Table of contents for INDESIGN #74 - Hospitality in INDESIGN

Just how important is a hospitality scene to a community? I’d go so far as saying that, like work, it’s part and sum of our daily lives. It facilitates livelihoods and cultivates local culture. From a designer’s perspective, hospitality spaces must address a mix of complex functions – to host and serve, consume and experience, connect and exchange, work and relax. Are we nailing the equation? Or does it require an entire re-imagining? In this issue, The ‘Design Relish’ Issue, we’re joined by special edition editor, Caroline Clements (page 24), who offers us a fresh take on the hospitality design paradigm. Meanwhile the Indesign team is excited to welcome you to our inaugural FRONT event, 9–10 August. Taking place at Carriageworks in Eveleigh, Sydney, FRONT puts the emphasis on connecting…

INDESIGN Luminary You might have a sentimental attachment to the 19th century Paris arcade, but retail design – the mix of interior and graphic design – is, says Mark Landini, a relatively new phenomenon. He should know because he’s been there almost since the beginning. Italian in origin but English by upbringing, Landini became a musician after graduating from Middlesex Polytechnic. But when that “went up in flames” he took a job with Fitch and Co. Rodney Fitch had only recently parted ways with Terence Conran to set up his own business and it was Fitch, says Landini, “who invented retail design as we know it today”. When Landini joined the company in 1980 at age 22 there were just 15 people. When he left at the end of 1989…

When is a showroom not a showroom? When it doesn’t feel like you’re shopping for a car. Jackson Clements Burrows digs deep into the customer psyche to design a hospitality-slash-retail space for Mercedes-Benz. “Prior to the opening, we did wonder how Melbourne might receive it. It’s such an unusual concept,” says JCB’s Simon Topliss of Mercedes Me. “But the experience makes sense here, a lot like streetside dining.” Below, the space is designed to transform seamlessly from relaxed dining to open-plan party venue, while above, a mezzanine of a more intimate scale comes complete with reading lounge and barista. Car commercials: a glossy display of precision engineering and sophistication, condensed into a 30-second montage. A vehicle glides through picturesque surrounds – rugged natural terrain, or perhaps a metropolis full of…

In the rugged outback town of Ningaloo Reef, SITE Architecture Studio has designed a visitors centre that captures the rawness and the romance of its region, through an interplay of materiality and structure. More than 1000 kilometres north of Perth, Ningaloo Reef is one of the natural wonders of the world. The small town has a permanent population of 2200, which swells to 7500 during the tourist season. This is in the Australian winter when the heat and humidity of summer abate allowing visitors to explore the reef and delight in the passing parade of extraordinary marine life. The Ningaloo Centre, which opened in February 2018, is much more than a visitors centre. The project was initiated by the Shire of Exmouth with the aim of boosting visitor numbers and…

“Technology is at the heart of what we do at Sub-Zero and Wolf. We build luxury products with purpose.” – Edmund Schorr, director of sales, Asia Pacific Picture this: cavernous halls, droves of people and gleaming, shiny kitchen appliances at every turn. For anyone with a passion for design, the Milan Furniture Fair is the holy grail of new products and innovation. And within that gigantic ecosystem sits the EuroCucina – the world’s most comprehensive kitchen design fair. Taking place every two years, it brings together a global audience and showcases the widest array of new products and technology. As a designer, specifier or kitchen aficionado, you know what you spot at EuroCucina will filter its way into Australia, where you will then be specifying it for your clients. This…

Hotel dining isn’t usually something we seek out. In fact, buffet breakfasts aside, we never would have considered eating at a hotel restaurant. That is, until recently. When visiting a new city, we inherently feel like foreigners, and most of us want to get out and explore the neighbourhood, discover something new and eat where the locals eat. But lately there’s been a shift in the design direction of hotel precincts which not only keep their guests close, but also offer a dining ‘staycation’ for locals, too. This new approach to hotel amenity offers much more than an impressive lobby, a nice bathroom, and club sandwiches on the room service menu. Some of our cities’ best chefs are opening establishments in boutique hotels, bringing neighbourhood eateries to locals and travellers…

