Balan and Nambisan Architects Design an Idyllic Villa

This week’s instalment of the Project of the Week series features an idyllic villa design by 2023 SBID Awards Finalist, Balan and Nambisan Architects.

Balan and Nambisan Architects was commissioned to design a luxurious villa in a warm contemporary style. Drama is created in the powder room with a ceiling mounted Gessi faucet over a floor standing washbasin in a surround of onyx. A Bulthaup open kitchen is the heart of the home. In the master bedroom flawless white statuario marble is contrasted with dark walnut wood. A bespoke leather headboard serves as a fitting backdrop to the Capital bed. The master bath uses Stonewood marble contrasted with vanities in wood with brass details.

What was the client's brief? 

A custom designed villa for a close knit family with a considerable extended family who spend lengths of time together during festivals, celebrations and holidays. Bangalore, India is a dense, crowded urban city with a population of 11 million and life for a high achieving family can be extremely stressful and chaotic. Our clients desired the home to be a complete sanctuary from the chaos, tailored to their lifestyle. An absolute necessity was the home offering multiple entertaining spaces with the ability to entertain across three generations simultaneously. Equally important was the sanctity of the private spaces. An abode to withdraw from the chaos of city life, a home with spaces for physical fitness and one to entertain. A luxurious home with a careful integration of design, materials, detailing and technology.

What inspired the design of the project?

Keeping the home private was a key driver of the design. The design of the home wraps around external spaces that are scooped out of the plan, ensuring that outsiders do not have the ability to look in. Yet the home is always connected to the outdoors with landscaped courtyards and planters wrapping around on the upper levels. We used three materials - stone, wood and metal, these three materials are mouled in different ways to either block, semi open or open up views to spaces. The journey begins with the solidness of road-facing external form cladded in sandstone panels cut to a bespoke size and finished in 2 textures to create a dynamic facade. A facade that changes through the day with the play of light and shadow. As one moves through the home, these three materials take on different forms of detail to embellish spaces.

What was the toughest hurdle your team overcame during the project?

One of the most challenging aspects of the home was executing the staircase around the lift volume. An elliptical metal staircase wraps around an elliptical glass lift within a 5-storey atrium volume. The only areas of support for this grand staircase was at the main landings, spanning 3.6 - 4M floor to floor. We went through 3 metal fabricators and multiple mockups before we were able to eventually execute the structure. The steel stringer beams were laser cut and bent into a curve, the balustrade was bespoke designed laser cut panels, each section precisely cut, bent and labelled for each run. A challenge was executing and sequencing the entire space.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

The design and execution of the staircase and executing this home through Covid.

Why did you enter the SBID Awards?

Having recently opened our office in London, it was only natural that we would become members of SBID with SBID representing the UK interior design industry, one of the world's leading design industries. Entering the SBID awards has allowed us to showcase our design capability to the design community as a whole here in the UK, as well as allowed us to gauge where we stand within the UK and International design community. This is an important step for any practice especially for one that has decided to open its first international office.

What has being an Award Finalist meant to you and your business?

Being nominated as an Award finalist is a huge honour for us. It is an affirmation of our design skills from the international design community and this means the world to us especially as we take the next step to build our practice here in the UK.

Questions answered by Nilanjana Roy, Partner at Balan and Nambisan Architects.

This week’s instalment of the Project of the Week series features a luxurious residential villa design by 2022 SBID Awards Finalist, Emara Design.

We still remember the joy of the customer and his family when they saw the design; only then did we feel that we did what we had to do. Emara Design worked on the architectural design and the interior decoration of a residential villa with a 250 m2 total floor area in the heart of the Dyar park compound, which consists of a reception space, a living area, a master bedroom, and three bedrooms for children. We used natural materials such as wood and marble and mixed them with warm lighting in addition to using simple straight lines on the ceiling that gives a sense of luxury mixed with warmness. Our philosophy is that design is not just a piece of art but it should represent the house owner and meet his needs.

What was the client's brief? 

The client’s requests of the re-design of the villa were so that it contains 3 bedrooms for the children and the expansion of the living area on the last floor, as well as creating a roof garden for summer sessions and barbecues.

One of the most important requests which the client focused on was the use of natural materials such as wood and marble with the addition of luxury and warm lighting in the place.

