Hotel Design Inspired by the Principles of Mindfulness

This week's instalment of Project of the Week interior design series features a hotel design by 2021 SBID Awards Finalist, PLD Paul Liu Design Consultants.

Located in Shanghai’s seaside district Fengxian, this new urban oasis hotel offers warm and welcoming luxury experiences for the body and mind in Hangzhou Bay. The sense of design creativity is carried throughout the experiences one has at the hotel, unveiling layer after layer.

Dining options at JW Marriott Hotel Shanghai Fengxian include three distinctive restaurants and a bar. The overall design of all-day dining outlet JW Kitchen is modern and clean-lined where show kitchens are distributed around the restaurant, strongly expressing the hotel's unique identity. Fine dining restaurant Yan Xuan, with 15 luxurious dining rooms for private events, has an elegant design with upscale detailing, while each private room has its own unique design elements. Signature restaurant Shanghai Crab & Co. offers a casual and maritime overall feel. Earth tones indicate the down-to-earth nature of a Mediterranean meal, while pastels and cool colours create a more upscale seaside atmosphere.

What was the client's brief? 

The brief was to design a new contemporary JW Marriott-branded hotel, inspired by the principles of mindfulness to allow guests to focus on feeling whole - present in mind, nourished in body and revitalized in spirit. To enable the hotel design to articulate Marriott’s international luxury portfolio brand strategy, philosophy and globally consistent image.

What inspired the design of the project?

JW Marriott Hotel Shanghai Fengxian was designed with an architectural point of view and a focus on authentic materials and space shaping. Millwork, tactile materials, thoughtful details, lighting, and furnishings all contribute to the design concept in a holistic way, reflective of the property's unique sense of place.

The hotel's style narrative was inspired by its natural surroundings and Jinhai Lake, with its exterior resembling the legendary bird Roc, from the fable of “Roc hopping into the sea”. The design elements incorporate natural materials such as wood and marble in undulating, curvilinear forms that reflect the waves of the nearby East Sea. The hotel’s 265 guestrooms and suites offer luxurious comfort in restful shades of sable and blue, echoing the beaches and sea with clean modern lines and every thoughtful amenity for guests' comfort and convenience. Inspiration stems from the simple beauty of the natural world. In addition to visual design elements, guests experience nature in a tactile way through carefully-curated sensory experiences.

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

With nearly 45000 sqm design area, the hotel design process was very sophisticated and functional, involving planning, schematic design, developed design and construction documentations stages. Due to the diversity of functions within a hotel building, a large number of specialists like architects, structural engineers, lighting, signage, AV consultants, contractors, suppliers were involved and required to coordinate with during each critical design stage. The design had to meet the requirement of Marriott’s international brand strategy while take the owner’s operational, budget, timely and aesthetic requirements into consideration.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

The project was highly recognized by the hotel management groups and the owner. Special attention was paid to hotel’s spatial relationships to ensure that spaces were used efficiently. The most efficient space planning solutions were given by the designer to make use of each corner to create more interesting spatial sequence, to keep a minimum amount of circulation and service space and also to give the guest a greater connection to the site and enhance the sense of privacy.

It became a sophisticated and luxurious sanctuary designed to let guests relax and rediscover a sense of balance in mind and body, as well as a convenient gateway to Shanghai and nearby cities.

Why did you enter this project into the SBID Awards?

The SBID International Design Awards are recognized as the most prestigious interior design awards in the world. Winning the SBID International Design Award would be a high achievement.

Questions answered by Bo Liu, Founder & Chairman, PLD.

RAK Ceramics, one of the leading ceramics’ brands in the world, unveiled its latest tiles and sanitaryware collections at Cersaie, one of the largest and most important international ceramics exhibitions which takes place annually in Bologna, Italy.

RAK Ceramics continues to provide its customers with ‘Room for Imagination’ and presented a complete collection of innovative new tiles, sanitaryware and complementary bathroom furniture and accessories. Displayed on one single stand RAK Ceramics continues to establish itself as the world leading ceramics lifestyle solutions provider.

Natural marble tile collections

Through-body veining is a RAK Ceramics innovation that enables natural marble veins to pass through the entire thickness of an unglazed porcelain slab with breath-taking results.

Thanks to innovative printing technology, pattern repetition is kept to a minimum and the delicate lines throughout the slab surface appear random and natural. From floors to wall surfaces and kitchen worktops, the effect is particularly dramatic when the product is used over large areas, with RAK-Preziosi being just one example.

