Dynamic Restaurant Design Unites Asian and Middle-Eastern Cuisines

This week’s instalment of the Project of the Week series features a dynamic restaurant design by 2022 SBID Awards Finalist, DesignLSM.

Situated in the heart of London’s Islington, Jiji Restaurant is a new concept that is inspired by a fusion of two international cuisines; Asian and Middle-Eastern.

Curating the aesthetic DNA of the brand, our design worked to reflect and harmonise the clash of cultures, to create a dynamic and welcoming space that plays with the guests’ senses, delivering a standout culinary experience. Careful design consideration was not only given to the restaurant space but also to the display of the branded merchandise that Jiji offers to seamlessly blend into its surroundings.

With a real personal connection to the owners, their refreshing and unique personality was translated not only in the interiors but in the innovative food on the menu too.

What was the client’s brief? 

The restaurateurs behind the award-winning restaurant group, Sumosan, were looking to create a new concept based around the inspiration of the owner’s passion for Middle Eastern cuisine fused with Sumosan’s famed sushi.

DesignLSM were tasked to create a dynamic space that felt relaxed and sophisticated yet with a sense of home and place, creating a destination that guests felt loyalty towards. Energy, anticipation and interest was to be generated by the culinary theatre from the open kitchen pass coupled with vibrant interiors to encourage guest engagement and visual intrigue.

What inspired the design of the project?

The interior design aims to reflect and harmonise the glorious clash of cultures that Jiji’s celebrates. The Asian influence can be seen in the sophisticated joinery of the repeat vertical elements to the gantry beautifully curving around the open bar and the natural timbers selected, whilst the custom, 3-dimensional, stylized portraits introduce energy and personality into the space paying homage to Tel Aviv’s electric nightlife scene. The design intends to create an informal, highly sociable setting; incorporating theatrical elements to reflect the dynamism of the twinned cultures.

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

Set in an area that is rich in character and period properties, the building holds historic heritage having traditionally been used as a Royal Mail sorting office in the early 1900s. Whilst it is now redeveloped as a multipurpose building, playing home to residential complexes and other restaurants, within the building itself, there were some constraints that we had to adhere to and externally there were limitations with the signage due to the historic nature of the architecture and the sensitivity to the residents within the building.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

Jiji has been very exciting to work on from a design perspective, even more so as it has been such a personal project to the owners. We worked closely with our client to create and develop their vision which was born from their passion of food and travel, resulting in the delivery of a stunning restaurant that represents their refreshing and unique personality, translated not only in the interiors but in the innovative food on the menu too.

Our creativity flowed extensively with this project – from carefully curated atmospheric neon lighting to several bespoke items featured, including the striking custom 3D artworks, blue hued geometric floor tiles and the intricately detailed wooden bar front with its patterned relief of circles interspersed with the iconic Jiji logo.

Why did you enter this project into the SBID Awards?

We put a great deal of strategic planning and creativity into our design for Jiji, and when we saw our vision come to life and the positive response it received from the public (as well as restaurant critics such as Giles Coren), both our client and the DesignLSM team felt incredibly proud of what we have achieved. The SBID Awards are renowned for celebrating the best of interior design and this restaurant has earned it rightful place in the running as one of London’s most vibrant new openings. To be in the company of the other finalists is an honour in itself.

Questions answered by Tom Munson, Senior Designer, DesignLSM.

In this week’s interview with 2022 SBID Awards winners of the Contract Fit Out Project of the Year category, Portview, Paul Scullion discusses the sustainable elements of the project and how to ensure a customer journey is considered within design, as well as challenges of designing a basement space.

Portview were appointed to deliver a mixed-use residential development venture between Canary Wharf Group & Qatari Diar, London’s South Bank – a serene city oasis where residents can escape to relax, unwind, and reinvigorate.

Firstly, tell us a bit about the design of your project. What were the key ideas, concepts and processes behind it?

Southbank Place Spa forms part of a unique mixed-use development in Waterloo, London. The ultra-sleek design of the lavish amenities was conceptualized by Goddard Littlefair, with an experiential focus to create a serene city oasis where residents can escape to relax, unwind and reinvigorate.

