that can make any material stronger, whether a metal or composites like S2 glass and carbon fibre. It makes materials more resistant to blasts and can be used to protect soldiers in armoured vehicles from IEDs. The patent has been granted for BASL (Blast Absorption Systems Ltd.) technology, and I’m the main inventor. We’re working with companies to make their items blast-proof. Products made using this technique are stronger and lighter than those without it, so for example, the ground floor of a skyscraper could be reinforced with ,high-performance materials for the flooring, wall panels, and hybrid composites that look like stone but perform better while being heat-resistant, more durable and low maintenance. Prestressed bending causes the material to react in a mechanical way that makes it stronger on one side. The prototype has been monitored at the MOD’s blast testing ranges, and the calculations done so it’s ready to be used in industry.
How do your designs anticipate your clients’ future needs?
It’s all about spatial planning. We try to give clients a unique design but with a robust shell and core that gives them flexibility without needing to make major changes in the building structure. For example, we’ve designed commercial co-working spaces that have a stage so they can also be used as a wedding venue or for Christmas parties. Workstations intended for hot-desking can be packed up at night to make room for a DJ and compere. We always use pure geometry like a circle or square or natural forms like a butterfly. Squares are particularly good because they have 100% useable space.
What needs to change in the design industry?
Architecture and interior design are quite far behind compared to other industries. The principles of product design need to be applied to buildings and infrastructure. For example, the iPhone is initially designed at a very high-level, but then specs are sent to manufacturers who roll it out on a mass scale. We’re getting there with modular prefab construction, but the ambition is to deliver precision manufacturing in building systems. Once a design is completed, it is fed into computers for robots to build. BIM is helping achieve that. In order to reach higher standards and cost efficiency in shorter periods of time, our mindset should be to design according to manufacturers’ standards, using new materials and advanced technologies to model spaces and coordinate work with other teams.
What wisdom can you pass on to interior designers and architects who are new in their careers?
It’s the same advice given to me – only work on a design if you’re passionate about it. There will be a range of options and materials in the design process, and it’s important to follow your heart and go with something you can develop. If you’re the lead designer, you have to push a concept forward, and believing in it will reassure your clients’ questions, doubts and ambiguities.
Simone is one of the prestigious experts invited to join the extraordinary jury for the SBID Product Design Awards, alongside other renowned professionals across industrial and interior design, brand development, architecture, educational research and forward-thinking enterprise.
regional managing director; London, New York and Paris, Wilson Associates
A self-described “hotelier at heart,” Monika Moser possesses over two decades of hospitality industry experience in her current role as regional managing director (London, New York & Paris) for Wilson Associates. Born in Venezuela with a German citizenship, Moser earned a Certificate in Hospitality Management from Cornell University and an MBA in Hospitality Management from ESSEC Business School. She brings a deep understanding of luxury hotel service and a unique cultural perspective to each of Wilson Associates’ global strategic initiatives. Moser has a passion for art, music, literature, and linguistics –– she is fluent in five languages. In her free time, she frequents the opera.
What is your definition of luxury? And how do Wilson's designs exemplify its future?
Luxury is defined differently by everyone. For me, luxury can be any type of hotel; it doesn't need to be a Parisian palace, it can be in a smaller boutique hotel. Luxury is having the flexibility to be able to choose how you want to live, how you want to act, how you want to be in the hotel. So, it can be anywhere, anytime, in any form. Luxury, in that sense, is personal. It’s where you position yourself in terms of what you are used to having. Nowadays people are used to being surrounded by luxury, so maybe time has become a luxury or the possibility to spend your vacations in a hotel away from all physical luxury. For Wilson, creating a luxury hotel means designing something that is exactly what the client wants it to be with products specifically catered for their clientele. We design for the future through hotels that are flexible enough to adapt to the client's needs, which might focus on being more meaningful than in the past, being more aware of local environments, traditions, and connecting with people.
How do you see Brexit impacting hospitality design, both in the UK and in Europe?
This is the million-dollar question! I haven't seen any changes, and when I talk to lawyers, accountants, operators, etc…, they haven’t seen any changes, either. I don't think that it will have too much impact in terms of hospitality design. That said, we’ll have to wait and see.
How does staying connected with the latest designers and trendsetters “rub off” on your hotels and understanding of the current zeitgeist?
