This week's instalment of the #SBIDinspire series features the striking interiors of the Berkshire Show Home created by Barclay Interiors. From concept to completion, the main objective for this space was to deliver a glamorous, unique and energised scheme whilst also achieving a fully functional environment within a fixed budget. Barclay Interiors layered colour, texture and interesting forms to create a smart yet unique interior. From pops of zesty orange to bespoke Eglomise wall art designed by Barclay Interiors themselves, it was their prerogative to deliver a smart yet interesting scheme that would make their development stand out from the many show homes in Berkshire. The intricacies such as upholstery studding and header selections for window treatments were just as vital as the overall continuity. In addition to achieving a refined aesthetic, it was imperative that the design was fully functional and not simply pleasant to observe. In line with this, all space planning ensured a comfortable traffic flow and all regulations were met.
Company: Barclay Interiors
Project: Berkshire Show Home
Project Location: Ascot, United Kingdom
What inspired the design of the Project?
As our client wanted a unique look, bespoke design and individuality within budget was both a huge inspiration and a great challenge. In the entrance hall, rather than specifying a print or an over-scaled mirror, we decided to design our own wall art. Through layering a selection of eglomisé mirrored trays, we created their own installation and therefore a unique stamp for first impressions. We also used some unique photography from the National Portrait gallery.
What was the toughest hurdle your team overcame during the project?
Typically, Barclay Interiors manage their projects from concept to completion. This of course includes managing all trades and contractors. For this project though, we worked alongside our client’s team so this dictated the time frame, which did slip slightly, which meant some juggling for us. However, it worked well.
What was your team’s highlight of the project?
It made us very happy to create an edgier show house with some 70s glamour. This was the first time we had worked with this client and, seeing how pleased they were with the end result, was fabulous. We are currently working with them on three further properties so it is definitely a huge sense of achievement completing a project that is slightly more challenging (in both style and budget) but where we are still able to bring a huge smile to our client’s face whilst establishing a lasting working relationship.
Why did you enter the SBID International Design Awards?
Actually, as this was the first time we had entered a competition, we decided to go big or go home, and chose the renowned SBID awards! We were so incredibly proud to be finalists - our budget must have been the smallest in our category so it goes to show what can be achieved! In reality, we felt it would be a great way to have our work recognised and to allow others to see what we offer as a practice. It has been a wonderful experience and we look forward to entering more in the future.
Questions answered by Sarah Barclay & Megan Loughborough of Barclay Interiors
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Barclay Interiors | SBID International Design Awards 2018
This week's instalment of the #SBIDinspire series features Orbi, Dubai an interactive visitor centre. Orbi was conceptualised to offer an amazing digital experience to its visitors and the entire space revolves around interactive technology. The space is designed for people of all generations and different walks of life to share the fascination with nature. Orbi Dubai fuses BBC Earth’s world-renowned Natural History content with SEGA’s innovation and plunges visitors into the heart of the natural world! From the heat of the Dubai desert, visitors can experience the chilling temperatures of Mount Kenya at -25°C. This multi-part experience takes the guest who dares, into freezing Polar environments where they experience the sensation of Antarctic cold and blizzard conditions. The space is equipped with real time thermal image of guests as they react to the freezing Polar conditions, all displayed on a monitor.
Company: Bluehaus Group
Project: Orbi
Project Location: Dubai, UAE
To create an interactive, multi-sensory and educational virtual wildlife park for people of all generations. BBC Earth’s world-leading nature content was teamed with SEGA’s cutting edge technology to plunge visitors into the heart of the natural world and Bluehaus Group were briefed to develop the interior design and MEP engineering design to suit and integrate all technology to create an experience that replicates the reality of being among nature. This technology includes laser projected images and videos, a sophisticated 22 point sound system with 3D soundscapes, scent technology, wind, fog, strobe lighting and vibrations.
Nature! All elements within the design were developed to emulate the natural environment as closely as possible. Furniture pieces, such as organic-shaped benches, and carpet designs were bespoke.
One of the toughest hurdles to solve was the air distribution such that it does not interfere with the effects (fog) and fire alarm such that neither life safety nor the audience experience is sacrificed. In the two main theatre (‘Meet the Komodo’ and ‘Earth Theatre’) we designed displacement ventilation to minimise air-movement from interfering with the fog effects.
Knowing that our work is helping to educate about the natural world and encouraging people to take ownership of it for future generations.