Inspired by the elegance of marble, RAK-Preziosi has a smooth to the touch finish and a distinctive patterning that make this porcelain surface a stand-out backdrop feature wherever it is used. The epitome of luxury and sophistication, this maximus marble collection is also available in the trend-setting open book effect in a huge range of sizes, thicknesses and design solutions and can be chosen in several colours, including Green, Ocean, Pearl, Rio and Rock.

Designer bathroom collections

Among the many RAK Ceramics bathroom sanitaryware solutions to be shown at Cersaie, a highlight will be RAK-Valet. Designed by Patrick Norguet, the collection brings together the creative flair of the French designer and the manufacturing quality of RAK Ceramics.

The RAK-Valet collection, available in matt and glossy finishes, features thin-profiled washbasins, a generously sized, luxurious bathtub and sanitaryware with elongated lines. The collection is completed with details such as metal legs and towel rails or the functional and highly elegant little ceramic shelf, yet another design triumph by Norguet. 

RAK-Valet also co-ordinates perfectly with some of the most successful furniture ranges by RAK Ceramics, such as the newly released RAK-Joy Uno cabinets and mirrors.

Abdallah Massaad, Group CEO, RAK Ceramics commented:

“We are proud to present our new collections at Cersaie 2021, especially at such an extraordinary time. Cersaie is an essential event on our marketing calendar and one of great strategic importance for RAK Ceramics. In recent months we have put all efforts into strengthening our positioning as a lifestyle solution provider by developing new collections for bathroom floors, surfaces, large-format tiles, sanitaryware and accessories, all of which are perfectly coordinated.”

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With a commitment to recognising professional excellence across interior design and championing the growth of the creative industries, the SBID International Design Awards bestowed its annual accolade for Master of Design to Kit Kemp MBE - renowned interior designer, Founder and Creative Director of Firmdale Hotels & Kit Kemp Design Studio for her significant contributions in raising the profile of the profession.

Over the years Kit Kemp has carved herself an internationally-acclaimed reputation, not only for her unique approach to hotel interiors, but also as a successful textiles, fragrance and homewares designer, author and a highly-respected champion of British art, craft and sculpture.

The Kit Kemp Design Studio is celebrated for its individual and original approach to hotel and residential design, with colourful and detailed storytelling which celebrates craft and captures the imagination. As the creative force behind Firmdale Hotels since 1985, the brand now has ten properties, with eight hotels in London including the Ham Yard Hotel, Soho Hotel, Covent Garden Hotel, Charlotte Street Hotel, Haymarket Hotel, Number Sixteen Hotel, Dorset Square Hotel and Knightsbridge Hotel, as well as two in New York, The Whitby Hotel and Crosby Street Hotel.

Dr Vanessa Brady OBE, Founder & CEO of the Society of British and International Interior Design (SBID) comments, "We wanted to present Kit with this exclusive accolade to acknowledge her work as trailblazer in interior design. Bringing colour and pattern back into the forefront, Kit Kemp has forged a trend in the brave path she has trodden which serves as great inspiration to the professional community - not only for interior designers, but product manufacturers too!"

The SBID Awards strives to empower design industry talent to exhibit their creative work and celebrate their achievements on its global stage, as a testament to the incredible outcomes that can be accomplished through the power of good design and quality craftsmanship.

Click here to explore the full line-up of this year’s SBID Awards winners across Interior Design, Product Design and Fit Out.

If you’d like to become SBID Accredited, click here for more information.

This week's instalment of Project of the Week interior design series features an astonishing residential villa design by 2021 SBID Awards Finalist, Chains Interior.

Every quarter in this home has its corresponding scenery that narrates the daily life of the family like a Chinese handscroll painting. Along with changes of the outdoor view, the scroll unfurls to tell stories of the dynamic interaction and relationship of family members in each space.

The narrative begins with a standing lamp at the entrance of the home. Silver as the moon, the lantern emits gentle halo to welcome the homeowner’s return. A screen curtain tinged with ink then slowly unravels the landscape of the home. In the living room there are bright windows to invite the riverside view into the space, transforming the interior into a splash-ink landscape painting. The fret-patterned carpet on the floor also blesses every step of the residents with heartfelt wishes of prosperity.

What was the client's brief? 

The client is a couple with two children. The program required independent bedrooms and an intimate family room. Chen’s design started from a garden and then gradually moved from the lobby to the public zone then moved to the upper floor and private quarters. The rhythm of spatial movement follows a virtual trip in the natural landscape like scenes unfolding in a Chinese scroll painting and each view guides the twists and turns that join together in a continuous flow.

The first floor is the public zone. The main door along the car path was slightly converted to guide the twisting turns until the path hits a vista wall illuminating by a standing lamp. The sharp turn that passes the wall then meets a silky screen which allows visual penetration to the living room. Large windows invite inside ample natural light and project a long picturesque canal view.