It’s completely dependent upon the client. Our projects are adapted to what they want; we will not impose a design. Trends and influences mainly come from what clients wish for and what the hotel has to become based on their preferences, along with requirements from the operator and local regulations. For example, we work with Tristan Auer for our interiors, and he has different layers of style versus a specific look. If it’s a historical project like the Carlton Cannes or Hôtel Scribe in Paris, he pays attention to that rather than trends. Design is more forward-thinking when it comes to lifestyle hotel trends that combine services in open, undivided spaces, but hotel operations are still old fashioned with different services for separate areas. This needs to be clarified at the start of a project, otherwise the vision that the designers are trying to achieve will not work from a programming perspective. Having that distinction between different spaces isn’t a way of providing exclusivity, it’s just another way of doing it for a different type of clientele. That’s why hotel operators have so many brands to capture different kinds of guests.
What fires your imagination, and what’s the best way to build a team that is creative yet aware of operational requirements?
Being on the business side I don’t need so much imagination! However, I manage a team of designers who nourish their creativity by going to exhibitions, museums and shows; meeting suppliers and learning about their products; and travel. I hire designers that can tell me which museum they visited recently or what movie they liked, because I get the impression that they’re actually out there finding new ideas. These creative designers need to be aware of operational requirements, too, so we share a lot of information. While our project managers understand both sides, I also share everything in terms of contractual topics of revenue so they get all the information to understand how their project works. It’s very important because they need to understand how they are able to design a project that is viable - or not. It helps them grow and become more aware that how they work impacts a project and the financial outcome of a company like Wilson Associates.
Monika is one of the prestigious experts invited to join the extraordinary jury for the SBID Product Design Awards, alongside other renowned professionals across industrial and interior design, brand development, architecture, educational research and forward-thinking enterprise.
This week's instalment of the #SBIDinspire interior design series features the fluidity of architectural curves with the V Line Cosmetic Center located at the Miramar Tower in Hong Kong. For this project, GWP Architects explored symbols that represented women and the female form; translating the soft, curved posture of female dancers into the curvature of the structures and spaces; using the 'dancing ribbon' as the core design theme. The whole space uses these curvaceous forms to express the dynamic changes of life with graceful shapes, exuding an elegant temperament throughout. Sensibility or rationality, a space that seems to breathe is created in the light and shadow between dynamic and static.
SBID Awards: Healthcare & Wellness Design finalist sponsored by The Stone Federation
Practice: GWP Architects
Project: V Line Cosmetic Center
Location: Hong Kong, Hong Kong
The project is 5000 sq ft in size located in Miramar Tower in Hong Kong. The client wanted to build the most elegant cosmetic space in the city. The design therefore focused on capturing and expressing the brand name of V Line Concept, and the style of the space needed to balance professionalism whilst remaining warm, elegant and welcoming for its costumers. And last, they wanted the project be fully completed within just two months!
The concept of the 'dancing ribbon' became the main theme behind the design scheme, with visions of a charming scene of dancers creating fluid and captivating movement with long strands of ribbon. With this in mind, we explored different symbols and shapes that represent women and the female form; translating the soft, curved posture of female dancers into the curvature of the internal structures. The entire space incorporates these curved forms to express the dynamic changes of life and create a sense of flow, gracefully guiding visitors through the cosmetic centre and exuding an heir of elegance in each zone. Sensibility or rationality, a space that seems to breathe is created in the light and shadow between dynamic and static.
The toughest hurdle I would say was the collaboration between our design team and the construction team within such a very short time frame. The client was in Canada during the whole process, so he wanted us to control all aspects of the project and finish it within 2 months. To make this happen, I brought my team to work on the site and we collaborated with construction team, fire equipment team, water system team, the air conditioner team, the dentist manager, and so on. In this way, when we make any changes or confirm any detail of the drawings, we could ensure each of the different teams are updated and on the same page to keep the work progress as efficient as possible. Effective communication helped us complete the project on a tight schedule.
There are many highlight points of the project. The choice of material, the smooth curved wall and ceiling design, but the most interesting part is the detail of craftsmanship where the corners meet the two different materials touch seamlessly. If you look at the images closely, you will find the round corners aligning very well, and between the walls and floors there is this a linear panel to express the space change.