The end-result has far exceeded our own expectations and this is testament to the collaborative approach by all involved to deliver what is a highly complex and technical project. Therefore, we wanted to enter to reiterate how proud we are of our team who continue to commit to Bluehaus Group and to build awareness of this success on an international scale.
Questions answered by Emily Wong, Technical Design Manager at Bluehaus Group.
If you missed last week's Project of the Week with DAR Design's bold, equine themed luxury residential project in Egypt. click here to see more
Bluehaus Group| SBID International Design Awards 2018
This week's instalment of the #SBIDinspire series features the vibrant and enlivening luxury apartment in New Cairo which successfully integrates home automation technology with a sophisticated, contemporary design. We spoke to Eng. Mohamed El Abagy, The CEO & Co-founder of DAR Designs about this truly refreshing residential apartment design.
This luxury apartment in Egypt successfully integrates home automation technology with a sophisticated, modern design. Seeking to create harmony between the traditional and contemporary, the designer has given the apartment a high-end, luxury look while maintaining a connection with Arab culture through the display of local crafts throughout the interior. This residence also caters to the client’s active social lifestyle through an open plan space which includes the kitchen, guest living room, and dining room, all designed as one zone. To give the client privacy, the private area was also designed with its own exclusive family living room located between two bedrooms. The apartment also takes a huge step forward in terms of sustainability and energy efficiency, with its advanced home automation system designed to automatically shut off lighting and air conditioning when the occupants leave the room.
Company: DAR Designs
Project: Parkview Residence
Project Location: Cairo, Egypt
The client for this particular project is a young, open minded businessman who was obsessed with Arabian horses and enamoured with the yellow colour.
The clients passion for horses inspired us to play on this particular theme throughout our design process. The main design concept was to create a modern design with an Arabian touch to reflect his interests and personality beautifully.
The main challenge during this project was achieving optimum space management for all required spaces in this small area whilst preserving the need for privacy for residents during the design process. Creating the perfect mix of contemporary style blended with Arabian culture was also challenge as it was somewhat difficult to create without distortion.
The team's goal was to integrate home automation technology with a sophisticated, modern design. Seeking to create harmony between the traditional and contemporary, with a high-end, luxury look while maintaining a connection with Arab culture through the accessories whilst promoting sustainability and energy efficiency.
The SBID International Design Awards is a very reputable & honourable organisation and being celebrated as winners in our category is very beneficial and adding credibility and value to our leading Middle Eastern firm.
Questions answered by Eng. Mohamed El Abagy, CEO & Co-founder of DAR Designs
If you missed last week's Project of the Week with the truly incredible renovations of a Category A Listed building in the heart of Glasgow’s Park District by Bernard Interiors. click here to see more
DAR Designs | SBID International Design Awards 2018
This week's instalment of the #SBIDinspire series features the incredible renovations of a Category A Listed building in the heart of Glasgow’s Park District by Bernard Interiors.
This imposing five-storey sandstone townhouse, situated in one of Glasgow’s most sought after areas, majestically overlooks Kelvingrove Park with fantastic views across the city. The townhouse had lain derelict for over 5 years, once used as office space throughout the 90’s, and had fallen into disrepair. Bernard Interiors were challenged to create a contemporary design whilst also utilising the historic and period features which run throughout the building. Bernard Interiors worked alongside the developer for three years to win planning permission to convert the building back to a residential dwelling. The client brief was to create a stylish and inviting family home with a luxurious finish and an abundance of high-end details to ensure ultimate “wow factor.”
Company: Bernard Interiors
Project: Park Terrace
Project Location: Glasgow, United Kingdom
What was the client’s brief?
Bernard Interiors were challenged to create a design, which was contemporary yet sympathetic to the historic and period features which run throughout the building. The client brief was to transform a 9700 sq ft Grade A listed, derelict office building into a stylish, chic and inviting family home with a luxurious finish and an abundance of “wow factor” details.
Glamorous 70’s influences were high on the clients as agenda, and can be seen throughout the home with interesting touches such as chaise lounge fringed in silk, large scale lamps and photography by Slim Aarons.
Due to the scale and complexity of the Grade A Listed building, maintaining and restoring period features including oversized bespoke cornicing, ceiling roses and original fireplaces in line with a contemporary edge proved challenging
The team enjoyed working closely with the developer to commission a bespoke chandelier designed by George Singer. The chandelier cascades from the top of the stairwell to the ground floor, and features thousands of smoked glass Swarovski crystals creating maximum impact as soon as you enter the home, greatly enhancing the effect of the imposing staircase.