Portview’s material prowess sees the use of unique and innovative fittings throughout the spa. A light and calming palette of sensitively selected natural materials paired with ambient lighting to create a cocoon-like space within an uber-contemporary spa setting. Residents can enjoy a luxury hotel-standard spa experience within their dynamic city-living environment.

Sustainability was crucial on this 2,000 sqm spa and wherever possible, greener fabrics and finishes were implemented. Sustainable timber that is certified by the Forestry Stewardship Council was used throughout the facility, including the reception and spa entry areas. The timber was used for the flooring, timber panels, doors and various other joinery. The saunas’ hemlock and spruce bear the ‘Blue Angel’ quality certificate label, for particularly low-emission products made of wood and wood materials. The knotless, robust wood of the Canadian hemlock fir and Aspen are not only beautiful, but are also durable and resin free.

What was your biggest takeaway or highlight from completing this project?

The bespoke and exclusive nature of the details of the spa design is evident in many areas. Despite the challenges and rigours of working in a hot and humid environment, tactile luxury has not been ignored. Panels of marine-grade faux leather have been embroidered and stitched by artisans, with Portview ensuring the detailing of the high-specification design and custom joinery throughout the entire area was converted to reality.

Providing users with a sense of privacy and exclusivity through cleverly zoning spaces was critical in this design, and was rewarding to deliver. One example of this is the use of beautiful custom-made burnished rock crystal screens in the reception area.

The key focus of the design layout was the guest journey. Could you explain how the design process looked while following this concept?

The guest journey was hugely important in the design of this project, with the recognition that while some users will want to be energised through a hard-hitting workout, others want to relax. These two elements can therefore be accessed separately without overlap to heighten the experience.

The spacious reception area acts as a hub and a social area for residents to meet one another, therapists or trainers. Two fully equipped gyms are available along with separate studios, which can be heated for a hot yoga workout or cooled for a dynamic spin class. The alternative wet and relax route takes residents through plush changing rooms, the gentlemen having a dedicated sauna area, while ladies can enjoy their own vitality pool, sauna and steam room.

On the pool deck itself, the heat experiences continue with a stunning 25m heated swimming pool, accompanied by a further vitality pool, sauna and steam room along with social relaxation spaces for residents to enjoy. In addition, calm yet luxurious treatment rooms are available where selected therapies including beauty treatments are available.

This Spa & Fitness Suite looks rather different from the average fitness centre – it is light, serene, and minimalist. Did you stumble upon any challenges that were particular to your chosen design style?

A challenge of the project was its basement location, which meant there was no natural light. Portview introduced a system of sensory experiences throughout the spa to create warm and radiant ambient light. The design creates an immersive feeling of light and space through carefully concealed architectural lighting that casts warm glows across rich surfaces, while decorative lighting provided beautiful accents through the space. The glowing feature lighting in the pool area was created with each glass drop specifically crafted to allude to the flow of water, contributing to the serene atmosphere.

What has winning an SBID Award meant for you and your business?

To achieve the extraordinary, industry leaders need to work in collaboration, which is exactly what Goddard Littlefair and Portview did to deliver Southbank Spa. The award from SBID highlights to the industry that Portview should be the trusted partner of any client or designer who wants to turn their vision into a reality. The team at Portview are genuine, ambitious and hard-working, which I could have told you before winning this award, but it’s extra special to have this recognised by SBID too.

Questions answered by Paul Scullion, Contracts Director, Portview.

This week’s instalment of the Project of the Week series features a luxurious hotel suite design by 2022 SBID Awards Finalist, Hirsch Bedner Associates.

Canopy by Hilton Hotel in Qujiang Xi’an conveys the splendid leisure and carnival entertainment of the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

The central premise of the design stems from the Chinese idiom 鲜衣怒马 xiānyī nùmǎ, which loosely translates to “wearing beautiful garments and riding powerful horses”. With this concept in mind, the interiors celebrate the vibrant fashion and design of the prosperous Tang Dynasty that for centuries has been integrated into the spiritual language of Xi’an’s neighborhoods, and now blends exquisitely with the opulent aesthetics of the Canopy brand.