First of all, the SBID Awards is a well-known interior design award with a wide brand influence which deserves attention. After the completion of the V Line Cosmetic Center, we received positive reviews and some awards in China and Hong Kong. Our team believes that good design should be tested and recognised by international awards, and that good design in China can be seen by more people around the world. Finally, we would like to establish our brand image through international media.
Questions answered by Guowei (John) Zhang, Founder and Chief Architect of GWP Architects
We hope you feel inspired by this week's Healthcare & Wellness design! Let us know what inspired you #SBIDinspire
If you missed last week's Project of the Week featuring hotel public spaces with Omani influences, cultural inspirations and a modern design scheme, click here to see more.
SBID Awards 2019 | Healthcare & Wellness Design finalist sponsored by The Stone Federation
From the tiny cubicles and bland colour schemes of the early 2000s to the ping-pong tables and sleeping pods of modern times, the interior design of offices has evolved dramatically in the past 20 years. At the beginning of a new year, and the start of a new decade, the focus of office interior design is shifting once again. Office interior design is now becoming more and more centred around the wellbeing of staff members.
Work is one of the biggest causes of stress in adults. In fact, national statistics from 2019 state that 602,000 people suffered from work-related stress, depression or anxiety in 2018/19 and 12.8 million workdays were lost due to the same reasons.
The rise of work-related stress and the emphasis on the importance of mental health has caused many businesses to re-evaluate the way in which they support their staff. Many businesses are aiming to actively improve the health and wellbeing of their employees.
Although improving the wellbeing of staff through interior design is not a new concept, it is becoming a very popular one. The working environment has a huge impact on the health and wellbeing of employees. A quality workspace that’s designed with health and wellbeing in mind can boost moods, increase productivity, reduce stress levels and nurture a positive atmosphere.
Natural Lighting Is Essential
Sunlight is good for our health. Our body needs Vitamin D, sunlight and a supply of fresh air daily to release endorphins and serotonin – the chemicals that boost our mood and give us energy.
However, for office workers, spending eight hours a day indoors is often unavoidable, which is why it is important to expose your office to as much natural daylight as possible. When designing your office space, consider adding skylights or floor to ceiling windows. When considering the interior design, keep large furniture away from the windows as to not block out any light. Avoid dim lighting as this can strain eyes and try to avoid glare.
Consider The Flow Of The Office
Many businesses think they have to choose between two types of offices; an open-plan office or an office with enclosed spaces for privacy. When in reality, a combination of both will be more effective for staff wellbeing.
An open-plan layout encourages the movement of employees, which is great for increasing activity levels. In addition, an open-plan office will also encourage communication and teamwork. Adding smaller, private pods will be beneficial for those employees who prefer privacy and quiet when working. When improving the wellbeing of staff through interior design, you should also include a creative space for brainstorming and team meetings.
Top Tip: Whichever office layout you choose, remember to include space for water coolers. Having easy access to cold water is great for the health and wellbeing of employees.
Bring The Outdoors In
Studies show the wellness of employees who work in an environment enhanced with natural features is 15% higher than those who do not. Add natural elements to your office by having a variety of indoor plants or a living wall. Plants clean the air and are known to reduce stress levels, boost creativity and increase productivity. Perhaps you could even include an indoor flower garden. Another way to add natural elements to your office space is by choosing surfaces made from natural materials, such as wood and stone.
Choose The Right Colours
Different colours create different moods. Soft tones, such as a brown and terracotta are known to evoke feelings of warmth and relaxation, which is why they’re often found in bedrooms. Whereas bright colours, such as blues and oranges are known to energise and yellows are great for promoting creativity.
When improving employee wellbeing through interior design, you should carefully select the colours. Colours that stimulate productivity and creativity should be used in the office area and meeting rooms. Softer shades that evoke calming feelings should be used in break rooms and relaxation areas.
Areas Of Relaxation
To improve employee wellness and reduce stress levels, you should provide your employees with somewhere to relax. Unlike other break rooms, these areas of relaxation should be designed with peace and quiet in mind. Your employees should be able to meditate, read or simply relax away from the bustle of the office.
Michael Lawrence is CEO at YourWellspace, a health and wellbeing tech start-up who focus on data-driven wellbeing for teams and workplaces.
This article was written by Michael Lawrence, CEO at YourWellspace.
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