It is an internationally recognised award and we felt that our challenging project Park Terrace warranted recognition from this prestigious award body.
Questions answered by Jennifer Bernard, Managing Director at Bernard Interiors.
If you missed last week's Project of the Week with the truly majestic 'Whale Bar' designed by WOW Architects click here to see more
Bernard Interiors | SBID International Design Awards 2018
This week's instalment of the #SBIDinspire series features the breath-taking 'Whale Bar' designed by WOW Architects. We spoke to Wong Chiu Man (Founder and Managing Director) of WOW Architects about this extraordinary project, our overall winner of the SBID Awards 2017.
The Whale Bar’s iconic shape was inspired by the majestic whale shark. This imaginative yet elegant retreat is elevated by light oak interiors and a softly lit neutral palette. The use of fish scale inspired timber shingles around the kitchen and smooth iridescent stucco inside the “body” of the whale emphasises the marine iconography that is unmistakable. The team endeavoured to make as many aspects of the project as sustainable as possible, up-cycling and recycling wherever appropriate, focusing their attentions on highlighting the fragility of the surrounding environment within their design in the hope that this would motivate guests to contemplate the creation of a responsible future for the next generations.
Company: WOW Architects | Warner Wong Design
Project: THE WHALE BAR
Project Location: St Regis Resort Vommuli Island, Maldives
The clients desire was to create a resort destination that would standout from the existing resorts in the Maldives and be commercially successful. After much research and discussion, the components of the brief were decided upon, the master plan designed and construction started. Upon appointing the St Regis as the operator, the brief was evolved further and refined, and improvements were made to fully achieve the brand’s potential, and the clients vision for a leading resort hotel.
After visiting many resorts in the Maldives, we understood the evolution of resort design throughout the last twenty years. The latest and best resorts had a strong ecological aspect but still stayed within the realm of design inspirations from the human perspective. We saw an opportunity to create even more eco awareness and draw inspirations directly from nature itself, and to pointedly draw attention through our design to the fragility of atoll and marine habitats in particular. Thus, the design evolved through our inspirations and observations on atoll ecology and marine biology. We hope that the design will uplift and motivate our guests in creating a responsible future for the next generations.
Building sensitively with minimal waste and consideration for protecting the islands ecology was by far the biggest challenge. Efficiency and speed minimises waste and the logistic and carbon footprint on the Maldives and resources we needed. Despite using all forms of prefabrication and eco friendly materials, up-cycling and recycling, the longer the construction time is, the larger the waste footprint. Our challenge on a daily basis was to find affordable and intelligent solutions to minimise the waste while achieving a high standard of construction and finish.
We had many highlights over 4 years. From the beauty of the sunsets to the drama of the storms, and the pleasure of seeing and preserving the island and the marine life around us.
However, an unexpected reward was how we were able to connect with the villagers from the neighbouring islands by offering them employment and gaining their trust and respect. They were instrumental in minimising waste because they up-cycled many leftover building materials and packaging materials into their villages and our project actually improved the villagers lives. This was truly sustainability in practice.
We hoped to gain recognition for a project very close to our hearts and wished that by winning an SBID award, we could not only celebrate the design, but tell the meaningful stories that made the design possible. For receiving the overall winners award, we are extremely proud and grateful, but also humbled by the quality of the other winners.
Questions answered by Wong Chiu Man (Founder and Managing Director) WOW Architects.
If you missed last week's Project of the Week with Orkun Indere's winter wonderland 'Log House Extension' click here to see more
WOW Architects | SBID International Design Awards 2017
2018 copyright WOW Architects | Warner Wong Design
This week's instalment of the #SBIDinspire series features the magical 'Log House Extension' by Orkun Indere Interiors. Located in Kazan, this project features all the seasonal cheer you'd expect from a stunning 'chalet' in the wintertime. Decked with Christmas decorations and high end interiors, this project is the epitome of festive opulence.
The extension was created to expand on this family home to meet the families growing needs. Conventional log house patterns around the location and separate building blocks were designed to emphasise the warm & cosy “chalet” feeling. Every single-functioning building block is connected by hallways. All the new buildings are made of timber and constructed with special joinery techniques which forgo the use of screws and bolts. The new main space is to be used as a living room, while also functioning as a flamboyant area to welcome guests. In contrast to the traditional log house aesthetic this area has a very high ceiling profile.