The xiānyī nùmǎ motif is unraveled throughout the hotel style through the use of joyful colors and patterns inspired by Tang-era fabrics and artwork. By fusing the ancient with the modern to create a unique design story, the hotel creates a fresh perspective on historical elements, allowing people to enjoy traditional culture in a rejuvenated, vibrant, and fun way.

What was the client’s brief? 

The initial brief received by clients was to bring the rich historical, traditional and cultural background of the place into the project renovation, and to align it to the hotel brand style and feeling.

Canopy by Hilton conveys the brand lifestyle that offers the guests comfort, thoughtful details, an energizing atmosphere and a uniquely local experience, as extension of the local neighbourhood.

Storytelling has been used to design the hotel allowing guest to discover the delightful neighbourhood as an ‘explorer’, and reinterpreting the traditional design language for modern appreciation.

What inspired the design of the project?

Canopy by Hilton Xi’an is located in the Qujiang New District, a new cultural hub and economic center of the historic city.

The hotel is connected to the Grand Tang Mall, a fabulous pedestrian street with myriad cultural sights and recreational activities.

The central premise of the design stems from the Chinese idiom “鲜衣怒马 xiānyī nùmǎ”, which loosely translates to “wearing beautiful garments and riding powerful horses”. With this concept in mind, the design team set out to celebrate the vibrant fashion and design of the prosperous Tang Dynasty that for centuries has been integrated into the spiritual language of Xi’an’s neighborhoods, and now blends exquisitely with the opulent aesthetics of the Canopy brand.

The xiānyī nùmǎ motif is unraveled throughout the hotel style through the use of joyful colors and patterns inspired by Tang-era fabrics and artwork. By fusing the ancient with the modern to create a unique design story, the hotel creates a fresh perspective on historical elements, allowing people to enjoy traditional culture in a rejuvenated, vibrant, and fun way.

By adopting the easy-going lifestyle of Xi’an and the cultural elements of the city’s historic legacy, the hotel acts as an extension of the local neighborhood.

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

As most of the projects, the team had to deal with a tight timeline on redesigning the whole hotel without compromising the construction programme.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

Canopy by Hilton Xi’an conveys the splendid leisure and carnival entertainment of the prosperous Tang Dynasty.

The hotel creates a new perspective that allows people to reveal the traditional culture in a way that is vibrant, fun and young, it adopts the easy-going Xi’an characteristic that enhance the vibe of the area it resides in.

The hotel has 125 guestrooms in the guest tower, including exclusive suites and lofts, leveraging little-bit difference with standard of Hilton group, the design of the guestroom tends to create different experience for the guests.

Guests are initially greeted by a room identity sign that echoes the design concept idiom and takes inspiration from a journey via horse and camel along the silk road. Upon entering the guestrooms, the design calls to mind a Tang-era scene of women pounding and making palace silk. During this time, women used mineral pigments to dye silk, and wrapped stones with wet raw rice paper or cotton to slowly seep the color into the silk. A nod to this ingenious process can be seen in the stylish canopy painted on the wall and ceiling surrounding the bed in each guestroom. The canopy is framed by clean black lines and features a strip of color in the center that fades from turquoise on the ceiling to a bright orange – a color spectrum cherished in the Tang Dynasty.

Why did you enter this project into the SBID Awards?

The SBID International Design Awards are a prestigious recognition of excellence within the interior design industry across products, interiors and fit out.

Over a decade on, the Awards has firmly established itself as one of the most prestigious interior design Awards in the global design calendar. It represents the outstanding industry achievements and top quality design services that continue to inspire the profession.

Questions answered by Flavio Patino, Associate, HBA Hong Kong.

In this week’s interview with 2022 SBID Awards winners of the Healthcare & Wellness Design category, Mane Design, Mane Mehrabyan explores the concept of the project and shares how they achieved set goals, including respecting personal space in a public setting.

The fitness club’s concept focuses on individual training and visitors’ personal comfort. The premium level is finely emphasized by the club-style design.

