Interviews

Subterms

    More stories

    • 163 Shares109 Views

      in Rooms

      Hotel guests not ready to pay more for sustainability says Conscious Hotels CEO

      by

      Only “hardcore sustainable” customers are currently willing to pay extra for eco-conscious hotels, according to Marco Lemmers, CEO of hospitality company Conscious Hotels.

      Lemmers predicts that hotel guests will be prepared to pay more for sustainability in the future, but it will be “a few years from now”.
      “I think people will be prepared to pay more for a sustainable solution,” he told Dezeen.
      “We’re not there yet, because the hotel business is still quite price-sensitive. You have to be hardcore sustainable to want to pay €10 euros extra for a sustainable stay. But slowly it’s moving in that direction.”
      Marco Lemmers is CEO of Conscious Hotels. Main image: the all-electric Westerpark venue is one of four Conscious Hotels in AmsterdamLemmers, who founded Conscious Hotels in 2009, spoke to Dezeen during The Lobby hospitality design conference in Copenhagen in August.

      Conscious Hotels has four properties in Amsterdam. These hotels have eco-friendly policies in place for all of their operations, including interior fit-out, energy and water use, food and drink, and cleaning processes.
      According to Lemmers, the company’s sustainability ethos has enabled it to build a loyal customer base.
      “We’re the most sustainable option in Amsterdam, so we see a lot of returning guests” he said.
      [embedded content]
      The brand’s mantra is “eco-sexy, big smiles”
      However this alone is not enough to make the business thrive, Lemmers explained. Conscious Hotels aims to be competitive in terms of design and cost, so it can also attract non-eco-minded customers.
      “The only way to make change is to seduce people,” he said.
      “We have our sustainable planet promises but we also have to make it sexy. Sexy is about having beautiful places, beautiful food and drink, and beautiful people.”

      Bompas & Parr creates “world’s first” vegan hotel suite

      Looking forward, Lemmers predicts that changes in legislation will soon give eco-minded hotels a competitive advantage over rivals.
      He believes that hotel owners in Europe will soon be legally obligated to meet much stricter rules on the sustainability of their buildings and operations.
      “We’ve already seen it happen in the Netherlands with offices and the same will happen with hotels,” he stated.
      “Even if you don’t believe in sustainability, do a SWOT analysis in the next business planning cycle and see the threat.”
      The Tire Station of one of two Conscious Hotels with its own source of solar powerThe CEO says that hotels lagging behind need to urgently rethink their approach, or risk playing catchup.
      “There’s an opportunity now – if you have sustainability in order, you have a competitive advantage,” he said. “Pretty soon legislation will push you to go there anyway, and there’s usually not a lot to be gained by being one of the last movers.”
      Conscious Hotels implements a number of guidelines in order to reduce its environmental impact.
      All the materials used for hotel fit-out are either natural products with cradle-to-cradle certification, or they are recycled or second-hand.
      Interiors only use materials that are recycled, second-hand or certified cradle-to-cradleConscious Hotel Westerpark is 100 per cent electric-powered, with most of its energy supplied by the brand’s own windmill, while two of the other hotels generate energy from rooftop solar panels.
      Restaurants serve organic food, with more than 50 per cent vegan or vegetarian dishes, and almost all produce is sourced from local suppliers.
      Other initiatives include green walls, passive heating and cooling systems, organic cleaning products, water-saving showerheads and faucets, refillable toiletries and waste separation.
      All food and drink is sourced from local suppliersWhile Lemmers acknowledges that some of these initiatives require time and investment, particularly for large hotel chains, he claims that others are easy to implement.
      He believes that all hotels could easily take at least one step towards improving their sustainability credentials.
      “Start with the operation; you can do it today,” he said. “Just procure stuff that’s local instead of having it come from the other side of the world.”
      “FF & E (furniture, fixtures and equipment) comes slightly later, but you have to invest in that every seven years anyway, to maintain and renew.”
      Conscious Hotels currently has 318 rooms across its four Amsterdam hotels, although the brand plans to increase this to 1,500 as part of a Europe-wide expansion.

      Read more: More

    • 175 Shares199 Views

      in Rooms

      “No one wants a sea of desks anymore” says WeWork's global head of design

      by

      WeWork is designing a more grown-up form of co-working, says global head of design Ebbie Wisecarver, as the brand reacts to the pandemic and puts greater focus on large enterprise clients.

      Wisecarver told Dezeen that the workspace provider, which has 756 locations in 38 countries, is moving away from the traditional co-working model in response to the changing demands of its clients.
      “A lot of our older spaces had a sea of desks and no one wants that anymore,” she said.
      Ebbie Wisecarver is global head of design for WeWorkWeWork’s current workplace model is more centred around flexibility and collaboration, with a wide variety of meeting spaces, more lounge-style seating and different types of lighting.
      “In some of our larger offices we might have had 10 per cent soft seating or collaboration-type furniture, and now it’s moving upward of 50 per cent,” Wisecarver explained.

      “The reality is, as we’re moving forward, everyone’s grabbing at the solution for the post-pandemic workstyle. What we’re trying to do is offer space that can transform based on different needs.”
      An alternative to corporate headquarters
      This change of approach has been partly fuelled by Covid-19, which has ushered in a new working culture that involves more remote working and virtual meetings.
      However it also reflects the changing business model of WeWork, which launched as a start-up in 2010 and enjoyed a decade of major investment and rapid expansion before suffering near-collapse after a failed IPO bid in 2019.
      WeWork’s new London properties at St Helen’s Place (pictured) and 10 York Road (main image) offer various spaces for collaborationIn the early years, WeWork’s primary focus was on providing desk space for small-scale entrepreneurs. More recently, it has shifted towards serving larger businesses and organisations.
      In 2019, large enterprises (LEs) represented approximately 40 per cent of WeWork’s clients, but today it’s closer to 50 per cent and likely to continue growing.
      WeWork offers these companies an attractive package; instead of having to maintain a corporate headquarters, they can rent a state-of-the-art space in a prime location, then equip their staff with All Access membership passes that give them access to any other WeWork around the world.
      WeWork’s has significantly increased the volume of soft seating at its properties. Pictured here is 6001 Cass Ave in DetroitWisecarver names British electronics retailer Currys – which recently moved its headquarters to the WeWork at 10 York Road, next to London Waterloo station – as an example.
      “They have a central hub where everyone can get together and collaborate, but they can also go and meet up in different satellite offices,” she said.
      “I think that’s definitely what companies are gravitating towards.”
      A new design approach
      In designs terms, this has led WeWork to adopt a more neutral and grown-up aesthetic, departing from the playful and youthful style that defined its workspaces in the past.
      “While a co-working member might like the liveliness, enterprise members often want a different feel. They might something more formal, or spaces that can be more easily branded,” said Wisecarver.
      WeWork has developed a catalogue of design palettes to offer its large enterprise clients. Pictured here is Friedrichstraße 76 in BerlinA trained architect, Wisecarver previously worked at Steven Holl Architects and Diller Scofidio + Renfro before joining WeWork in 2015. She was appointed global head of design in 2019.
      Under her steer, WeWork has developed a catalogue of design palettes that it can offer to LE clients – with names like New York Loft and By The Sea – to help them create spaces that feel appropriate for their brand.