SBID had the opportunity to speak with Orkun Indere, Founder & Designer of Orkun Indere Interiors about this magical project.
Company: Orkun Indere Interiors
Project: Log House Extension
Project Location: Kazan, Russian Federation
The idea of adding an extension started with the need for more space. The existing building didn't meet the client’s needs as the whole family (of five) was about to move into the house. The existing building was quite small in relation to its mass. The vernacular architecture of the district which consisted of highly inclined roofing was diminishing the beneficial use of interior areas.
With a new life beginning, the client required a bigger en-suite bedroom, three rooms, one for each child, a bigger area for the walk in closet, a proper entrance to the building (the building entrance was not suitable due to its mass and the connection to the living room was not suitable for the guests), a proper dining room and a stunning reception room. We decided to extend the existing building, adding a new area to be connected to the previous. After this change the whole complex would be seen as one chain of buildings.
The design emphasises every single room as a building block thus maximising the perception of space in every room. The joint points of short hallways which connect the buildings together, give an extra spacious feeling to every new room you step into.
The new layout also affected the existing building as a part of the new chain. After resolving the facilities of dining room, reception room and entrance hall in the new extended blocks, the existing building then turned out to be the intimate and most private part for the family. The new blocks were for welcoming the guests, entertaining and organising special events for celebrations so that the existing building could be used for the private, everyday life of the family.
The toughest hurdle was to connect the two existing buildings (the main house and barbecue house) and constructing new buildings in between them, so that the position, angle and distance between existing buildings was a big reference for the shape of the final design. Firstly we positioned the new reception room building with an area of 9 x 8 metres, we had to connect them one by one to the existing building. There planned three main blocks approaching to the existing house; reception room, entrance space and joint block which includes the staircase around a preserved tree existing on the land. We chose the side façade of the existing building (the kitchen façade also including an exit to the land) for the joint point of new blocks.
The plan layout and shape of each single block, derived from the positions of the buildings as came out of the joint angles. As many different blocks had to join each other properly we wanted to use the biggest block (reception room) as the conjunction unit, so the first idea was to design it in an octagonal shape to use some façades to connect to other blocks.
For this project there were a variety of of highlights. One of my favourite aspects of this project includes the height of the rooftop of the main building block used as the living room, it was 8,5 meters high inside the building, supported with a mesh of beams to keep the huge block stable. Stunning!
Another highlight was the preservation of an existing tree so at the time of snow in winter you can have a well snowed tree inside the house right in the middle of the staircase.
SBID is an internationally known professional body registered in the UK to accredit professionals in interior design, to be accredited by SBID is a great opportunity to spread our design approach and projects to an international platform. That’s why I wanted to enter and be chosen by SBID.
Questions answered by Orkun Indere, Founder & Designer of Orkun Indere Interiors.
If you missed last week's Project of the Week with HBA's outstanding Ultima click here to see more
Orkun Indere Interiors | SBID International Design Awards 2017
This week’s instalment of the #SBIDinspire interior design series features Goddard Littlefair’s healthcare design project that uses modern aesthetics to create a true sense of wellbeing.
One Stop Doctors is a boundary-changing health and wellness clinic, which sets a new standard of excellence in the private healthcare sector and offers patients on-demand medical expertise, along with outpatient diagnostics, physiotherapy, dentistry and aesthetics. This is all available within a ‘one stop’ clinic, available from early morning to late evenings and weekends to fit with patients’ busy working lives. The brief was to create an environment that embodied the instant premium touch-points patients might expect from a high-end service environment, while communicating the calm, soothing and welcoming feel of an obviously patient-centric experience, so that there is as little stress as possible at every stage of the patient journey. The design emphasis maximises the contribution of the environment towards promoting a sense of wellbeing and creating confidence in the clinical excellence patients will experience.
SBID had the opportunity to speak with Martin Goddard, Director & Co-Founder at Goddard Littlefair.
Company: Goddard Littlefair
Project: One Stop Doctors
Project Location: London, United Kingdom
The brief was to create an environment that embodied the instant premium touch-points you’d expect from a high-end service environment, whilst communicating the calm, soothing and welcoming feel of an obviously patient-centric experience, so there’d be as little stress as possible at every stage of the patient journey. The client was very keen to pull on our experience of premium spa and wellness centre design to achieve this.