What inspired the design of the project?

Suzhou has more than 2500 years of history, and is considered to be the oldest city in China. Its unique geographical feature of water canals has given the city the nickname of Eastern Venice. Right along the main channel is a district restricted to only residential purposes so its construction had to follow the toughest guidelines and local codes to protect its long cultural heritage.

The residence sits along main Suzhou cannel and immediately joins with a century old canal while the other side of the residence meets another river conduit. Designer Lien Wu Chen imagined this work as totally integrated into the site and eventually be pictured as a landscape painting projecting a daily life not much change from medieval times.

Designer was moved by local culture and the unique river life inspired him to use local iconic colour like black ink and motifs like a labyrinth loop and herring bone pattern and even modern artistic work has transformed this from a traditional lucky motif to be used extensively. The furnishing objects appeared in this residence have unique features which is dominated by round shapes; lighting fixtures, furniture pieces, art work and small furnishing pieces which have all adopted the round shape as the basic form. Chen has said the round shape signifies prosperity and blissful happiness and is an eternal symbol as a family gathering.

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

This project is a huge villa in China. The first problem we faced was how to perfectly express the image of the trade which is a symbolic part of the owner; how to show the concept clearly and integrate it into modern Chinese lifestyle? Second, our company is located in Taipei and the project is far away from us so we couldn't always supervise the decorating process. We looked for local professionals to help us complete this difficult project.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

The first floor is the public zone. The main door along the car path was slightly converted to guide the twisting turns until the path hits a vista wall illuminating by a standing lamp. The sharp turn that passes the wall then meets a silky screen which allows visual penetration to the living room. Large windows invite inside ample natural light and project a long picturesque canal view.

Behind a herring-bone patterned glass screen is the dining room wrapped by two partitions covered by a landscape painting. On another side appears a tea platform which is easily accessible to an outdoor river view and can look towards the husband’s childhood house.
The second floor is the second page of the picture books. The space starts from a family room and four functionally different rooms surround the family room and each plays an independent role yet can be joined together as a single space. The family room allows the two kids freely play, read, and sleep. The third floor is the master bedroom, housed under a pitched roof. The perfect position of the reading room window directly confronts canal view and tree top meets the window edge to give a romantic fair-tale fantasy.

Why did you enter this project into the SBID Awards?

First of all, this award has always been a very indicative and international certification, so we want to let more people see our work by participating in this competition. Secondly, we reached the finals in 2017, 2019 and 2020 competition.

In the 2020 competition, even three of our projects have entered the finals. We hope that we have a chance to win the grand prize this time.

Watch the tour of the residence.

Questions answered by Lien Wu Chen, Design Director, Chains Interior.

This week's instalment of Project of the Week interior design series features a museum design by 2021 SBID Awards Finalist, Huidrom Design Studio.

Imphal Peace Museum is dedicated to the indomitable human spirit which was so abundantly evident in the Manipur manner, as what can only be described as an epochal catastrophe, emerged. These spectacular hills and valleys are no stranger to violence but they had never before seen violence of such industrial-scale as WWII brought to their doorsteps. Though fought on their soil, the Manipuris always knew it was not their war, therefore had no enemies. In the true humanistic tradition the Manipuris, amidst their own misery, harboured no bitterness against any of the warring sides and extended humanitarian help to any soldier in need. This Museum is a Chronicle of the Heroism of the ordinary Manipuris.

This is a 6500 sqft. gallery where WWII archaeological finds are allotted appropriate contextual spaces in the narrative of a cataclysmic historical trajectory Manipur found itself in because of a peculiar turn of the geopolitics of the period. These artefacts from the past are reconnected to the activities which once gave them meaning, by materially and symbolically remaking the world they came from.

What was the client's brief? 

We received a detailed project brief with a reference museum being Haebaru Town Museum in Japan. The display space of the museum was supposed to be divided broadly into two equal sections. The first showing the intensity of the war. The second, which is further divided into two sub-sections (“post-war” and “life & culture”), representing the resilience of these hills and valleys, and the people who made them their homes.

What inspired the design of the project?

The design took into consideration numerous factors such as functionality, scientific rigour, economic concerns, authenticity, and, above all, it was inspired by the collective character of the people of the state.

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

Our aim in this project was to leverage the material qualities and cultural connotations of wood, to achieve an orderly logic and authenticity, and thus harmonise design, nature and culture.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

The highlight of this project was playing with natural textures in the design of the space. Some of them include the entrance wall where rice straw and mud clay are blended, and the exposes patterns of unpolished wood. Another great example of this is a bamboo bridge in a passageway.

Why did you enter this project into the SBID Awards?