      Co-working venture Patch offers “an exciting alternative to your kitchen table” says Paloma Strelitz

      It has also created a template called Collaboration Hub, which is geared towards companies whose staff primarily work from home and only need to come into the office for teamwork activities.
      “As we go through the pandemic, it has been a question of how our spaces can continue to be a destination,” she said. “How can our members feel like they’re coming in with purpose, and that they have a level of flexibility?”
      Read on for the full interview:
      Amy Frearson: What is WeWork’s design strategy?
      Ebbie Wisecarver: WeWork has always been about creating a homey, comfortable environment. That can mean many things, but what we want to create is a high performance space. We want good acoustics and quality space, we want the materials to be soft and inviting, with plants and art, and we want to create a wow factor.
      Amy Frearson: How to you achieve that?
      Ebbie Wisecarver: You don’t only create comfort through the materials, but also through different types of space. We try to capitalise on flexibility. We know that some people want to be able to work in one space but be able to hop into a phone booth to have a private conversation. And they might not want to be there all the time. People need to know that there are various space types for them to work in and that the choice is on them. It’s a new way of working for a lot of people and I have certainly seen that in China and Japan, where the work culture is quite different.
      Staircases are often designed as social spaces, like at Plaza Real Cariari in San JoséAmy Frearson: Do you have a formula that you apply to every location or do you create bespoke designs for every space?
      Ebbie Wisecarver: We have a very clear set of standards for our office spaces, meeting rooms and even phone rooms. A lot of it is around lighting, power, data; we need to make sure the spaces function. We’re able to be more bespoke in our common areas, and draw from the building and neighbourhood. We want a member to walk into a space and understand it’s a WeWork, but not feel that it’s a replica of another WeWork.
      Amy Frearson: What is your process for ensuring you don’t simply replicate what you’ve done elsewhere?
      Ebbie Wisecarver: We make sure we do our due diligence when we walk into new buildings. If it’s an older building that has character, we make sure we draw from that. It’s also about adding in unique spaces that we don’t have anywhere else. And while our meeting rooms are very much the same, they might have a different look and feel.
      Amy Frearson: Do you apply the same approach to the furniture you select?
      Ebbie Wisecarver: We have standardised sizes with furniture, to make sure they function well. So we do repeat a lot of our meeting room tables, desks and chairs. We want to make sure the tables have integrated power and that we have certain types of chairs and sofas. Where we try to have more fun is with the accessories, the textiles and the feature elements. Like in Japan we designed a kotatsu that is very unique to that country and it’s fun, but I don’t think it would fit anywhere else. It’s about letting that local flavour come through special elements.
      An in-house lighting team ensure lighting levels are appropriate for workingAmy Frearson: How does this design approach compare with the early days of WeWork, before the pandemic and before the failed IPO in 2019?
      Ebbie Wisecarver Early on, WeWork was very much focused on small-scale entrepreneurs wanting desks and the spaces were really designed around that. The early concepts from Miguel and Adam were using a lot of glass, having transparency so that you would run into people and be able to spark up conversations. But the original WeWorks didn’t have the amenities, so from a design perspective some of the older spaces were a bit moody. We also tried some things that didn’t necessarily work out; there was a phase when there was a lot of layering and materials, and some of that stuff hasn’t really held up.
      In and around the IPO, we started thinking more about how our design decisions can be driven by data. We wanted to ensure that spaces were sufficient, and that the new spaces we were designing and building were actually what members needed. Being able to pull data from a specific neighbourhood or market meant we could build the right product instead of just guessing.
      From an aesthetic standpoint, this led to our spaces becoming much lighter and brighter. Our original locations probably didn’t have the appropriate lighting for an office. Now we have an in-house lighting team who really focus on elevating and layering the light, which wasn’t a big part of our design in the beginning. We make sure spaces feel light and fresh, with that more Scandinavian feel.
      Now we’ve moved on from the IPO, our growth has become less focused on co-working and more about serving large enterprise clients, who want something very different. While a co-working member might like the liveliness, enterprise members often want a different feel. They might something more formal, or spaces that can be more easily branded. We’ve done a lot of these single-member full floors.
      All Access members can work in any WeWork worldwide. Pictured here is Salesforce Tower in San FranciscoAmy Frearson: So a lot of the design shifts have been fuelled by this shift towards more larger enterprise clients?
      Ebbie Wisecarver Yes, it was almost like we were having to meet the needs of a new member type, which became an interesting challenge. They wanted to design spaces in their own way but they needed some guidance and strategy. We actually developed a series of palettes – we have By The Sea, Modern Executive, New York Loft, and so on – so that when they came to us, we actually could give them options to design their space in a way that made them feel like it was theirs.
      Amy Frearson: How has the pandemic influenced this approach?
      Ebbie Wisecarver As we go through the pandemic, it has been a question of how our spaces can continue to be a destination. How can our members feel like they’re coming in with purpose, and that they have a level of flexibility?
      A lot of our older spaces had a sea of desks and no one wants that anymore. No one is coming back to sit in a giant room with a bunch of desks. That has been one of the biggest shifts. In some of our larger offices we might have had 10 per cent soft seating or collaboration-type furniture, and now it’s moving upward of 50 per cent. We have some great examples of members that have taken regular office space and we have transformed it into this thing that we’re calling the collaboration hub. The reality is, as we’re moving forward, everyone’s grabbing at the solution for the post-pandemic workstyle. What we’re trying to do is offer space that can transform based on different needs.
      We’ve also introduced All Access membership, which means we’re bringing members into other locations. They might be only coming in for two hours, so we have to think about that from a design perspective. How are we improving our wayfinding? Are we providing them appropriate areas with power and comfortable seating?
      WeWork has 756 locations in 38 countries. Pictured here is 4 Rue Jules Lefebvre in ParisAmy Frearson: What other design shifts have you made since the pandemic?
      Ebbie Wisecarver: There was a period of time where everyone was saying, ‘no one’s going back to the office’. So our first priority was really making our spaces safe. That didn’t just mean sanitiser and fresh air, but also looking at our HR systems and ensuring that we had protocols and rules.
      What we also started to see, when our sales team would go out and meet clients, was that it would no longer just be their head of real estate or their CFO. All of a sudden their head of HR or head of talent was joining them. It became less about efficiency and packing people in, and more about providing space, amenities and strategy. That’s where we started to see our advantage. We have such a big footprint but also the flexibility at a portfolio level. We’re able to look at commute time and potentially set up offices in a way that that is more convenient for their people.
      We started strategising with a lot of different companies about why people come in to the office. It didn’t have to be about head-down work – that could be done at home, or at a local WeWork. But you do need to come in for training and mentoring, and for team events. A lot of ideas came out of that, in terms of flexible space. Could prefab rooms become an option? Can we leverage different furniture types? That helped us think about how we could repurpose some of our offices to be these kind of touchdowns for companies, then pair them with All Access or On Demand memberships to give staff the flexibility they need. We want people to come in with purpose and meaning, and to feel energised.
      Amy Frearson: Since the pandemic, it seems that more co-working spaces are being created in residential areas than before. Has your strategy for choosing locations shifted at all?
      Ebbie Wisecarver: It hasn’t really changed. We have thought about the suburban market as a possibility but we still see our strength as being in core cities, in busy locations that are accessible by train.
      What’s interesting about having large global enterprise clients is that they often help us make these decisions. We had an enterprise client get in touch to ask if we had a space in Lisbon, which we didn’t, so we’re now working with them to open a space there. In the past we were growing at such an aggressive pace that, in a lot of ways, it was just numbers. Now, as we get back into growth, we’re being a little bit more organic and allowing our members to drive that.
      WeWork’s ambition is to be as convenient to its members as possible. Pictured here is Wynwood Garage in MiamiAmy Frearson: Can you give any other examples of enterprise clients that have informed your strategy?
      Ebbie Wisecarver: A great example is Currys. They left their headquarters in Acton and took a whole floor in 10 York Road, then equipped their whole corporate workforce with All Access passes, which give them access to any WeWork in the world. They have a central hub where everyone can get together and collaborate, but they can also go and meet up in different satellite offices. I think that’s definitely what companies are gravitating towards.
      Amy Frearson: What’s next for WeWork? What are you ambitions for the future?
      Ebbie Wisecarver: Growth is in our future and part of our strategy for growth is through acquisition. We recently acquired Common Desk, which is a small co-working company that originated in Texas. Common Desk is an amazing company that has beautiful spaces and has built a following that is uniquely theirs. We’re not trying to take over, we want them to still be Common Desk. Our objective is simply to be as in as many places and as convenient to our members as possible.
      The photography is courtesy of WeWork.

      Read more: More

    • 175 Shares179 Views

      in Rooms

      Co-working venture Patch offers “an exciting alternative to your kitchen table” says Paloma Strelitz

      by

      Co-working spaces that allow people to “work near home” can reinvigorate local towns and high streets, explains Paloma Strelitz of new workspace brand Patch in this interview.

      Previously a co-founder of Turner Prize-winning architecture collective Assemble, architect Strelitz is now creative director and head of product for Patch, which is creating co-working spaces in satellite towns rather than in city centre locations.
      Patch hopes to attract people who, since the pandemic, are re-evaluating their work-life balance and are less willing to commute.
      Paloma Strelitz is creative director and head of product for Patch. Photo is by Philipp Ebeling”I think there has been a big shift in what people want from work and life through Covid, with people reevaluating their career paths and deciding that now is the time to set up on their own,” said Strelitz.
      The architect, who is also a judge for Dezeen Awards 2022, believes these workspaces can boost the local economies of towns and neighbourhoods in the commuter belt.