‘We were not looking for the usual clinical healthcare design, but wanted a designer who could share our vision for creating an ambience that was relaxed, reassuring and tranquil, very comfortable and also aesthetically beautiful, but which still felt professional and reassuring to patients, so they know they are in the best possible care.’ - One Stop Doctors CEO, Ella Tracey
What inspired the design of the project?
We began the project by researching the private sector healthcare market in terms of look and feel and found that most clinics so far had followed the American model, with a very cool and clinical treatment throughout. We wanted our emphasis to be different and for patients to experience a much higher level of design values, maximising the contribution of the environment towards creating a sense of well-being and confidence in the clinical excellence they’re going to encounter.
Then it was all about the idea of a journey, with seamless transitional environments helping the patient to progress through the spaces, decompressing them to be ready for the clinical areas. For example, the welcoming entry lobby area is more akin to a hotel or spa reception and features a sophisticated design treatment using art, texture and drama to give a real sense of arrival. The mood is welcoming and warm with respect for the architecture and full advantage taken of the natural light coming in from the courtyard. Semi-private areas beyond such as waiting areas or corridors feature a natural palette with softer colours, whilst the private areas – the consultation, treatment, dentistry and scanning rooms - also have a lighter palette. This series of colour transitions subliminally signals the patient’s movement from the welcome of arrival to a cooler feel for consultation and cooler feel still for clinical treatments.
Working with healthcare specification requirements and trying to integrate the medical equipment and required medical materials so they would not look too rigid, but at the same time maintained the high level of professionalism on offer.
There were two really. One was the pleasure of introducing art into the scheme using natural shapes and textures, so that the striking art pieces are properly integrated into the design. The second one was some time after the end of the project and finding out how well staff and patients were reacting to the space:
‘We are absolutely delighted with the finished product. Staff, visitors and patients alike are so impressed with the elegance of the design and the attention to detail, but also appreciate the feeling of warmth and comfort that it creates.’ - One Stop Doctors CEO, Ella Tracey
As well as naturally respecting the industry standing of the SBID, it’s also a real pleasure to have your designs recognised and admired by your peers.
Questions answered by Martin Goddard, Director & Co-Founder at Goddard Littlefair.
If you missed last week's Project of the Week with G-Art Design for the Shanghai Zhihui CIFI Square Modeling Finance Office, click here to see more
Entries to the SBID Awards 2017 are now closed. To find out more about booking a table, click here
Goddard Littlefair | SBID International Design Awards 2017
This week's instalment of the #SBIDinspire interior design series features the prodigious and monumentally ambitious project of introducing the Robinsons department store to one of the most alluring cities of the Middle East and distinguished shopping destinations of the United Arab Emirates.
Iconic Singapore department store Robinsons made its debut in the Middle East in Spring 2017 with the launch of a spectacular 200,000 square foot store at Dubai Festival City —the first of a collection of stores to follow in the GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council). HMKM drew inspiration from Robinsons’ roots — in particular, from Singapore’s lush terrain and contemporary architecture. That dynamic runs through every aspect of the design, starting with dramatic facades which blend vertical gardens by renowned French botanist Patrick Blanc, animated screens and interlacing lines of timber and polished brass. Built around a series of spectacular hero experiences, the store’s design creates a distinctive new identity for Robinsons in the Middle East, celebrating its rich Singaporean heritage while looking firmly to the future.
Company: HMKM
Project: Robinsons
Project Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates
To create a store of inspirations! The aim was to build the largest department store in the region, at 200,000 sqft. with 600 local, regional and international brands. The first of a collection of stores to follow in the GCC. Robinsons was to offer three magnificent floors of contemporary and designer fashion, food, art and culture experiences. From 90 exclusive brands to a number of multi-tiered premium services, guests will delight in an immersive journey making each visit more enchanting than the last. Almost 160 years after it was first established, iconic Singapore department store Robinsons will arrive in the Middle East with the launch of a spectacular store of inspiration at Dubai Festival City.
HMKM’s vision draws its inspiration from Robinsons’ roots — in particular, from Singapore’s blend of green landscapes and edgy contemporary architecture — to produce a scheme founded on the notion of a future landscape. That dynamic runs through every aspect of the design, starting with a series of dramatic external and internal facades which blend large-scale animated screens with sinuous, interlacing lines of timber, bronze anodised aluminium and polished brass, alongside the large-scale vertical garden walls and columns by world renowned visionary botanist designer, Patrick Blanc. Throughout the interior, contemporary forms and digital elements are balanced with warm materials and lush planting.