Firstly, tell us a bit about the design of your project. What were the key ideas, concepts and processes behind it?

The main point of the realization of an exceptional health club’s design was the creation of a comfortable, elaborated, multifunctional sports territory for humans with personal space values. It is a fitness club that upgrades health via sport. The training hall is intended for individual pieces of training accompanied by a personal trainer and not more than five people at a time. Visitors’ personal space and comfort were the priority that is successfully brought to life by our design studio.

Modern style combined with sumptuous materials is an ideal match for the design of this close-type club.

What was your biggest takeaway or highlight from completing this project?

When I see the magnificent result of our work after the completion of each project brought into life from the scheme, I always feel great moral satisfaction and joy.

What has winning an SBID Award meant for you and your business?

We are so very happy and appreciative to the competition for such a high valuation of our work. It is very precious for our studio to have such a high-level international award.

What tools/techniques did you use to ensure the visitors’ personal space and comfort are respected in such an open and public environment?

The Club concept provides only five-person training at a time, and there are well-thought comfortable men’s and women’s locker zones.

Each shower box consists of the cabin itself and a prebox dressing personal area if the clients prefer not to be in the common area.

What is the key to designing a beautiful sports centre, where the equipment is prone to creating a feeling of cluttered space?

The key to a beautiful sports centre is comfortability and correct logistics. Each zone must be in its correct place for a cozy stay in the club. What concerns the design, it must provide the feeling of an atmosphere of non-cluttered space.

Can you tell us about the choice of lighting for the project?

All lightning was created and realized by our studio specially for this club. We are proud with coping with such a complicated task.

Questions answered by Mane Mehrabyan, Founder and Head, Mane Design.

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

What was the client’s brief? 

The theme of client’s brief: The Garden on the Loess.

The city of Yinchuan, where the project is located, is situated in the Ningxia Plain, an arid region in western China. Unlike other arid regions, there are two major wetland parks that are ecological features of the area. In order to protect the precious wetland resources and this important transit point for migrating birds, the city of Yinchuan is also aiming to become a ‘city of lakes’. In addition, the survey shows that there are few commercial forms around the project site, the quality of life is not high and the convenience of living is improving.

Therefore, ENJOYDESIGN, as the interior design for this case, wanted to create a “multi-life experience hall” for the residents with the theme of “The Garden on the Loess”, integrating plants and greenery, floral art, cultural creation, trendy games, reading, beauty, tea and other diversified businesses, and creating a “multi-life experience hall” with both aesthetics and fireworks in the form of a community. A third space outside of work. At the same time, it also serves to promote the ecological characteristics of the area.

What inspired the design of the project?

What inspired the design of this project is the local efforts made over the years to protect the wetland resources. Using flowers and greenery as a medium, nature is allowed to surge like flowing water, irrigating not only the desert sands, but also the hearts of the people of Yinchuan.

We have tried to tell the other side of the city in a lifelike way, leading people to experience the unique face of Yinchuan, not only the yellow earth and barren smoke and ravines, but also the prosperity and vibrancy of The Garden on the Loess.

We hope that community residents will feel the romance of the sun surrounded by flowers and embark on a journey to nature to find the oasis their hearts desire.

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

During the project, the toughest hurdles to overcome were the construction of the design facade and the local people’s acceptance of the novel style.

Large curved wood finish walls require a high degree of workmanship and stability in terms of grain and colour. Yinchuan is one of the more remote cities in western China, where finding workers who are skilled in construction and high quality building materials is more difficult than in the metropolis.

Secondly, the style of the scheme is relatively new to the occupants of the area and has undergone a process of trying to tell the concept from scheme to landing and then to pre-acceptance by the general public.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

I think it is: we strive to turn dream gardens into real, functional spaces that are both beautiful and functional, making them a part of the lives of the community.

Why did you enter this project into the SBID Awards?

First, of course, the professionalism. SBID Awards is a highly professional, fair and influential award in the design industry. Every year, we choose excellent works to compete. For example, last year, we won the only award for interior design in the Asia Pacific region, which was affirmed and recognized by the jury from distant overseas and design countries. The designers were greatly excited and encouraged after winning the award because it proved the design ability of the studio.