      Reinvention of the high street
      “There are huge opportunities around the reinvention of the high street,” she told Dezeen.
      “We want people to be on their local high streets in the middle of the day, supporting local businesses instead of spending their money in places like Canary Wharf.”

      Colourful shingles front Assemble’s Yardhouse studios for east London creatives

      Strelitz sees working near home as a superior option to both commuting and working from home, as it offers the best of both worlds. It means keeping home and work lives separate, but retaining the flexibility of remote working.
      “We’re saying to people, we are an exciting alternative to your kitchen table,” Strelitz said.
      Improved work-life balance
      “Your kitchen table might be great once or twice a week, but there are huge positives of being part of a community like Patch,” she continued.
      “At a personal level, it contributes to a better balance between work and life, enabling people to achieve their professional goals and spend more time with friends, family and in their local community.”
      Patch’s first venue is in Chelmsford, a satellite town in Essex. Photo is by Philipp EbelingPatch was founded by entrepreneur Freddie Fforde and recently opened its first co-working space in Chelmsford, a commuter town located 30 miles northeast of London in Essex.
      Occupying a converted Victorian brewery, it is designed as a visible presence in the town centre.
      As well as workspaces, the venue includes publicly accessible facilities that include a library and learning space, an events space and a flexible cafe/bar. There’s also a kid’s zone to make life easier for members with children.
      “Public access is important; it’s important to draw people in and make anything that’s shared as visible and celebrated as possible,” said Strelitz.
      Work near home trend
      According to Strelitz, towns like Chelmsford are typically lacking in the provision of high-quality, co-working spaces and cultural venues in the town centre.
      “The idea of having quality workspace and an exciting professional community on your local high street is not as common as you might think,” she said.
      Patch is based on the concept of “work near home” rather than commuting. Photo is by Philipp EbelingThe aim is for Patch Chelmsford to become a prototype for the work-near-home concept. The brand plans to open more venues in other satellite towns in the near future.
      “We’re looking towards the idea of there being a Patch on every high street; our aim is to become the new anchor of the high street,” she said.
      Workspace central to placemaking
      The design draws on Strelitz’s experience with Assemble, which saw her and colleagues create cultural venues that aimed to positively impact local communities.
      Projects like temporary canal-side cinema Folly for a Flyover and shared garden Granby Winter Garden broke the mould of how architects can impact placemaking.
      A rolling events programme supports local culture and enterprise. Photo is by Philipp EbelingShe believes Patch can be equally disruptive, especially as it has a greater ability to scale up than Assemble’s projects.
      “My projects with Assemble were effectively all independent commissions, but what we’re doing with Patch is really learning as we go along and evolving in response.”
      Read on for an edited transcript of the interview:
      Amy Frearson: What is the concept behind Patch?
      Paloma Strelitz: Patch is a startup with a vision to create the new ‘work near home’ world. That means going to towns and areas outside of central London, particularly places with big residential communities, where people would traditionally commute into the city. We create really exciting spaces on the high street so that people can work closer to home.
      Amy Frearson: Can you explain your vision for work near home, and the benefits it can bring?
      Paloma Strelitz: Work near home is a vision for a sustainable work ecosystem that gives people access to space, resources and community close to where they live. At a personal level, it contributes to a better balance between work and life, enabling people to achieve their professional goals and spend more time with friends, family and in their local community. It also promotes investment in local economies, from accessible work opportunities to increased footfall for local businesses and high streets. We want people to be on their local high streets in the middle of the day, supporting local businesses instead of spending their money in places like Canary Wharf.
      Amy Frearson: Aside from the economic benefits, what opportunities can Work from Home bring to local high streets?
      Paloma Strelitz: There are huge opportunities around the reinvention of the high street. Our aim is to find really characterful buildings and turn them into exciting places to work locally. They can also become dynamic, attractive spaces for hosting local cultural events.
      In our first space, in Chelmsford, the ground floor is a family of public spaces that includes a reception/library, a flexible events space and a cafe/bar space for the Patch community. In many ways, this is the prototype for how we see Patch and the work near home world growing. We’re looking towards the idea of there being a Patch on every high street; our aim is to become the new anchor of the high street. We’re looking towards the empty Debenhams buildings and asking, what could work near home look like if it was occupying a former department store? Could it become a more complex ecosystem of uses?
      Patch Chelmsford occupies a former brewery in the town centre. Photo is by Philipp EbelingAmy Frearson: How and why did you get involved in Patch?
      Paloma Strelitz: I had a brilliant and rewarding experience as a co-founder of Assemble; we worked on some highly bespoke, very meaningful one-off projects. People then started saying things to me like, when is Assemble going to design an airport? I always thought, I’m never going to design an airport. But I was interested in this idea of scale, specifically how you scale impact and reach.
      I was then awarded a Loeb fellowship at Harvard, which gave me an amazing opportunity to be immersed in different disciplinary environments and perspectives. It got me thinking about what happens when different kinds of professional worlds come together and how they can learn from each other.
      Then I met Freddie Fforde, the founder and CEO of Patch. I read his manifesto and thought it sounded exciting. It felt like a really interesting way to build on the experience I had from Assemble, of creating impactful cultural venues, and bringing in learnings from the startup and tech worlds to create something meaningful and community-driven.
      Amy Frearson: What is different about Patch, compared with other co-working spaces outside of London?
      Paloma Strelitz: There are a few things to say here. Firstly I think it is important to remember that, while there are a lot of co-working environments in London, that isn’t reflective of the rest of the UK. There obviously are exceptions, in other big cities like Manchester, or places like Brighton, but mostly it’s not the same picture. You have old-fashioned examples like Regis, normally located right next to the train station with the idea that you’d be wanting to leave that place as soon as possible. What you get a lot more rarely is the idea of the workspace and local industry as central to placemaking. In the places we’ve been looking at, none had good examples. The idea of having quality workspace and an exciting professional community on your local high street is not as common as you might think.
      Secondly, you get some very exciting dynamics when people are drawn together by the communities that they live in, rather than a shared work purpose. There are huge opportunities for collaborative projects or purposes, which is already how we’re seeing Patch used. There is a high intensity of local groups looking to, for example, promote women in business in Chelmsford, or to build on the area’s cultural vision.
      I think there’s also a third point around public access to cultural venues, which again is common in central London but not elsewhere. Chelmsford is a good example of a place where there are very few high quality, exciting cultural venues where people can come together and meet. There’s a real demand for interesting spaces for people to gather.
      A cafe/bar provides a venue for talks and events. Photo is by Georgia RandupAmy Frearson: What does this kind of workspace look like? How do you create spaces that foster local communities and collaboration?
      Paloma Strelitz: Public access is important. Most workspace environments are still fairly private unless you’re a paid-for member. It’s important to draw people in and make anything that’s shared as visible and celebrated as possible. You also have to think about what it means for people to work close to home and what needs they might have. What are their reasons for not wanting to commute? That list is long, but one example is proximity to family. So one thing we’re really keen to do is to support people who have families to have a better work/life balance. In our space in Chelmsford we’ve set up a kid’s corner, as we want the workspace to be a place where parents can bring their children and where children also feel welcome.
      Amy Frearson: What kind of buildings do you want Patch to occupy?
      Paloma Strelitz: We are looking for buildings that have a sense of civic value. Our Chelmsford space is in a former Victorian brewery right in the centre of town. It was previously a restaurant that went out of business, but the story of the building’s identity was not being told in that use. For us there’s a certain joy in being able to retell that story by sourcing archival images and original beer labels, and then physically opening up that space.
      We want to create venues that are enticing and exciting, particularly for people who are less used to co-working. We’re saying to people, we are an exciting alternative to your kitchen table. Your kitchen table might be great once or twice a week, but professionally and socially there are huge positives of being part of a community like Patch.
      Amy Frearson: Could the Patch model have existed before Covid-19, or do you see it as a direct response to the pandemic shift towards working from home?
      Paloma Strelitz: I think we’ve been on a long journey to this point and Covid just accelerated trends we were already seeing. But there are a huge number of moving parts here. There would always have been ambitious local SMEs (small and mid-size enterprises) looking for spaces to operate in, but now there are also huge numbers of people who would have traditionally commuted five days a week. Anecdotally, I think there has been a big shift in what people want from work and life through Covid, with people reevaluating their career paths and deciding that now is the time to set up on their own.
      A flexible events space can be used for a range of activities. Photo is by Philipp EbelingAmy Frearson: Patch’s approach is in contrast with established co-working brands like WeWork, who since the pandemic are prioritising high-density, city-centre locations. Could your approach be a risky one?
      Paloma Strelitz: We have a pluralistic viewpoint, which is to say there isn’t going to be one singular way that people are going to work. I think the future is hybrid. I do see the case for big, central hubs located close to major stations, where people might converge once or twice a week. But I don’t think that it’s going to be five days a week anymore, so for those people who work for large, centralised companies, what does the rest of their time look like? I think we’re going to have a number of new solutions, a mosaic of different workspace offerings. But while companies like WeWork are less interested in the local, we see our interests really aligned with local councils and ideas around decentralisation. We’re trying to counteract the endless pull of London.
      Amy Frearson: Are you planning to repeat certain elements in each Patch, or do you want each one to feel tailor-made for its location?
      Paloma Strelitz: We’re still working out the formula. One thing that we’re really interested in is how Patch can become a launchpad for local enterprise and new ideas, and retail might be a component of that. One idea is that we work with local independent retailers. Another idea is that we find ways of giving visibility to exciting startups from London that are looking for an audience in a place like Chelmsford. For example, we’re partnering with a toy subscription company called Whirli on our kid’s corner. For us, this idea of local innovation is really critical.
      Amy Frearson: What are your ambitions for Patch going forward?
      Paloma Strelitz: Right now we’re looking towards our second and third sites, which are not yet confirmed. Each context is going to bring up new opportunities and questions. We think of Patch as a family, which is an interesting analogy because it speaks about things that share the same DNA but might have a radically different identity. What Patch looks like in Chelmsford might be very different to what it might look like in Margate or Guildford. We want to make sure that in each place we’re building a platform to celebrate and elevate what’s already there. It’s about creating spaces that are meaningfully shared but also distinctive.
      My projects with Assemble were effectively all independent commissions, but what we’re doing with Patch is really learning as we go along and evolving in response. It’s a very interesting and different dynamic, particularly if we go back to that earlier point about scale and what it means to do a bigger project. I don’t think it’s about a physically bigger project, I think it’s about a more meaningfully distributed project.