What inspired the design of the project?

After some sessions and discussions with the client, we have agreed on using marble on the floor and on some walls and bathrooms, and grafting wood in the ceiling and on walls with hidden warm lighting which gives a sense of warmness for the family members.

The use of large glass surfaces in the main reception area on the ground floor overlooking the landscape gives a sense of spaciousness and visual connection with the landscape of the villa and the compound.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

One of the most important parts that we have taken into account is the use of technology to achieve a sustainability criteria. From the use of the power generation system to solar cells and the use of the smart systems to control all power sources, to water sprinklers and irrigation of trees and grass in the garden, where Smart systems work according to set times of the day to save energy and reduce electricity consumption.

The smart systems also helped solve the customer’s problem of traveling abroad. He can fully control the villa and the garden through an application on his iPad. He can not only control the power and the garden, but he also has full control of the surveillance cameras and door locks.

Questions answered by Ahmed Fathi, Designer, and Osama Eltaweel, Site Engineer, Emara Design.

This week’s instalment of the Project of the Week series features a modern residential development design by 2022 SBID Awards Finalist, Yuan-Art.

What was the client's brief? 

BBMG Jinchengfu is located in Gaoxin district, the most prosperous zone in Chengdu. It is a high-end residential project in the area. The project occupies the core and surrounding environment of the area, with pleasant ecology and surrounded by parks. The courtyard villas, bungalows and high-rise buildings are planned. The villa adopts the new Chinese style, which perfectly integrates modern elements with traditional architectural styles. The garden is designed and built on the model of the top ten cultural and historical attractions in Chengdu.

What inspired the design of the project?

Due to its unique urban geography, Chengdu has rapidly developed into a bustling Internet celebrity city in China. However, the native people in Chengdu are not happy because of the liveliness. Instead, they hope that life would be more relaxing, that they could experience life more calmly and gently when conditions permit, and build their own homes and lives. They wish to seek a life that truly belongs to them in a more self-directed way in order to fully enjoy and be compatible with the transformation and association between life, work and society, and use another way to coexist harmoniously.

What was the toughest hurdle your team overcame during the project?

The style of wabi-sabi has a dilapidated beauty, which is not completely in line with people’s understanding of quality life today. Therefore, in the design, we need to reflect a certain sense of value as appropriately as possible, such as expressing through material appeals, furniture, etc., utensils, art, and those products that we use regularly. This value is convenient and comfortable, it is the guarantee and embodiment of quality, and it is also a way to improve the texture and modern atmosphere of the space scene. We want to convey that wabi-sabi brings us a gentle and comfortable life attitude, not extreme restraint.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

In this project, the space is constructed with simplicity and tranquility. The wood, stone, rattan, cotton and linen in the indoor space have a natural symbiotic relationship with outdoor green plants, sunlight, wind and rain. They flow and change due to time, season and climate. As a new enlightenment of nature, they accept the existence of time and curve traces of the passage of time. This harmony with nature and symbiosis with the environment is the biggest highlight of this project.

Why did you enter this project into the SBID Awards?

The SBID International Design Award is the most prestigious award in the interior design industry. The teams that have won this award are outstanding workers and teams who have achieved outstanding results in the field of international interior design. We want to let more people know and recognize us by participating in this SBID competition. At the same time, we can also compete and communicate with outstanding international contestants on the same stage, constantly improve our professional skills and tap into our creative potential.

Questions answered by Zi Peng GUO, Founder and Chief Designer, Yuan-Art.

This week’s instalment of the Project of the Week series features an expansive seven bedroom villa design by 2022 SBID Awards Finalist, LW Design.

What was the client's brief? 

LW Design was tasked to redesign an expansive seven-bedroomed villa in an exclusive neighbourhood of Dubai. The owners wanted the designers to create an extraordinary space for their family and create a seamless flow from each room onto the large terraces and gardens beyond. The space was to be soft, feminine and understated so that the family felt at ease and comfortable at home.

What inspired the design of the project?

LW Design was tasked to create a soft, light and inviting scheme with neutral colours, warm timbers, and soft grey marble mixed with subtle accent colours to create the ultimate retreat. The spaces were designed to link and connect to the vast landscape. In particular, the majlis and formal dining feel like contemporary garden rooms as you are surrounded by full-height glazing with immaculate landscaping beyond. This connection to the outdoors also continues throughout the inside, with large plants placed in the corners of the rooms and some ground floor areas open onto the terrace giving an indoor-outdoor experience.