Questions answered by Jie Guo, Founder & Creative Director, ENJOYDESIGN.

Click here to discover the last year’s SBID Awards winners!

Visit sbidawards.com for more information.

In this week’s interview with 2022 SBID Awards winners of the Hotel Bedroom & Suites Design category, Brime Robbins, Maria Brime & Garrett Robbins shine the spotlight on the intricate details of their project, discuss their design approach and talk about connecting the world and translating the stories and culture through design.

Brime Robbins were commissioned for the interior design at Andaz Prague, the first Hyatt hotel in the Czech Republic and the first luxury lifestyle hotel in Prague. In the historic building known ‘Sugar Palace’ Brime Robbins worked to not only preserve and elevate the historic features of the building but create an experience integral to the identity of Prague itself.

Firstly, tell us a bit about the design of your project. What were the key ideas, concepts and processes behind it?

In transforming the historic Sugar Palace building into a luxury Andaz hotel, Brime Robbins harnessed the central design inspiration of Czech myths and legends; making “the global local”, and transporting guests to a legendary world beyond the restored casement windows and crown mouldings.

Awoken from their slumber within the dormant building, the characters from the legends emerge from the walls and floors to greet guests and guide them through an unforgettable journey through Andaz Prague. This design approach connects visiting guests with a strong, passionate sense of place, reconnecting native people of Prague with their childhoods and engaging with local artists and craftsmen with modern and refined materials. Guests are immersed into a world of never-ending stories, which inevitably they will pack into their suitcases and take home with them, telling friends and family far and wide…and hence creating a larger, more global story from the heart of Prague. It is this sharing of our hearts, which then makes the entire hotel experience intimate, unique and very personal.

What was your biggest takeaway or highlight from completing this project?

The biggest and most positive takeaway from this project was the exceptionally strong emotional, visceral connection between the people of Czech Republic and the stories anchoring the design. Often when designing spaces, there is a core concept and/or story which can be just as interesting and unique but have come nowhere close to the personal connection for each and every person in Prague, and Czech Republic.

For this project, we spent a lot of time at the concept stage – mesmerised by Czech Republic and Prague being so enchanting and rich in culture – that is how we came to that heritage and culture being such a focal point to be harnessed and encapsulated into the design.

It truly has been amazing how something so simple could have such a large, withstanding impact. During tours and events, some people have been on the verge of tears with such an emotional connection to the design that remind them of their grandparents reading them these stories and so on.

What has winning an SBID Award meant for you and your business?

To achieve such recognition and an overwhelming positive response to our concept and design has been unbelievable. Such recognition from the industry and wider design community has really propelled us to strive for nothing less than ‘award-winning’ concepts and designs going forward. It has really highlighted how crucial the symbiotic relationship is between concept and design and the integration between the two.

Winning an SBID award has meant greater exposure in the UK and Northern Europe from such a prestigious and well-respected body, truly catapulting our designs from the local, to global.

On top of this, winning the award adds great value to the property itself, whilst nurturing our current and future relationships with our clients. This should also hopefully support us when approaching future projects as such proven success and positive track record highlights how universally, the BR approach, is an approach like no other. This recognition puts the spotlight on how being so intrinsically personal and emotional can create a strong connection with the place itself, whilst simultaneously creating an unbreakable bond with guests through the design and narrative.

For this project you were asked to create an experience integral to the identity of Prague itself. What is your approach/design process for this kind of brief, especially being a design practice based abroad?

As we mentioned, we spent a lot of time and concentrated efforts during the concept phase to ensure the stories and narrative could truly shine through and connect to one and all. We spent a lot of time speaking to people in Prague, gathering research, and fundamentally immersing ourselves into local cultures to support such an enriching narrative.

We became in love with the idea of retelling these stories but in a more uplifting style that would translate into interior design. It’s been an unbelievably fun process to now see these stories emerge from the walls in front of you.