      Read more: More

    • 138 Shares199 Views

      in Rooms

      Inventing Anna interiors “richer” versions of their real New York counterparts

      by

      Production designer Henry Dunn drew on locations across New York to create a set that reflects the different social classes that the protagonist of the Netflix series Inventing Anna traverses.

      The head office of media publication New York Magazine, Rikers Island jail and the 11 Howard hotel in Soho all appear as exaggerated versions on the 11-episode series which was released on February 11 2022.
      “Our thinking all the way through this was the different varieties of wealth and the different types of socio-economic classes that Anna travels through,” Dunn told Dezeen.
      “We’re trying to sort of hit all of these different types of wealth and the disparities as best we could.”
      Henry Dunn created lavish sets for the upper-class charactersThe series is a dramatisation of journalist Jessica Pressler’s quest to write How Anna Delvey Tricked New York’s Party People, an article for the New York Magazine that went viral after exposing the antics of the now-convicted fake heiress Anna Delvey, who’s real name is Anna Sorokin.

      Created by American television producer Shonda Rhimes, Inventing Anna follows the lead up to Sorokin’s trial, while simultaneously going back in time to illustrate her actions.
      To recreate the main locations Sorokin visited and lived in while galavanting around New York, Dunn decided to make sets both in-situ and from scratch at Steiner Studios in Brooklyn, New York, a feat which Dunn describes as “a balancing act”.
      Expensive furnishings and finishes symbolize wealth”We started at the very beginning of 2019 and we had some big beautiful stages at Steiner Studios but we realised that we didn’t have enough space for all of the things that we needed to build,” Dunn explained.
      “We were very much trying to illustrate that there’s old money and then there’s art money and then there’s real money, which is the tech billionaires.”
      For the wealthiest character, the production team sourced six different wallpapersThe home of one of the wealthiest characters in the series belongs to Nora, a woman who Dunn refers to as “a real art person who’s loaded with dough”. It is one of the most featured sets in the series.
      Using research gathered from people who reside in New York apartments, Dunn built a duplex designed to look like a large townhouse in New York.
      According to the designer, Nora’s status is best symbolised in the furnishings and decor that adorn the set.
      “The way we really nailed her [Nora’s] place on the socio-economic ladder was in the finishes: whether it was the Venetian plaster, the antiques, the wallpaper or even the backsplash in her kitchen which is a tile that isn’t affordable to normal humans,” Dunn explained.
      “Nora’s house had maybe five or six different wallpapers, including the ones up in the up in the guest bedroom, where Anna is living,” he added.
      Some sets were created in buildings in New YorkTo further establish Nora’s status in the upper echelons of society, the designer worked with an art specialist to source paintings by artists such as Michel Basquiat and Yves Klein for the interior decoration.
      “We had a wonderful person working with us for arts clearance and so we were able to get all these artists that would have been untouchable that we had to build,” said Dunn.
      “Obviously, it’s not the real thing but they would send us a high-resolution file and then we would repeat over it so you could see the brushstrokes,” he continued.
      “Having that sense of legitimacy meant that people understood that this well-curated piece of character-dressing is meant to tell you who this woman is.”
      Others were built at Steiner StudiosBy contrast, Dunn wanted the journalist’s home to seem “a little dumpy” to help viewers recognise her lower social status. Her home appears cluttered and ordinary – serving to cement her position in New York society.
      “We built Vivian’s house on stage – it’s not a very big apartment and we were trying to make it as realistic as possible for two people who are expecting a baby,” he said.
      The journalist’s home is designed to contrast the expensive homesCreating sets from scratch gave Dunn the freedom to embellish the sets and to elaborate further than what would have been possible if they filmed everything in its original place.
      For example, he constructed the bedroom and lobby at the 11 Howard on stage, drawing on interior designer Kit Kemp’s chintzy work at the Crosby Street Hotel for inspiration.
      “The 11 Howard, which was the hotel where Anna stayed has a minimalist style that we thought would look pretty threadbare on screen so we went for something that would read as much more rich on stage,” he remembered.
      “We were going for with something that was more tactile and sort of a more layered look to it.

      Dressing scenes for Killing Eve was “like finding treasure” says set decorator

      Another technique Dunn implemented was to mix high-end furnishings and homeware items with cheaper replicas that still gave the illusion of wealth.
      Placing something from a high street brand next to a luxury designer can make the scene feel and look expensive on television while in comparison to reality, said the designer.
      “A magic trick is if you put something in the right setting on television, you can get something like glasses at H&M or Target that will look incredibly deluxe while actually not being practical at all,” he explained.
      “Place them next to plates from Van Cleef & Arpels and they look perfect.”
      The Manhattan Magazine headquarters is based on the New York Magazine officesDue to legal reasons, the series had to create a fictional version of the New York Magazine, but Dunn wanted the made up magazine’s office to look similar to the real magazine’s headquarters.
      Again, he took the opportunity to create an exaggerated “expanded and blown up” version of the real workplace, this time adding a bright red wall to the backdrop.
      “We got to tour our location manager got us in there to walk around and see how the journalists lived,” said Dunn. “And so we researched it closely and then we really tried carefully create those offices as closely as possible.”
      “We’re trying to do something a little more, a little extra – there is a big red wall that says New York Magazine that you see when you come in and we took that and we sort of expanded it and blew it up,” he continued.
      Half of the prison scenes were shot in a real prisonThe main challenge for Dunn came as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Halfway through filming the series, restrictions meant that the team had to change locations and delay some filming, meaning that many scenes had to be shot in two places.
      “We began shooting at the prison here in the city called Rikers Island jail and when the pandemic came, we still had 50 per cent of our scenes to shoot,” he recalled.
      “I don’t think anybody at home has any idea but the waiting room and the room where Anna and Jessica meet were in completely different spots,” he mused.
      Other Netflix series with elaborate sets include the playful arenas by art director Hwang Dong-Hyuk for the popular series Squid Games and production designer Grant Major’s set for the award-winning film The Power of the Dog which featured a prominent house.
      The images are courtesy of Netflix.