How do you create a 200,000 sqft new department store in a unique and inspiring way? The answer was to employ a boutique design approach to the whole store design providing bespoke backdrops to the 600 brands, 90 of which are exclusive to Robinsons and including the first John Lewis to the region. A rich palette of materials and craftsmanship were employed throughout the store. For example in Menswear, the department is centred on a central pavilion defined by a slatted oak ceiling raft and fleshed out with herringbone leather panelled walls, end-grain oak flooring, warm lacquers and dark metal frames. In Beauty, the department presents a studio-style make-up zone framed in shimmering metal, centred under a bespoke geometric light installation and floored in honed Palissandro Classico and Kalliston marbles. Fragrance gets a softer feel, with rich marble and brass textures, soft Deco chandeliers and plush seating. In designing and planning the store, significant areas are dedicated to exceptional customer service including specialist tailoring suites for male and female local dress; bespoke printing, a cobbler, and personal shopping.
Realising the Boutique design to each of the category departments within a store of this size. Built around a series of spectacular hero experiences, its design creates an immediate, distinctive new identity for Robinsons within the Middle East, reflecting and celebrating its rich Singaporean heritage whilst looking ahead firmly to the future.
We are exceptionally proud to have been part of this well executed Robinsons store in the Middle East. The SBID awards, in particular the retail category, reflects the quality and prestige befitting this project.
Questions answered by Paul Digby, Creative Director at HMKM.
If you missed last week's Project of the Week with Portview Fit-Out for Harvey Nichols, Knightsbridge, click here to see more
HMKM | SBID International Design Awards 2017
This week's instalment of the #SBIDinspire interior design series features an insightful and gallery-esque re-imagination of interior design and visual merchandising for high-end retail spaces. Portview Fit-Out was assigned with the task of implementing the new flagship store design for Harvey Nichols in Knightsbridge.
Harvey Nichols is one of the world’s leading luxury retailers, renowned for its exclusive edit of the most prestigious brands across womenswear, menswear, accessories, beauty, food and wine. In 2015, an ambitious overhaul of the iconic flagship store in London’s Knightsbridge began with the Menswear department and in 2016, the Beauty department. Portview Fit-Out transformed the interior design of the two departments to enhance the overall shopping environment for style savvy, London shoppers. The Menswear department moved away from the traditional shop-in-shop format to become a collection of specialised boutiques where rooms are treated as a gallery of installations. The Beauty lounge features 221 brands and includes a fragrance space with a selection of over 75 scents.
Company: Portview, Universal Fit-Out Specialists
Project: Harvey Nichols, Knightsbridge
The brief was to turn tradition on its head and, quite literally, think outside the box by moving away from the typical “shop-in-shop” format that is more commonly associated with department stores. We then applied “controlled disruption” to create a space that is effortlessly innovative and alluring.
We worked closely with designers Virgile + Partners to bend the rules of modern design and deliver an awe-inspiring interior that is the absolute expression of contemporary luxury. From creating a collection of specialised boutiques in the two-storey Menswear department; where rooms are treated as a gallery of eclectic art installations, to the new open floor design in the Beauty Lounge; which nurtures ease and creativity in equal measure, we delivered an exceptional interior that has redefined the shopping experience.
A project of this size and scale is always met with challenges. In this case, two existing load-bearing walls measuring 600 millimetres wide needed to be removed using a jacking system to open the space up and create a sense of fluidity. This required installing a large steel frame to support the five storeys above, which proved to be a challenge due to the phased renovation of each section giving us very limited space to manoeuvre in. As always, we rose to the challenge to enable the successful completion of the interior design of this ambitious project on time.
For the menswear department, we loved applying the design principles of ‘controlled disruption’ to juxtapose traditional, luxury fabrics with more architectural, textured materials. This includes 5,200 egg cups, pebble dash, stained plywood in sculpted 3D patterns, brick slips, and slate roofing tiles, to create a sense of movement and add visual weight. Working with unconventional materials was a great experience and the completed look is exceptional.
We know that the design and fit-out of Harvey Nichols’ Menswear and Beauty Lounge departments in Knightsbridge is world class and it deserves to be recognised on a global scale. Projects that are shortlisted for the SBID International Design Awards are the best in the industry and often set the precedent for future design trends to follow. The new interior of Harvey Nichols, Knightsbridge, is no exception as it delivers a new hallmark in luxury department store design that has never been seen before. That’s why we entered the SBID International Design Awards and are delighted to be shortlisted.