It is important to note, we were not trying to imitate Czech culture but to create an authentic representation by translating such rich culture to a relatable and mesmerising narrative widely understood across the globe. There truly is something wonderfully innate about engaging in a story or fairy-tale, something universal that supports an immersive experience – often providing a stronger understanding of ourselves during the process.

Hotel rooms too often create a feeling of coldness and unfamiliarity. How did you ensure the guests would feel at home staying in these suites?

For us, it is vital to capture interest and create moments to pause and engage. Very much like the narrative within a story, it’s important to create areas to be in awe of, encouraging a moment of pause, reflection and enjoyment. And this was key for Andaz Prague, especially for such an enriching lifestyle brand.

We explored touches of residential styling and sensibilities to create a ‘home from home’ experience along the way. From the smallest details that connect guests to something they may have in their home or are familiar to a home they know. It’s important to design in a way that makes you literally want to dive into and feel at home.

From damask, textured wallpapers to a distinctive chaise longue and umbrella stand. With high quality craftsmanship and materials that reflect a sense of home and warmth, guests can feel like they’re in a special place; their very own luxury, their own little world.

Can you tell us more about your company ethos? What role does interior design play in “making the global local”?

Our ethos to ‘make the global, local’ represents a wonderful synergy and the opportunity to make such a large, fast-paced world, feel smaller, connected and intimate.

There are so many things to fall in love with about each and individual culture, and this couldn’t be truer about Prague and Czech Republic. The designs for Andaz Prague create deep connections coupled with a sense of mystery and intrigue, a unique unforgettable experience for all. Guests will find reasons to return, relive and indulge through the experiences presented through the design.

This rich emotional connection is formed through multiple layers of detail within a 360 design approach. Throughout the immersive journey, you are faced with hidden treasure after hidden treasure, with guests longing to pack up these experiences in their suitcases to take home with them. Making the global, local.

It is important to recognise local cultures from a global perspective, creating an ambience that guests want to pocket and travel with so that these stories can be retold globally, day after day, whether verbally or visually in the ever-growing world of social media. As small as the world is, people can feel connected to Czech Republic without even having visited.

Questions answered by Maria Brime & Garrett Robbins, Co-founders, Brime Robbins.

Commemorating the feminine spirit, Liang & Eimil sheds light on the affects that build the environment every day, not just on March 8^th. The choice to highlight Honghui and her dedication to embrace equity was taken for this year. Join us as we investigate methods for fostering inclusion, inspire you to start your own business, and offer you curated content that includes an exclusive interview.

Entrepreneurship & Leadership

According to Honghui, being a successful entrepreneur requires dedication, hard work, and perseverance with a strong will. It must serve a purpose. She is most proud of building Liang & Eimil from the ground up during a ten-year period.

Honghui explains how she has always been very independent ever since she was a child. She is a doer and achiever, always keen for an adventure. In 2009, she relocated to London to join her husband, Frank Eimil’s business and says, “I adore interior design and the pieces my husband creates. He is a wonderful designer, and I am good at running a business, so we are a perfect combination”. She adds that she is extremely proud of the brand they have both built together, claiming that their complementary skills are the key that has led them to where Liang & Eimil is today.

Prior to moving to the UK over ten years ago, Honghui worked in a variety of fields. She was a consultant for many Italian companies looking to expand into China, and she also ran her own business with a friend in the oil and gas industry. She says, “I am enjoying more of what I am doing now because I believe I am creating something meaningful.” Liang &Eimil’s mission is to bring luxury lifestyle into the lives of people and change the way they live and feel at home. Their objective is to make an ordinary day a memorable one, with the luxury of comfort, elegance and enhanced way of living.

When asked about the gender shift in leadership roles, Honghui believes she has seen a transition from male dominant to more female leaders since starting the business, as she noticed an increase in the number of companies led by women. “I believe the difference between male and female leaders is that women prefer a more collaborative approach of leadership by nature, whereas men tend to lean towards a command-and-control style.”