      Read more: More

    • 188 Shares169 Views

      in Rooms

      Norman Foster, Virgil Abloh and more share their thoughts on the global impact of Covid-19

      by

      One year ago today, the World Health Organisation officially declared coronavirus a global pandemic. Twenty of the world’s leading designers, including Thomas Heatherwick, Kelly Hoppen and Sevil Peach, gave us their views on how it has changed the world. The pandemic has been the most dramatic disruption to human activity in a generation. For many designers, it has been a time to refocus and rethink how we design products, buildings and cities.
      “It has challenged us to reassess the ‘old normals’ that we had based and organised our lives around,” explained interior designer Peach.
      “Coronavirus has sounded an alarm”
      This includes paying more attention to the environment and the impact that humans are having on the Earth.
      “The coronavirus has sounded an alarm,” said Sun Dayong, founding partner of architecture studio Penda, “in effect, reminding people to care for the earth and the environment.”
      Many of the designers were positive that the pandemic will lead to change, with more focus placed on people.
      “It has made us value space and air, said Sarah Wigglesworth, founder of Sarah Wigglesworth Architects. “Hopefully, it has reorientated our focus on the fact that buildings are about people.”
      “Disasters have been catalysts for major changes in architecture” 
      Designer Heatherwick agreed: “We’ve seen before that disasters have been catalysts for major changes in architecture.”
      “So I hope the real positive legacy of this terrible pandemic will be a realisation that there’s no longer a place for yet more lazy soulless developments and buildings.”

      Coronavirus offers “a blank page for a new beginning” says Li Edelkoort

      To make these changes, Off-White founder Virgil Abloh believes that designers will need to be adaptable.
      “The pandemic, to me, exposed the need for businesses, designers, creators, even entire countries, to be able to adapt,” he said.
      “The structure of the city is bound to change”
      The architects and designers believe that the pandemic will have a lasting impact on our cities, with Lina Ghotmeh telling Dezeen: “The structure of the city is more than any time, bound to change.”
      Nikoline Dyrup Carlsen, co-founder of Spacon & X, agreed that cities are changing, observing that people are moving out of Copenhagen “to be closer to nature”.
      “This will definitely reframe how we approach design and architecture in urban as well as in natural surroundings,” she said.
      Many of the designers believe that the pandemic may provide the impetus to create better public spaces in our cities.
      “[They will be a] more open attitude of mind by the public, civic leaders and politicians to change in the public domain,” said architect Norman Foster.
      “The pandemic has proven that mobility in cities can be moderated posing an opportunity to reduce the use of cars, and therefore the CO2 emissions,” added Ingrid Moye, co-founder of Mexican studio Zeller & Moye.
      “Cities are not dead and will come back”
      Although cities will change, they “are not dead and will come back,” said Carlo Ratti Associati founder Carlo Ratti.
      “They have endured damaging pandemics in the past and yet in the following centuries, we continued crowding its narrow streets and theatres,” he said.

      “In the future home, form will follow infection”

      Chinese architect Ma Yansong believes the challenge will be creating cities that are safe, but not isolating places.
      “Even if the pandemic might continue through the next couple of years, an ideal city should still reflect our ideal for living, instead of being a capsule that will only isolate people,” he said.
      “Moments of crisis can also be seen as opportunities for change”
      On a personal level, many designers said the pandemic had allowed them to become more focused on their work without the distraction of industry events or overseas client visits.
      “Despite the negative aspects that the pandemic has brought, moments of crisis can also be seen as opportunities for change,” said Moye. “This pause in our hectic lifestyles has given me a chance to refocus priorities.”
      Overall, architect Sam Jacob believes that this has been a time of reflection that will shape architecture and design for years to come.
      “It feels like there’s been quite a bit of soul searching amongst the design and architecture communities over the past year,” he said. “Many long overdue issues have come to the fore.”
      Top image is an illustration of the coronavirus particle by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
      Read below for the full interviews:

      Virgil AblohCEO, Off-White, Milan
      How has the pandemic impacted architecture and design?
      The pandemic, to me, exposed the need for businesses, designers, creators, even entire countries, to be able to adapt. I see the same challenge being posed in this realm of architecture and design – as creators we must be adaptable and fluid in our skills and our practices, but the places and structures we’re creating need this ability as well.
      This is something I had kind of already started thinking about, the need for spaces to be easily transformed. When I was designing the Off-White Miami flagship with Samir Bantal of AMO we wanted to create a retail space that essentially can outlive retail.
      Things like movable walls and other elements that make a space multifunctional are not only interesting from a design perspective, but they’re necessary for staying ahead of this ever-changing tide.
      What will the long-term impact be?
      I think we’re going to see a lot of the same social and political movements that were brought to the forefront of our collective consciousness reflected in design for years to come.
      Things like transparency and openness, as we’ve seen society demand of politics and their leaders, their police and their justice systems. The idea of personal expression and celebrating differences – customising your space like you do your own style with the clothes you wear and the pieces you buy.

      Norman FosterFounder, Foster + Partners, London
      How has the pandemic impacted architecture and design? 
      More open attitude of mind by the public, civic leaders and politicians to change in the public domain.
      What will the long-term impact be?
      Acceleration and magnification of existing trends to the extent that in the short term they might seem like new trends.
      What have you learnt?
      A greater appreciation and sensitivity towards those who serve us – obviously health workers but also others who make our urbanities function.

      Kelly HoppenFounder, Kelly Hoppen Interiors, London
      How has the pandemic impacted architecture and design?
      One of the biggest surprises for me came at the beginning of the pandemic when there was an influx of work, particularly international work. The speed and demand of work that came through during the pandemic provided an opportunity to grow further. In my view, the industry is booming, however, the requirements for design are changing.
      Having worked in Asia for many years, we understood many of these requirements, but this was the first time I understood them personally and realised the impact they would have on the field.
      What will the long-term impact be?
      Long-term, interiors and architecture will have to be created with hygiene and practicality at the forefront. Both vision and design details will need to be adapted to ensure space adheres to everyday living, with the additional demands highlighted by Covid in a post-pandemic world.
      What have you learnt?
      In spite of strict travel restrictions, the inability to visit sites and engage in other practical activities meant we had to think outside the box quickly.
      We had come up with different solutions to fulfil things we could only do in person, for example handling an installation for a couture job. Being able to overcome these challenges has been both exciting and rewarding, and has also taught me about the endless possibilities that exist when it comes to showcasing international design and architecture.

      Sun DayongFounding partner, Penda, Beijing
      How has the pandemic impacted architecture and design?
      I think the coronavirus pandemic has made people realise that having architectural spaces that are secure and safeguarded is extremely important. In times past, the primary function of architectural structures was to shelter human beings from the elements and predatory animals. In the future, protecting people from viruses will be one of the important functions of architecture.
      This aspect will be paid more and more attention to in design. For example, the need to revise the distribution ratio of open space and private space in spatial layouts will promote the forming of new design specifications; and the need for sterilization and sterilization technology in architectural materials will instigate the production of new products. This will undoubtedly lead to changes in the way future buildings are designed.
      What will the long-term impact be?
      I think the coronavirus pandemic has made people realise that human beings are vulnerable to nature and that we cannot ignore the impact of the earth’s environment on our lives. In the past, people were content to stay in air-conditioned rooms or a comfortable car, without giving a second thought to the environment or nature.
      It was easy to ignore news of global warming or rising sea levels – it seemed those issues were just the dry concerns of environmental experts, empty claims in the advertisements of real estate developers. But the emergence of the coronavirus has made everyone realise that these problems are, in fact, very real.
      The pandemic has been massively damaging and costly worldwide. It is conceivable that if other, more severe environmental problems develop, many more people’s lives will be adversely affected.
      The coronavirus has sounded an alarm, in effect reminding people to care for the earth and the environment. As a shaper of the environment, architects should seriously consider sustainable design strategies, and put forward feasible suggestions for shaping a healthy environment in the future.
      What have you learnt?
      The pandemic has given me the opportunity to stay at home and live with my family for an extended period of time. It has made me realise the importance of relationships in general, and that good family relations are the baseline for having a happy life.
      For this type of harmony to be formed, frank communication and heart-to-heart communication are really essential. Architects can help people create beautiful and warm spaces, but a happy life is a collective effort created by everyone – and each person is the architect of their own happiness.
      Love the people around us and build happiness with love. I think this is what every professional architect should keep in mind, and learn to “create with love”.