Questions answered by Simon Campbell, Managing Director at Portview Fit-Out.
If you missed last week's Project of the Week with March & White for the Devonshire Club, click here to see more
Portview Fit-Out | SBID International Design Awards 2017
This week's instalment of the #SBIDinspire series features the dream-like Kanuhura Resort, an island retreat situated in Lhaviyani Atoll, the Maldives, a true paradise for free-spirited travellers.
Inspired by the concept of 'gypsy jet-setters' or 'gypsetters' a term coined by Muza Lab - the project focused on pulling inspiration from these two concepts. Combining the free-spirited lifestyle of 'gypsies' with the decadence and the spontaneity of 'the jet set-life.'
“We found inspiration in the legends, culture and natural world of the islands – their stories, colours and sculptural forms. By bringing these influences into the experience of Kanuhura, we have created a sense of free-spirited timelessness and well being where guests can escape from their normal lives and find a place to create their own special memories with family and friends.” Inge Moore
Muza Lab completely redesigned and reimagined the private island resort breathing new life and spirit into the holiday retreat.
“The concept of luxury is changing,” says Moore. “Luxury is now about what you get to feel inside rather than what you have to show off. As designers, this means it’s our thought process that sparks these feelings, and that really excites me. So with Kanuhura, we loved translating the values that bring happiness to sophisticated, well-travelled ‘gypsetters’ into experiences designed to elevate their sophisticated, free-spirited souls.”
SBID had the opportunity to speak with Inge Moore, Founder of Muza Lab about this spectacular project.
Company: Muza Lab
Project: Kanuhura Resort, Maldives
Project Location: The Maldives
We were presented with the opportunity to redesign every existing area of Kanuhura Maldives as well as to introduce new spaces, working from the big picture though to every minor detail, from creating larger guestrooms and renovating the F&B outlets, to amenities such as crockery, picnic baskets and uniform collections for the staff.
We wanted to create something different from the usual luxury hotel offering in the Maldives, something that was bohemian, colourful and laid-back. Our inspiration for this was the word “gypset” – describing a lifestyle that combines the unconventionality of the gypsy with the sophistication and speed of the jetsetter.
We always like to tell stories through our design and, in this case, we were spoilt for choice! Extraordinary legends, fascinating cultural traditions and the stunning natural world of the islands gave us so many ideas that we could weave together, taking their forms and palette into different spaces and bringing them to life with an authentic sense of place.
The inspiration for the arrival area, for example, is the black and white sarong of the local Boduberu performers who showcase tales of heroism, satire and romance. The island kitchen A Mano, which translates as “touched by the hand”, embraces all that is handmade and natural, with lime washed timbers, local stones, woven fabrics and eclectic handmade ceramics. In Bottega Italian Restaurant & Wine Bar, fiery reds and corals mingle with sandy pinks, yellows and bright blues in a celebration of the colours of the Indian Ocean.
With the guestrooms & suites, we wanted to showcase the phenomenal panoramas, whilst bringing elements of the landscape into the design through material and colour choice. The Palm Houses take their palette from the surrounding palm trees and their position on the beach means that they benefit from uninterrupted views towards the ocean. The Shell Houses are raised over the Indian Ocean with exteriors inspired by the traditional local dwellings. Each of their outdoor courtyards has a bath so that guests can bathe under the stars whilst the terraces feature nets with large fluffy cushions suspended over the turquoise water, allowing sophisticated castaways a very private and luxurious connection with nature.
As the resort is so remote, the logistics of getting all the materials and products we needed on site was probably the toughest hurdle. We also had to bear the humid climate in mind when making each design choice. Everything used needed to be hard-wearing to combat the sun, sea and tropical rain, yet also beautiful. Striking the balance between the two was imperative to create a luxury oasis that could stand the test of time.
The best thing about the project was actually the same as what we found hardest – the location. It was such a fabulous place to work and whilst it could be a hassle, it was worth it.
SBID International Design Awards are widely considered to be one of the top schemes in the industry. It is important for us to compete against leading studios worldwide and the calibre of projects entered is always high.
Questions answered by Inge Moore, Founder of Muza Lab
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Muza Lab | SBID International Design Awards 2017
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