Trends in design come and go, almost as quickly as they do in food. In a time where a unique experience is celebrated, more often than not, I find I really just want something familiar, comfortable and relaxed. After recently returning to Sydney to live, I’ve felt a nostalgia for past times spent here. In a city that is constantly changing, where new eateries pop up almost weekly, I’m still going back to dine at the places I know and love. Is that a sign of my dwindling adventurous self, or a refinement of my taste? A few years ago there was this cookie cutter look that was stylish, cool and easy to produce (sparse, exposed bricks, steel beams, etcetera.) But it feels like there’s a shift towards making the…

Bathing In Luxury FRONT x apaiser Internationally recognised for the design and manufacture of luxurious bathware, apaiser works with leading A&D to enhance hotels, resorts, residential developments and private residences across the globe. apaiser takes a three-tiered approach to design with collections which encompass carefully curated pieces; made-to-measure pieces drawn from its collections; and bath couture which involves original, bespoke designs. With offices in Melbourne, Singapore, New York, London and Dubai, apaiser has supplied bathware for high-end and boutique hotels worldwide. Using revolutionary apaiserMARBLE® enriched with Australian minerals, each apaiser piece is hand-finished in specialised atelier workshops by its master people. Sweet Light FRONT x CBS Specialists in ergonomic IT products, CBS presents Lolly, a personal desk light which gives power to the user through integrated USB ports. Lolly breaks…

With millions of restaurants quite literally at diners’ fingertips, the hospitality stakes are high. So, how do you stand out in the crowd? Chin Chin shows us that a little attitude can go a long way. “Having already established a following and a great asset in Melbourne, it’s clear that Chin Chin has an appeal that stretches beyond food or service, branching out into a cultural arena where it now creates entirely new bonds with consumers.” Personal disclaimer: I was stared down by a gimp in a gas mask during one of the best meals I have ever tasted. For many, such defiant ogling does wonders to kill an appetite. And for many more, digestion is the last thing on the mind when met with all the leather and whips…

When the politics of a project involve Parliament itself, the architectural facilitator must be expert in multi-party negotiation. fjmt brings the design conversation back to the land and its people with Salamanca Building at Parliament Square, Hobart. Notwithstanding various constraints, there are some striking and significant design initiatives which give this building a strong sense of unity and a lot of character. Designing any workplace – especially one providing amenity and space for a modern Parliament and its Parliamentarians – is never a one-size-fits-all solution. It’s always a case of horses for courses. Naturally, if the horse is designed by a committee it may prove ungainly, so the challenge is always to ensure that the end result is fit for purpose. Designed by fjmt, the 11-storey Salamanca Building is Hobart’s…

If your business was a person, who would it be? Kingsleys in Sydney had already workshopped its brand strategy and came to SJB with an intriguing brief: to personify Liam Neeson. Looking beyond the Hollywood glamour, SJB has translated this quirky concept into a fit-out that speaks to both its locality and Liam using an interior palette filled with character quirks. “There’s a great masculine quality to Liam Neeson, as well as a fairness and charm… Based on that we decided to use woody blue tones throughout the interior and utilitarian finishes that can still evoke a sense of softness.” If you ask most people to describe Liam Neeson, chances are they’d use words like rugged, handsome, reliable, thoughtful and intelligent. His public persona is undeniably appealing. So much so,…

If Andrew Joy had to choose a memorable dining experience, there’s a good chance it would involve La Coupole. The Paris brasserie, where the light from oblong, Art Deco lampshades spills over elegant, olive-green banquettes, has hosted the likes of Man Ray and Picasso since it opened on the Boulevard du Montparnasse in the late 1920s. It also sums up the powerful relationship between hospitality and design. “At La Coupole, the classic design makes you instantly comfortable and even though it’s a big space, its softness makes you feel at ease,” says Joy. “You want to sit down, order a bottle of wine, eat as much food as you possibly can. Right now, design has this obsession with sparseness, with trying to create spaces that are almost sterile. But there’s…

Ohlo Studio Indesign Designpreneur Ohlo Studio has been hard to ignore since interior architect and artist Jen Lowe established her practice in Freemantle, Western Australia in 2015. Lowe and team’s work is on-trend and energetic, teeming with an inspired use of colour, well considered spatial planning and fine attention to detail. While the projects may be modest in size, all are compelling for their strong material selections and singular design vision. For Lowe, good hospitality design is about uncovering the unique identity inherent in each project. “Every material has an origin and various associations and we use this to create emotive environments that connect people to places,” she explains. “We like working with clients that have a strong sense of who they are and what they want to achieve, so…