      Joyce WangFounder, Joyce Wang Studio, London
      How has the pandemic impacted architecture and design? 
      It’s made it socially acceptable to be a bit of a hermit and to socially distance. Restaurants and hotels were becoming social houses before the pandemic. Now we are seeing project briefs that call for a balance of social and anti-social spaces to be designed.
      What will the long-term impact be?
      Use of naturally sterilising finishes and materials for high-touch points like doorknobs and faucets, people will still yearn for tactility so am hoping it doesn’t all migrate to sensor/touchless devices.
      What have you learnt?
      We, humans, are super resilient and can adapt to be happy, creative and even thrive in the most awkward of circumstances.

      Thomas HeatherwickFounder, Heatherwick Studio, London
      How has the pandemic impacted architecture and design?
      Even before the global pandemic, there was already an immense and rapidly-growing problem of many un-human, sterile places being clumsily created around the world. Apart from the occasional predictably-special arts building or rich person’s house, cities have been increasingly made up of repetitious new developments and districts that lack life, human interest and joy and generally don’t make people feel good to be there.
      As we’ve been forced to immerse ourselves in the digital realm during the pandemic, we’ve discovered that technology in our homes can sometimes provide a better alternative to crappy public places.
      For me it’s exciting that the responsibility is now back on us – the designers, architects, developers, and planners – to start making an impact again by creating inspiring public places that people will cherish and want to spend time in.
      What will the long-term impact be?
      I believe that one long term impact of coronavirus will be that we’ll value places that bring us together a little bit more. But I also believe we’ll be looking for places that better reflect the true diversity of our society.
      For the last hundred years, architecture has been a closed profession that tends to be led by like-minded people with similar backgrounds. We’ve seen before that disasters have been catalysts for major changes in architecture.
      I hope there can now be a new entrepreneurial spirit after the pandemic that allows more people to be unafraid of thinking they can have a voice in architecture even if they don’t necessarily want to design the sort of buildings they currently see around them. I also now personally hope there will be opportunities for far more diversity in the types of buildings that are being made.
      What have you learnt?
      I’ve always been fascinated by public shared experience – and believe passionately in advocating for great public spaces that help us connect better with each other but, deprived of meeting up with each other for a year, this is now something we crave more than ever.
      I hate seeing missed opportunities that don’t adequately serve us and our communities and society as a whole. So I hope the real positive legacy of this terrible pandemic will be a realisation that there’s no longer a place for yet more lazy soulless developments and buildings.
      Instead, we must strive harder to create places that galvanize and inspire people. Whatever sustainability metrics and credentials they claim to possess; unless we have the real passion of people who use and experience the buildings and spaces we design, they will never be truly sustainable.

      Ma YansongFounder, MAD Architects, Beijing
      How has the pandemic impacted architecture and design?
      One of the biggest impacts is, the pandemic changed our ways of living and working. Lack of face-to-face communication and more reliance on e-meetings in some ways more important for us, but it does prevent us from engaging in usual conversations which are more interactive. The industry in China is almost back to normal after a year.
      What will the long-term impact be?
      “Sharing” used to be one of the most important agenda in the industry. We used to make a lot of efforts to providing more open space to stimulate social interactions.
      However, the pandemic led to more discussions on isolation and social distancing, rather than sharing and co-living. However, in the long run, public space will still be the foundation for sharing our cities, and architects will face challenging times to reconsider other meanings of public space.
      Even if the pandemic might continue through the next couple of years, an ideal city should still reflect our ideal for living, instead of being a capsule that will only isolate people.
      What have you learnt?
      The pandemic is huge for us who are living on this planet at this age. But if we look at linear history, the pandemic might be just the tip of the iceberg. Nature still dominates the world. It makes me think about the role of an architect. He or she can be alive only for several decades, but what can an architect create for the generations, or a longer run, contribute to civilisation, or even greater, this planet?

      Nikoline Dyrup CarlsenCo-founder, Spacon & X, Copenhagen
      How has the pandemic impacted architecture and design?
      I think we have only seen the early impacts of Covid 19, but already now we see at Spacon&X how the pandemic has caused us to work differently. New digital tools and processes have found their way into our office, optimising our ways to develop, present and produce our design.
      We’ve been forced to present digitally and to implement new software, and it’s been a game-changer for us. We’ve even worked with virtual design and architecture, where the end result is digital – very interesting new possibilities!
      What will the long-term impact be? We founded Spacon & X on ideas of how to deal with the shortage of space in urban areas with explosively growing populations. For the first time in many years, more people are moving out of Copenhagen to be closer to nature, which we see as a partially corora-triggered trend. This will definitely reframe how we approach design and architecture in urban as well as in natural surroundings.
      Working with office design and space management, we have also experienced how Covid has boosted the fluidity between working physically at the office vs at home or anywhere else. “Activity-based work” is becoming the standard, meaning we have to come up with new solutions for office workers to feel comfortable not having their own work station, and office spaces to feel vibrant even when they are half or two thirds empty.
      What have you learnt? I’ve learnt how much value it has to be agile and flexible, Spacon&X would have suffered if we would not have been as agile and ready to identify new possibilities and adjust our plans.
      I’ve learnt how powerful collective movements are. Experiencing how a society/a world can change behaviour that quickly and efficiently. I would never have thought that possible before.
      I’ve also learned how much I love my job, what I do and all the people I work with! Everyone at Spacon&X has worked together in getting through this period, approaching it with an open mind, I think we are a collectively stronger office today than before Covid!:)

      Ingrid MoyeCo-founder, Zeller & Moye, Mexico City
      How has the pandemic impacted architecture and design?
      Through this pandemic, we are experiencing a lack of human contact. Cities, architecture, and design are those tangible means to human encounters, elemental to our lives.
      The pandemic has proven that mobility in cities can be moderated posing an opportunity to reduce the use of cars, and therefore the CO2 emissions. It’s, therefore, an opportunity to design cities for people, not for cars.
      The rigid ‘single use’ in architecture and design appears out-of-date. Architecture and design should become more flexible and adaptable. Hybrid buildings could then cope better with emergency scenarios, and extend their own lifespans.
      Design and architecture will need to re-focus on the well-being of users, providing safer environments for human interaction. Covid-19 has reminded us that the human species forms part of a larger ecosystem that we need to live in harmony with. Architecture and design have the responsibility to make a positive impact on our environment.
      What will the long-term impact be?
      I hope it will be the awareness of recovering our endangered ecosystem, after facing our vulnerability as a species during this pandemic.
      What have you learnt?
      Despite the negative aspects that the pandemic has brought, moments of crisis can also be seen as opportunities for change. This pause in our hectic lifestyles has given me a chance to refocus priorities.

      Carlo RattiFounder, Carlo Ratti Associati, Turin
      How has the pandemic impacted architecture and design?
      Covid highlighted the irrelevance of many architects’ obsession with form – it forced us to think big again and tackle the key issues of our present (environmental crisis, technological transformations, inequalities) – which the pandemic has put into the spotlight.
      Also, after countless Zoom calls in pyjamas, we can say the domestic and professional environments are getting increasingly blurred! With that, we need to rethink the design of our homes and offices.
      What will the long-term impact be?
      A change of paradigm in housing as well as planning: from the separation of functions (I work in a different place from where I live) to the simultaneity of functions (I work and live in the same place). This prompts us to think about a new Existenzminimum [minimum living standards] for the 21st century.
      I would like to make another point. Cities are not dead and will come back. They have endured damaging pandemics in the past – in the 14th century Venice lost 60 per cent of its population because of the black death and yet, in the following centuries, we continued crowding its narrow streets and theatres.
      What have you learnt?
      Travelling less is not necessarily a bad thing. It allows us to reconnect with places and focus on our civic duties.

      Sevil PeachCo-founder, SevilPeach, London
      How has the pandemic impacted architecture and design?
      It has challenged us to reassess the “old normals” that we had based and organised our lives around. We need to reimagine what they should be and what they should provide if we were to re-invent them today.
      This is particularly relevant to our homes, which we have rapidly had to adapt as best as we can so it is able to properly support us throughout our lockdown days.
      This need for adaptations also refers to our workplace, which will need to reinvent itself to remain relevant and to be a place we wish & choose to go to.
      What will the long-term impact be?
      Architecture and design need to regain their inclusiveness and human-centricity, responding to real human needs and emotions, that our solutions need to be sustainable both at an environmental, economic and personal level, plus adaptable and responsive to changing needs.
      What have you learnt?
      How much we thrive on human interaction. How important spontaneity and collaboration is to the design and creative processes. How pleasant it is to reimagine our working day to migrate from our desk to an armchair, to the kitchen table, to look out at the garden, or to even to be able to work out in the garden and fresh air.