Embrace Equity

On the topic of fair and equal working environment, Honghui encourages impartiality by ensuring that no hidden characteristics are used to discriminate against employees. She also proposes that equal access to benefits and working conditions for all employees, as well as fair and consistent hiring and promotion procedures be established. Lastly, fair processes and procedures are to be set for dealing with employee grievances and disciplinary issues.

Often, there is the double-bind dilemma for women in leadership. Gender stereotypes frequently undermine women’s ability to lead. Men are seen as being strong, decisive and assertive when they take charge, while women are seen as competent but unpopular when they do the same. Women leaders frequently exert twice as much effort as males for the same accolades. Honghui thinks this needs to change as she stated, “to give more women the chance to succeed at all levels, in all occupations, and in all spheres of life, it is time to rethink what it means to be a leader. We ought to evaluate each employee according to the same criteria.”

Challenges

The most difficult challenge they faced was when their warehouse caught fire. All their inventory was destroyed, but they remained calm and overcame the hurdle. They were lucky that everyone around them were very understanding and supportive, including their customers. “While faced with a challenge, it is important to discuss transparently to arrive at a solution.”

Work life balance is also another of Honghui’s constant battle. Being a family orientated individual, Honghui tries to spend as much time as she can with her family while balancing the two things that are most important to her: her family and her business. But how does she manage it? She says, “It’s nearly impossible to strike a balance with only 24 hours in a day, so I devote more time to my family by sacrificing on my sleep.” She expects to be able to devote more time to her family and children as more mid-level managers join the team and Liang & Eimil expand.

Her Interior Style

As SBID is the accreditation body for interior design, we had to talk interior. As Honghui enjoys reading, her most important pieces of furniture in a home are chairs and shelving. “Reading a book in a comfortable chair with shelving to display all of your favourite books and most treasured photo frames of your loved ones, where you can keep all of your beautiful memories, are most precious.”

Honghui’s favourite interior style is a cross of Art Deco and Mid-Century Modernism. Her home includes a variety of colour schemes as every room should tell a different story. From Liang & Eimil’s over 1,500 product line, Honghui’s favourite piece is the Brutalist sideboard as she likes the texture, use of the geometric patterns and the subtlety of its golden brass trims.

Advice for young female entrepreneurs

Honghui advises young female entrepreneurs who want to start their own business venture and succeed in business to “Identify a market. Take action to start out courageously. Take the chance and push yourself. Keep your vision clear. Be observant. Have faith in yourself and always stay positive.” She adds, “It’s important to create a great team by hiring good people. Take advice from your employees and consumers as well as from your mistakes.”

Honghui’s last message for aspiring female entrepreneurs is to have a purpose and be passionate. “Always maintain your confidence. Empower yourself to face challenges and risks without fear. Be creative as it allows you to concentrate on reforming and breaking through instead of solving problems. Be collaborative while also developing self-awareness. Self-awareness enables us to see things through the eyes of others. Determination. You will always go the extra mile and do whatever it takes to make it happen if you have a strong determination.”

Cover image: Featuring Liang & Eimil’s Lapis Sofa, Lapis Occasional Chair, Montier Mirror, Luca Floor Lamp, Icardi Pendant Lamp and accessories.

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This week’s instalment of the Project of the Week series features a luxurious bar-restaurant design by 2022 SBID Awards Finalist, Albion & East.

What was the client’s brief? 

To create a 300 cover bar-restaurant with a grand, centre-piece bar, a very open kitchen integrated into the space and two iconic outside terraces.

What inspired the design of the project?

The building is the former 1930’s Forum Theatre, designed by Mr Stanley Beard who specialised in cinema architecture, but had long since closed and remained abandoned for 15 years until we resurrected it as Teatro Hall. The original interior had an Italian Renaissance style design with high ceilings and large columns. Our inspiration was to resurrect the building in ‘Stile Liberte’, an Italian variant of Art Nouveau and named after Arthur Liberty and the store he founded Liberty’s. We were rediscovering, resurrecting and reawakening and building of grand proportions in a subtle, not slavish, mind to its history.