What was the toughest hurdle your team overcame during the project?

The main challenge was the sheer scale of the property, not just the number of rooms but also the various ceiling heights ranging from 4 metres to 9 metres in some key areas. The main goal was to ensure that all rooms felt comfortable and warm, each having their own identity but ensuring the design flowed from space to space. With the space being so vast, LW hand-selected and carefully placed unique pieces of furniture that filled the space rather than selecting additional furniture and accessories that would have caused over cluttering. The design team had to coordinate with multiple furniture suppliers who delivered their own finishings and fabrics to ensure they were all coordinated and aligned to maintain the eclectic and considered feel. With a property of this size, it was essential to identify the character of each room and ensure nothing too themed or obvious.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

The general ceiling height around the villa is 4 metres while the entrance ceiling height is an impressive 9 metres. The sheer height creates a grand first impression when walking into the villa. The hallway leads into the living spaces that consist of a soft colour palette that creates a serene and bright feel throughout the villa and seamlessly connects the rooms to the surrounding landscape, adding life and depth to the space.

The his and hers master bedroom has oversized artwork shaped like a screen which acts as a headboard and provides a focus to the room. The master bathroom has wall-to-wall soft grey marble complemented by bronze metal screens and a feature freestanding bath. Intimate seating areas, a workspace, and a TV zone help fill the room with beautifully crafted pieces.

Why did you enter this project into the SBID Awards?

To showcase the project on an international platform and get the recognition this project deserves.

Questions answered by Rachel Kidd, Partner & Design Director, LW Design.

In this week's interview with 2021 SBID Awards winners for the Fit Out Contractor of the Year – Residential category, ALTER EGO, the designers discuss creating interiors that perfectly align with the clients' desires and blending the architectural style of the residence into its interior design.

How important is it to enter the SBID Awards & receive industry recognition for your work? What are the benefits?

We are absolutely delighted and honoured to become a winner of the SBID Awards in the Fit Out Contractor of the Year - Residential category. Receiving recognition from one of the most prestigious and renowned awards in the global design industry brings not only status and global promotion but also inspiration for new incredible projects and hopefully the future victories.

What do you think made this particular design an award winner?

This project on the Cote d'Azur is an example of successful synergy when the wishes of the Client and their willingness for innovative ideas coincided with our creativity and experience in the realization of unique and complex turnkey projects.

One of the customer's key desires was a house exposed to nature so in this coastline villa we implemented the concept of a space with blurred boundaries, open to light and air. The seascape of the French Riviera inspired our team and became the main visual component of the interior. From certain angles it seems transparent. Each room faces picturesque views from panoramic windows.

A high point and best illustration of the concept is a sophisticated light composition - a flock of glass birds "hovering" in the central room of the villa. These bespoke pendants of different shapes and sizes were created according to our designer’s sketches by outstanding glass artisans. The functional content of the house and all storage systems are designed to create a feeling of completely unfurnished space, where nothing distracts from the purity of lines and the beauty of proportions.

The exterior of the residence is an architectural statement in itself. How far did this inspire the design of the interior?

A good interior is always a consequence of high-quality architecture. The villa blends perfectly with the surrounding landscape and the design solutions correspond to the context of the place. Bionic forms present in façade design, inside the house turn into large-scale arches, the curved wall panels set up a unique plasticity of the space and create a feeling of perfectly smooth surface. The decorative effect is enhanced by Onyx Rainbow inlay of extraordinary colours and patterns, perceived as stunning pictures created by the nature itself. A mesmerizing Calcite Blue picked up as the main bathroom finishing material captivates the observer with the charm of its sugary tones that, on one hand, suggest the perception of ethereal beauty and, on the other, symbolise freshness and clarity. White colour, prevailing in the interiors, acts as a joint background, emphasizing the continuity of spaces.

When taking on a turnkey project, what is your approach to establishing a successful design scheme that achieves the client's vision/brief?

Our first responsibility and aim are to hear and understand the client properly. We do our best to ensure that our architectural or interior design concepts hit the customer’s wishes on the first try. This is a very ambitious goal, but there is no other way to start working on a complex, unique project.