      Astrid KleinCo-founder, Klein Dytham Architecture, Tokyo
      How has the pandemic impacted architecture and design?
      It has become clear that we need more open, green, common, public spaces that are accessible to all. The densely packed floor plans don’t look ‘safe’ anymore.
      What will the long-term impact be?
      In order to be able to compete with the comfort of your home, office and retail spaces need to turn into attractive destinations, appealing to physical and mental wellbeing and be conducive to simply hanging out.
      What have you learnt?
      With fewer business trips, commutes, out of office meetings, work has become more focused, productive and daily schedules have become more work/life balance, and there is less stress getting all dressed up every day!

      Stefano BoeriFounder, Stefano Boeri Architetti, Milan
      How has the pandemic impacted architecture and design?
      We must ask ourselves if we think we can fully grasp the power of this tragedy and thus try to think of a different way of inhabiting the planet, the cities, the spaces of everyday life.
      In a planet that is heading towards the great challenge of a new and necessary alliance between cities (until now the maximum expression of human civilisation) and the world of forests, woods, mountains, oceans, urban realities must become transnational and archipelago metropolises; metropolises that encompass portions of nature in their extension.
      What do you think the major long-term impact of coronavirus will be on architecture and design?Cities, in addition to opening up to nature, must change in their very structure: the great attractors of crowds and congestion on which they are born are in great difficulty today.
      We should begin to think of an urban life in which every citizen has basic necessities at a reasonable distance, within a geographical radius of 500 meters and a time range of 15/20 minutes; on foot or, at most, by bicycle.

      Sabine MarcelisFounder, Studio Sabine Marcelis, Rotterdam
      How has the pandemic impacted architecture and design?
      The way in which we communicate our ideas. The surge of new programs that bring ideas to life when we can’t physically present ideas. The newfound importance of the home and the home office.
      And the fact that people are investing in their homes. Shifting from global back to local again (working with production companies/ photographers etc close to home instead of flying to or flying in people from all over the world).
      What will the long-term impact be?
      Communication of ideas. The shift from office work to working from home. Offices will need to be designed with importance put on hygiene and distance keeping. Zoom-rooms and smaller rooms for online meetings where your background plays a big role will be important spaces in the office also.
      What have you learnt?
      Not every meeting needs to be a plane trip (but some definitely would be better if they were!). The importance of the dynamic within a team. I feel incredibly fortunate that my team works so well together. Everyone is in sync with each other and we don’t get lost in miscommunications at all.
      It’s incredibly difficult to communicate complex ideas which are all about experience and tactility from remote locations and at least this challenge is only from our team to clients and not within the team itself.

      Lina GhotmehFounder, Lina Ghotmeh Architectures, Paris
      How has the pandemic impacted architecture and design?
      I think this pandemic had impacted first our space-time relation, we had discovered a new spatial dimension through our extensive exploration of the digital immaterial world. This is a new space that may need a new form of architecture and design to render it more humane and more distinctive.
      Exploring extensive remote work had also allowed many people to explore the countryside as a better context for working. This highlighted the visceral need we have to be close to nature affecting the relationship we have with the city. We can question here its traditional role as a centralized economic hub. The structure of the city is more than any time, bound to change.
      What will the long-term impact be?
      Finally, we have concrete proof that the zoned city can no longer be sustainable. It is neither durable nor resilient. We cannot build by segregating functions: nature, living, working, leisure, culture etc. contingent mixing is essential for the adaptability of our living structures.
      Homes will become more and more places of work, mutable meeting points; museums more productive places; nature inherent to architecture. The 15 minutes city, the city of proximities, as Paris is working on, is evidence, it will also transform the programmatic regulatory paradigms that underlay our architectural world.
      What have you learnt?
      I always thought the notion of boundaries between nations is questionable, this virus proved more concretely that the world is deeply interconnected, this applies today to this virus crisis we are all facing but is also a reminder that it applies to more invisible systems that drive the dynamics behind our built world: economic systems, energy consumption, climate change, waste. These have direct consequences on all of us and need to be challenged, addressed at every level professionally & personally.

      Sam JacobFounder, Sam Jacob Studio, London
      How has the pandemic impacted architecture and design?
      The pandemic has shifted our perspective, forcing us – if only literally – to look at the world from a different place. It quieted the industry noise a little, that fog that often obscures the context of our actions as designers. No ceremonies, no industry events, a break in the conveyor belt of so-called career progression.
      There’s been much more focus on the work in hand. And more time to think. It feels like there’s been quite a bit of soul searching amongst the design and architecture communities over the past year. Many long overdue issues have come to the fore. But let’s see, as we unlock, how much we’ve really learnt about ourselves, and how our ideas of how architecture and design can remake the world in new and different ways have changed.
      What will the long-term impact be?
      Feels like there will be quite an impact. A lot of previous plans and assumptions have been thrown into disarray. And whether we like it or not (or whether it’s for the right reasons) we’re going to have to figure out new ways for design to work in the world. Smaller budgets, fewer blockbusters. Could this mean a design approach that is more nimble, humble, and full of pragmatic imagination? Might it mean a new sharper focus, a directness and a creative response that works within the reality and needs of our circumstances socially, economically, environmentally? We can only hope.
      What have you learnt?
      I think the key thing I’ve realised over the last year is the value of relationships. Of working with clients who care, with collaborators who engage in constructive dialogue, with my own team who have gone above and beyond. For all of the myriad difficulties we had, there has been something optimistic and intensely human about the ways we have found to work together.
      In some ways, even over Zoom, more intimate and engaged than assembling in boardrooms. Some of the hierarchies and professional silos that usually separate us or set us against each other have softened. Perhaps there’s been more understanding of the difficulties inherent in making a good project happen, and recognition of the efforts of everyone involved. Most of all that design process is a process of working together, the sum of the efforts that we put into it.

      Doriana FuksasCo-founder, Studio Fuksas, Rome
      How has the pandemic impacted architecture and design?
      A simple sentence: “Città, less aesthetics more ethics’, the 7th International Architecture Exhibition for The 2000 Venice Biennale, curated by Fuksas architects. For more than twenty years we have been reflecting on the cities and on the contemporary house model.
      What will the long-term impact be?
      With the pandemic, we have all discovered ourselves scared and unprepared, but I believe this was an opportunity to start thinking and reflecting especially on our living spaces and houses.
      After an initial moment of great disorientation, we tried to make the most of the emergency by exploring and investigating new design solutions which could adapt both the new and existing projects.
      The world of architecture will surely have to keep up with the enormous change, primarily social, that this emergency has led to. The role of the designer-architect can only adapt to the new challenges, using technological innovation to design objects and buildings that adapt to the new way of living, different from the one we were used to.
      2020 is the true beginning of the 3rd Millennium for architecture and design, that of a revolution in terms of housing equipment, space distribution, new transport organization, green energy utilization.
      What have you learnt?
      To appreciate and don’t waste but preserve what we have got. I think I have also learnt the importance of the house as first aid, as fluid space, able to accept transformations and to host different functions following different needs.
      We are proud of the achievement reached by built 10 years ago: The Rome New EUR Congress Center ‘the Cloud’ became the biggest Coronavirus 19 vaccination hub in Europe.

      Sofia Lagerkvist and Anna LindgrenFounders, Front, Stockholm
      How has the pandemic impacted architecture and design? 
      During this time designers have found more time on their hands to be creative and experiment. They have found new platforms for showing and exhibiting and channels to sell their work, of course through social media but also the gallery scene has provided different ways to sell at the high-end market.
      We think this will continue and give independence to the individual designer, cutting out the middleman and creating more direct contact between designer and client. Many of the industry’s producers have used this year to invest in new production techniques and to restructure.
      The design market has previously been focusing a lot on fairs and with this year we see many companies reconsidering their marketing and sales strategies away from big launch events a few times a year and doing business in a more direct and personal way.