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

With new Brexit laws, delivery of bespoke items made for us in Europe needed careful planning and challenged budgets. Coupled with increases in raw material costs we had to focus hard on design elements which were stand out. Having to work harder than ever before, we didn’t compromise on design and hit budgets through planning and extending our network of suppliers of bespoke and hand made items.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

A grand island bar takes centre stage with a tall backdrop of etched blue Venetian Glass housed in cherry wood, marble bar top and pale parchment under tiled counter. Our Clock Tower is reminiscent of seating in the Waldorf Astoria lobby in NYC. Banquets, with rich midnight velvet seats and pale cream linen curtains, create intimacy. Four handmade Murano glass chandeliers, with over 100 glass columns each, create grandeur that the space demands.

Why did you enter this project into the SBID Awards?

Having followed the awards for several years, I have always been impressed at the quality and diversity of the finalists. It has been a source of interest and inspiration for me over the years as I have been developing my company. SBID is a well recognised and prestigious organisation and it’s an honour to be a finalist with you.

Questions answered by Sarah Weir, Lead Designer and the Founder & Managing Director, Albion & East.

The architectural base of graphite and beige structures, which existed here before, was complemented by the client’s favourite combination of grant-green-purple-carmine, which introduced a visible boldness of colour, evoking associations and an atmosphere like in the world of Almodovar, whom she has appreciated while inspired this place.

This combination, intense and variable in intensity and proportion, became the main basis for material and colour choices. Thus, within this framework, shades of these colours appear in the form of varied and contrasting textures, shiny blue and green mirrors contrast with silk and velvet wallpapers, furry gradient fabrics are combined with nubuck matte leather, patterned fabric ornaments with an intense, almost ethnic expression are juxtaposed with glossy anthracite wood.

The intensity of the colours is combined with the finesse of the shapes of the sophisticated and designed furniture. As a tribute to the style of the Memphis group, Robert Majkut has designed a dedicated collection of furniture inspired by them, such as a console in the entrance, a TV cabinet and table in the living room and a chest of drawers in the bedroom. This coherent and bold collection of sculptures-objects fulfils its concentrating, colour-sculptural role, giving a distinct character and unambiguity to this effusion of intensity. A number of distinctive forms and juxtapositions were used in the design of the console located in the lobby, including the most popular Memphis pattern – the squiggle, otherwise known as ‘bacterio’. A table and TV cabinet using ornaments typical of the style were also designed in the convention of the Italian group. The collection was created in collaboration with the Dawidczyk Brothers carpentry workshop.

The whole is complemented by the owner’s furniture and meticulously selected additions in the form of Casina armchairs, Minotti sofa, or other furniture from companies such as Porada, Ekstorm, Bosa, Pouenat, Takeushi, Kundalini.

The living room and bedroom interiors are dominated by fleshy fabrics with thick weaves and colours from well-known and respected brands Kirkby Design, Zimmer+Rohde professionally stitched and upholstered to order in collaboration with Ardeco Studio and silk and velour textile wallpapers of high quality by Vescom, Phillip Jeffries, individually selected and made colourful mirrors, shades and carpets made to order by CS rugs factory from the Cameleon Collection. Finally, the highlight of the project is a kitchen ceramic wall made based on inspiration from a selected painting by a Canadian artist, whose transcriptions into the language of ceramics were first precisely designed and then crafted. It is an expressive dominant feature of the interior created by means of traditionally fired, sophisticated colours, realised in collaboration with Ardea.

The hand-formed work has been transferred into the kitchen space providing an artistic respite, but also a backdrop to the urban life of the house, blending in with furnishing details such as the Gessi kitchen tap with its ceramic stem in the colour of carmine certainly.

Robert Majkut appreciates the sensitivity and artistry of other artists and seeks out original and unobvious works that complement his vision of a place, which was the case in his collaboration with the OAK Gallery in Paris. For this project, an Art Object – Mirror by Christophe Gaignon/Signature Collection was created with a special dedication to the owner of the interior.

From the Author:

“This beautiful living space came out as an intense mixture of colors, bold forms, a tribute to the joyful, colorful times of artistic design – it was and it is all about playing with conventions and joy liberated from the obvious. Just like the person who lives here! Thank you, Barbara.”

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