Accurately hitting the client's wishes on the first try means that an invisible connection has been found, a person has been heard and understood, and understood not only at the conceptual level, but at the level of further interaction - we already know which project timeline to build, which team will be most effective in working on this project, which contractors will be able to meet the client's expectations, and much more.

How to achieve such an understanding from the first minutes? It is probably easier to answer how to be a human…

But there are simple ingredients: experience, good education, wide vision, and most importantly – passion for what you do.

Now that you’ve won an SBID Award, what are the next steps? Is there anything new you are excited to be working on?

Among new directions for the company’s development, we could highlight the sphere of hospitality. Our deep knowledge and many years of experience in private premium sector are highly demanded by hotel developers, allowing them to embody the principles of unique comfort and exclusivity in commercial hospitality projects.

Due to the change of travel conditions, that we are witnessing now, people’s requirements for a hotel are also changing, as they often have to spend more time there. So, new boutique hotels more often make use of the experience of bespoke residential construction, creating the most comfortable and thoughtful living conditions for their guests. And we are very pleased and excited to cooperate with developers in this industry.

What advice can you give to young designers starting out in the design industry?

Starting work with a potential Customer it is important to place the person in the centre stage, to hear and understand them. Therefore, in order to more accurately determine their concerns, interests, hobbies, favourite places and preferences, designers should listen to the Client more than talk about themselves.

Do not focus only on your ideas and sources of inspiration, always put the interests and wishes of the client first, and do not forget that the ideal interior is always created exactly for a specific customer and takes into account the smallest details, like a tailored suit, made exactly to measure.

Questions answered by Julia D. Lantieri, Founder and CEO and Vyacheslav Labzin, Architect and Creative Desirctor, ALTER EGO Project Group.

This week’s instalment of Project of the Week series features a luxurious villa design by 2021 SBID Awards Finalist, Todd Interior Design.

Residential space has always been a complex place because, according to our team's understanding, the family life is divided into three layers: one is material life, the other is spiritual life, and the third is soul life. Material life is food and clothing, spiritual life is academic literature and art, and soul life is religious belief.

Cantonese architecture and interior design take the Lingnan culture as the basis, and then refine the modern space language and integration techniques to create the rest of the design. Lingnan culture has been a window of communication between Chinese and Western civilizations since ancient times, and it has developed a school of its own. The so-called design style comes from the local culture, customs, characteristics and aesthetic standards. The furniture in the project is given priority to with coriaceous material and bright colours to make the space appear less depressing.

What was the client's brief? 

The owner of this villa told us that he wanted to achieve a calm and atmospheric interior design effect and use as many big brand furniture pieces as possible to increase the overall luxury feeling.

What inspired the design of the project?

The design inspiration comes from the traditional interior design favoured by aristocrats, which is inherited with modern elegant elements and forms the effect presented in this project.

What was the toughest hurdle your team overcame during the project?

During the implementation of the project, the biggest obstacle our design team encountered was the little time reserved for the project. We only had four months from the design approval to the project delivery. Fortunately, we did it.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

One of the highlights of the project is the collocation of many big brands of furniture, that brings the luxury of the interior space to the international luxury standards.

Why did you enter this project into the SBID Awards?

SBID Awards is a well-known international awards, and we are looking forward to participating in it. It is a great encouragement for our design team that our project has been listed as a Finalist.

Questions answered by Toni Wu, Creative Director, Todd Interior Design.

This month we're serving up the stylish interior inspirations from the SBID Awards 2019 finalists in the Show Flats & Developments category; from trendy residential apartments in the city to contemporary luxury villas abroad. As we look to upgrade tired interiors now we're spending so much more time at home, browse through these interior designs for award-worthy styling ideas.

Show Flats & Developments

Angel O'Donnell - Poland Street

19-20 Poland Street is a stunningly curated, warehouse-style development in the heart of Soho. The lovingly restored building is host to nine exceptional apartments on the upper floors and a ground floor restaurant. The design of the building created reams of light and heavenly rooftop terraces, together with revealing the original steel frame, exposed brickwork and stunning Crittall windows and doors for the ultimate New York-style loft living in the heart of London’s West End. Angel O’Donnell crafted a sensational show suite that reflected the building’s location and character. By maximising space, using bold colours and textures, the scheme delivered a wonderfully curious home, coupled with a tailored choice of books and objets, to create an end result that reflects the very epitome of life in Soho.