      Maria Warner WongCo-founder, WOW Architects, Singapore
      How has the pandemic impacted architecture and design?
      The pandemic has triggered a series of changes in the world that have revealed the lack of sustainability in design and architecture – unused office space, inadequate home workplaces, insufficient jobs, empty public venues.
      What will the long-term impact be?
      In the long term, the undeniable wastefulness and damage to society inherent in the paradox of endless growth will be exposed and inescapable. Architects & designers will have to develop better ways of building and providing for communities or be exposed to complicity in global warming.
      What have you learnt?
      I have realised that we cannot leave it to “someday”, the future is now. We should spend more time in nature to heal our sad & cynical soul.

      Sarah WigglesworthFounder, Sarah Wigglesworth Architects, London
      How has the pandemic impacted architecture and design?
      It has made us value space and air. Hopefully, it has reorientated our focus on the fact that buildings are about people. They are not just inhabited sculptures and brand identities. They really have to respond to need.
      What will the long-term impact be?
      What I’d like to see happen and what may happen are two different things. I’d like to see more people striving for better fitness & health by making better food choices and using self-propelled transit through cities (walking, boarding, cycling). That would free public transport to be safer as pressure on it would reduce.
      What might easily happen is that people resort to their cars because they represent a bubble but this would only increase congestion and potentially increase air pollution. The right to roam throughout the UK should be a given as people need to escape, but I suspect this won’t happen.
      Homes need to be much more flexible and larger to accommodate the various tasks they will have to perform as we work in different modes, places and times. Monocultural buildings such as offices could become redundant. Again, with the market in control, this is unlikely to happen.
      Planning-use classes ought to be re-thought as categories no longer seem appropriate (live/work might become a new one). Again, the planning reforms do not take this into account. I’d like the needs of communities to be much more embedded in the process of development.
      From Grenfell to pandemics, the economic-social-environmental equation needs to be reimagined I favour of humans and the ecology. Build back better? I hope so but let’s see the evidence!
      What have you learnt?
      Be kind. Every person has other responsibilities which should be understood as part of their life. The world will not fall apart if we recognise and work around them. Corona has been a great leveller.

      Read more: More

    • 188 Shares159 Views

      in Rooms

      Asylum in Ratched designed to look like “a beautiful person with a really dark secret”

      by

      Production designer Judy Becker treated Lucia State Hospital like a character in its own right to ensure that the gruesome psychiatric institution takes centre stage in Netflix thriller Ratched.The asylum is rich with unexpected architectural details – undulating glass-block walls or vast panoramic windows hidden behind floor-to-ceiling curtains – that are begging to be noticed.
      This is a stark contrast to much of Becker’s Oscar-nominated work, in which sets generally act as backdrops that merely complement the characters and action on screen.
      “I haven’t done this often but in the case of Ratched, I really wanted the building to draw attention to itself as a character,” Becker told Dezeen. “It’s a bit of a misdirect when you see this gorgeous building and the well-dressed patients but then the most horrible things are happening in this place.”
      “It’s like a beautiful person that’s got a really dark secret,” she added.

      Above: Doctor Hanover’s office has panoramic windows. Top image: The hydrotherapy room has a glass-block wall

      The show tells the origin story of Mildred Ratched, the antagonist of Ken Kesey’s classic American novel One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and head nurse at Salem State Hospital.
      But while the book and subsequent 1975 film adaptation depict their setting as a bleak, clinical place with whitewashed walls, Ratched’s Lucia State Hospital tells a very different story.

      The asylum’s lobby is an almost exact replica of that at Arrowhead Springs Hotel
      That’s because Ryan Murphy, the series’ creator who is known for spearheading hyper-stylised shows such as American Horror Story, Scream Queens and The Politician, wanted the set to look less like an institution and more like a fancy resort that had been converted into a hospital.
      “I threw away all my research on the grim asylums of the 1940s,” said Becker. “Sometimes it’s really warranted to do a very frightening-looking set design for a very frightening story. But the horror in Ratched is a little over the top, so you can balance it with all this beauty and that dichotomy works really well.”
      The show went on to become one of the most successful Netflix shows of the last year and was watched by 48 million people within the first month.
      Ratched’s set replicates a real grand hotel
      Set in northern California in 1947, the series follows young Mildred Ratched as she weasels her way into working at Lucia State Hospital.
      Through her story, the series explores some of the questionable approaches to mental healthcare at the time – from lobotomising patients by drilling a hole into their skull, to “curing” their homosexuality by locking them in a near-boiling bathtub in the name of hydrotherapy.

      Dorothy Draper often incorporated white stucco features and black and white checked flooring into her interiors
      To ground the show in reality despite its stylised depiction of these horrors, Becker originally planned to shoot on location at Arrowhead Springs Hotel near San Bernadino, California.
      Designed by Los Angeles architect Paul Williams in 1939, the complex features sprawling rooms and Hollywood Regency-style interiors by Dorothy Draper – one of the period’s most notable designers.

      Less exclusive buildings “are actually some of the most interesting” says Devs production designer

      But the hotel’s owners refused to allow any filming to take place on-site, so Becker and her team ended up erecting a near replica of its interiors on the Fox Studio Lot in Los Angles.
      Over the course of three months, the team reproduced Draper’s trademark stucco features and checked, monochrome flooring, as well as entire rooms based photos and measurements.

      Lucia State Hospital’s exterior was filmed at the Gillette Ranch near Malibu
      The lobby with its thick columns and chandelier reflected in the lacquered, black flooring was replicated almost entirely, while the inbuilt hexagonal shelves and sinuous fireplace mantel Draper designed for the hotel lounge were transposed into the patients’ recreational area (below).
      “It was a huge set,” explained Becker. “It looks like one place on screen but we had to build it over two different sound stages, which are these big hangars. There were so many rooms and so many elements and we would keep adding new ones as new episodes got filmed,” she continued.
      “Finally, there was no more space to build anything and we had to move the paint shop and some of the little dressing rooms outside to make more space because we just needed every inch of it.”
      “I like to work with a very deliberate colour palette”
      Since the set had to be furnished from the ground up, Becker worked with decorator Matthew Ferguson to source real period pieces from the time. To fill the huge rooms, these were bought in multiples where possible or otherwise, matching pieces were fabricated from scratch.
      “Everything was custom upholstered. I tend to do that because I like to work with a very deliberate colour palette and it’s impossible to find exactly what you need just lying around,” said Becker.

      The patients’ lounge features inbuilt shelves and a sinuous fireplace inspired by Draper’s interiors
      Green is perhaps the most prominent colour in the show and features liberally throughout the asylum, as well as in the cliffside motel where Mildred Ratched makes her temporary home while working at the hospital.
      “Green is a great colour because it’s very period-correct of the late 40s. And it can be a very unsettling colour or a pleasant one, depending on the shade,” said Becker.
      “If you use a green with more yellow in it, it tends to feel anxiety-inducing while one with blue undertones is more relaxing and makes you think of swimming pools.”
      Each shade that made it into the final show was painstakingly tested on different furniture pieces and in various lighting conditions, to ensure that it was conveying the right effect.

      Each patient’s room features different floral wallpaper
      Becker also added warm hues of coral and peach to keep the hospital feeling inviting and deceptively “non-horrific”, while the tiled floors and walls were held in neutral black and white so as not to clash with the costumes.
      “I think if you had green walls and green nurses uniforms and this and that, it just would have just been too much,” said Becker. “It probably would have won an Oscar if it was eligible because too much design tends to.”
      Fake foliage and curtains made windows look real
      According to Becker, perhaps the biggest downside to shooting on a set is the fact that the view out of the windows has to be created completely artificially.
      Often, directors will work with a Translight – a transparent polyester sheet that is printed with an image of the desired setting and lit from behind to create the appearance of a real exterior scene. But Murphy and Becker agreed that this fell short of the realism they were hoping to accomplish.
      “They pretty much always look fake,” she said. “Nothing is moving and the lighting doesn’t change like it would in real life.”

      Curtains and fake foliage created the impression of real windows
      Instead, she hid most of the windows behind semi-translucent curtains and set up a veritable greenhouse of real and fake plants on the other side to create the appearance of foliage.
      “We had someone on set tweaking them to camera so that the shadows and reflections looked real and not always the same,” Becker remembered.
      “There were fans blowing on the foliage and fans blowing on the curtains, so it was a very elaborate process to get the light coming through the window to look appropriate on camera. I designated an art director to be in charge of just this process because it was so important to Ryan.”
      All images are courtesy of Netflix.

      Read more: More