On 22 June, the winners of the INDE.Awards 2018 were announced in Singapore. Selected by our esteemed jury from over 400 entries, they manifest the progressive attitude that is making Asia Pacific one of the world’s most innovative regions for design. We celebrate and congratulate your 2018 winners. Our region’s design on the global stage. Official INDE.Awards 2018 Jury Abbie Galvin, BVN (Australia) Aric Chen, M+ (Hong Kong) Chan Ee Mun, WOHA (Singapore) Eleena Jamil, Eleena Jamil Architect (Malaysia) James Calder, Calder Consultants (Australia) Jan Utzon, Utzon Architects (Denmark) Joshua Comaroff, Lekker Architects (Singapore) Luke Pearson and Tom Lloyd, PearsonLloyd (UK) Luke Yeung, Architectkidd (Thailand) Lyndon Neri and Rossana Hu, Neri & Hu (China) Paul McGillick, McGillick Consulting (Australia) Raj Nandan, Indesign Media (Australia/Singapore) Shashi Caan, SC Collective (USA/UK) Stephen…

When travelling first and business class, extra details are added to make that experience even more delightful. For most, the extra legroom is enough. But beyond just being able to lie horizontally, business and first class passengers are treated to a selection of specially designed products to elevate the aviation experience. Service ware, cutlery, pyjamas and amenity kits – these are the finishing touches that divide the classes in airline travel. And depending on which airline you choose to travel, you will see a variety of luxury brands collaborating on those products. What you may not realise is that behind the scenes there is an Australian company that designs and manufactures those products. Enter Buzz. Founded by Leonard Hamersfeld and Barry Gold over 19 years ago, Buzz has been quietly…

Pavilions, hubs and neighbourhoods have become the building blocks of the agile workplace. But do these democratic spaces speak to the individual? At Red Energy, Carr applies these spatial concepts as a personalisation device, enabling users to claw back a sense of ownership in their transient work space. “I find that these types of settings are a reaction against the digitisation of workplaces,” says Carr director, Dan Cox. “The ‘linear line’, ‘straight line’ workplace is such a designer thing – but the client doesn’t necessarily want everything lined up, they’re more interested in [creating] curiosity and a sense of discovery – the ‘bump-into factor’ – and this is the result of creating spaces that aren’t so rigid. The reality is that the future is actually more about ‘human-ness’ and personalisation…

Chin Chin, Sydney Interior Architect George Livissianis George Livissianis georgelivissianis.com Furniture Chin Chin: Thonet No.18 natural wash dining chair with custom goose feather clear cushion seat, Thonet Australia. Stools all custom designed. Go Go: Thonet B9 black stained dining chair with custom black dyed goose feather clear cushion seat, Thonet Australia. Tom Fereday ‘Wes’ sofa upholstered in Warwick ‘Entice Nero’ black velvet, Zenith. Stools all custom designed. Chi Town: Thonet No.18 blush toned chairs with pink velvet cushions, Thonet Australia. Eames Aluminium tables in custom neon pink finish with custom made top in Abet Laminati ‘1101’ soft colour with chrome edge. Lighting All lighting, Volker Haug Studio. Finishes Chin Chin: Flooring recycled from Ironbark building joists. Table tops recycled from Ironbark building posts and beams. Walls and panels, OSB chipboard.…

In the great haemorrhaging of publicity that’s so characteristic of our age, the happenings of 4 February 2018 stand apart. Amid headlines covering school shootings in Los Angeles, Taliban bombings in North Pakistan and the Sibanye Gold incident, the New York Post picked up a story initially run in UK tabloid The Sun: ‘CRUNCH DECISION: Doritos firm to launch crisps for WOMEN because they don’t like crunching loudly or licking their fingers, boss reveals’. Within minutes of publication, #LadyDoritos trumped even the US President in Twitter’s trending topics. While for some it was a news item too trivial to matter, for a teeth-gnashing majority #LadyDoritos sounded the death knell for gender equality. Kick-started by a podcast interview (31 January 2018) between PepsiCo CEO, Indra Nooyi, and Freakonomics author, Stephen Dubner,…