Beijing Serendipper Space Design - Royal Palace Xia Die

Royal Palace Xia Die is another demonstration of the designer's continuous concept of ecological protection as the whole design respects nature. By introducing the colour forest green and using colourful furniture as well as delicate artworks, the designer creates a breathing green garden that conducts a dialogue with nature. The whole design expresses a life attitude of ecological protection and reveals the pursuit of an ideal natural lifestyle.

The space features a Chinese and Western kitchen, an oriental-style tea room, and a delicate and elaborate fragrance-blending room, together they form a comfortable and flowing space, while at the same time depicting the pursuit of a high quality of life. Artwork adds intrigue to the space to provoke deep thinking and the exploration of lifestyles of the urban elite.

DA GROUP - Jingrui Providence Place Model Villa

DA Group was invited to design a model villa of the residential development Providence Place by Jingrui Real Estate Group. Situated in Ningbo, China, the project combines both functionality and aesthetics to present quality living. The designers applied minimalism to the interior design and created a dynamic and diversified spatial effect. The unique duplex space brings more privacy. With a modern and minimalist style, every inch of the space was fully utilised and optimised.

Elicyon - Chiltern Place Apartment

This unique and eclectic show apartment, located in one of London’s most prestigious postcodes, was created by Elicyon. A fresh, warm base palette is complemented with nude and blush tones, enhanced by bold patterns and bright accents of aqua, sky blue, peach and raspberry. A characterful collection of artwork and antiques, carefully selected by the Elicyon team and sourced from an array of antique fairs and galleries, elevates the scheme of the apartment.

Layered textures and finishes throughout the space, lend the apartment a distinctive look that’s enriched with personality, which is further complemented by wild and rustic floral arrangements that bring freshness and femininity to the scheme. Bespoke and made-to-order pieces were designed to maximise the space in the property and enabled the team to be explorative with interesting pattern and fabric that perfectly complemented the style of the home.

HONKY DESIGN - Petite Route de Campagne

HONKY DESIGN created a luxury, yet relaxed design aesthetic by introducing a mix of pared back, minimal furniture with bold art and textures. Combining a blend of soft textures, natural materials and bespoke elements created a refined feeling of luxury that is still family friendly.

Jeffrey Beers International - 108 Leonard

108 Leonard is an elegant landmarked condominium conversion located in Tribeca. Originally constructed in 1894, the McKim, Mead & White architectural masterpiece will house more than 150 condominium residences within the Italian Renaissance revival-style exterior, which was meticulously restored to its original glory. The ornamental majesty offers dramatic details of scale, proportion and volume paired with contemporary design by award-winning hospitality design firm Jeffrey Beers International.

World-renowned SLCE Architects was enlisted as the architect of record for the beloved landmark, which pays homage to a gilded bygone era. On the inside, JBI has designed a bright canvas of modern restraint, ready to adapt to homeowners’ individual lifestyles. Soaring ceiling heights ranging from approximately 10 feet to more than 14 feet, architectural windows and five-inch wide oak floors bring authentic European glamour to organically flowing layouts.

Rigby & Rigby - Project WC2B 130

Rigby & Rigby had the opportunity to develop and drive a full-scale revision of two contemporary residential apartments, one lateral and one duplex penthouse in the central thoroughfare of Covent Garden. The brief was to provide a design scheme, which accentuates the original features of the building with contemporary furniture and fittings. With close proximity to Covent Garden, the scheme captures the dynamic and vibrant atmosphere of its surroundings, while marrying with the traditional Edwardian architecture of its own, and its neighbouring buildings.

SWS GROUP - Shanghai Arch Showroom II

Located on the banks of Huangpu River, the project is developed by one of Hong Kong's largest real estate developers, Sun Hung Kai Properties. Situated in the core area of Lujiazui, the show flat overlooks the river and takes in the Pudong skyline and its shimmering city lights.

The 2020 edition of the SBID Awards is open for entries!

Entries close this Friday at 5pm (BST) on 14 August.

Visit sbidawards.com to enter now!