Recognition. As the Imphal Peace Museum (IPM) exhibits continue to develop over time, there is hope that the museum itself will serve as a lasting symbol of peace and reconciliation. IPM is a building with local sensibility and stands as a Symbol of Reconciliation after WWII. So, winning or being shortlisted for the SBID Awards would show acknowledgement of all our hard work.

Questions answered by Suresh Huidrom, Senior Designer, Huidrom Design Studio.

The revolutionary ultra-compact surface, Dekton® by Cosentino has been specified at the trendy Kol restaurant in Marylebone, London. Opened in October 2020 by former Noma Mexico chef Santiago Lastra, his debut restaurant Kol brings together Mexican cuisine with local British produce, including shellfish from Scotland's shoreline and foraged ingredients from Kent's woodlands. Kol offers a set menu of unique, thoughtfully curated dishes with plenty of flavour, such as short rib with quince mole, and squash sorbet with rattlesnake chilli.

Designed by A-nrd Studio, Kol's distinctive open plan layout with its kitchen as the central focus pays homage to Mexico with its warming, vibrant colour palette, while also incorporating a sense of pared back, minimalist Scandinavian design with plenty of wooden elements, straight lines and foliage. Spanning across two levels and five hundred square meters, the restaurant also boasts a mezcal bar on the ground floor, for serving up Mexican cocktails and spirits to guests.

Fabricated by LBS Enterprises Ltd, bestselling Dekton® Trilium, made from up to 80% of recycled materials, was the surface of choice throughout the restaurant's kitchen and serving areas. Showcasing a mixture of colours inspired by volcanic rock, Dekton® Trilium's intense and irregular accents of black and grey and its matte finish result in a rich and varied surface design, with an appearance that alters depending on the angle of the light on the surface.

"Dekton was always the surface of choice for my new Kol restaurant in Marylebone, London," says Santiago. "Its technical properties exceed the other options available and there is so much choice when it comes to the look and feel of the surface; it was difficult to choose a colour! We decided that Dekton Trilium was perfect for helping to convey the relaxed yet fun feel that we wanted in the restaurant - plus, we loved the fact that Dekton Trilium is made from 80% recycled materials. I am so pleased with how Trilium has brought the open-plan restaurant kitchen design to life, and its durability is second to none."

As with all Dekton® designs, Dekton® Trilium boasts superior technical properties, such as high resistance to UV rays, scratches, stains and thermal shock, and very low water absorption. Made from a sophisticated mixture of the raw materials used to make glass, next-generation porcelain surfaces and quartz surfaces, Dekton® is suitable for a variety of different projects, including worktops, flooring and wall cladding, both inside and outside. Dekton® Trilium is also available in Dekton® 4mm Slim, which combines the technical and mechanical features that Dekton® is known for with a much thinner (4mm), lighter (10 kg/m2), and manageable format for installation - ideal for wall, door and furniture cladding.

In addition, carbon neutrality has been achieved for the entire life cycle of Dekton® (from cradle to grave), covering Scopes 1, 2 and 3, from the extraction of the raw material, to the use of the product and the end of its life. This recognition, obtained through emission reduction and compensation projects certified by the United Nations, confirms the good practices of Cosentino Group in terms of sustainability and environmental management.

Image credits: Bircan Tulga, Black Edge Productions.

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This week’s instalment of Project of the Week series features joined office and night venue designs by 2021 SBID Awards Finalists Teodora Panayotova & Max Baklayan.

The designers received one of the most unusual briefs for Tavex's new home Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde - to transform one space to incorporate two areas that completely contradict each other. The challenging project was a great success with the team achieving outstanding results upon completion of the brief.

What was the client's brief? 

The clients' desire was to create a two-purpose space – a functional, convenient office during the day and a party venue in the evenings, but without the need to actually move anything around. This puzzle made the brief irresistible to the designers.

What inspired the design of the project?

The space itself created many challenges due to its position on the ground floor and the single space layout. However, it was simultaneously the biggest inspiration. "From the moment we set foot in the office, it screamed at us – Industrial Minimalism." Teodora Panayotova says that as a designer, she could not ignore the scream.

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

The office presented two problems - one was obviously the duality of its purpose, the two could not be further away on the spectrum. The second was the fact they needed to increase the office area by about 150 square meters, yet keep everything airy and minimal. Since the space is on the first floor, with no panoramic views and no full day of sunlight, nothing was walled off, and only glass, OSB, and metal rails were used. We are particularly proud of the two balconies on each side of the office and the tall ceiling in the middle of the office, interrupted only by the mirroring meeting rooms with floor-to-ceiling glass walls.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

The project's highlight is the 6-meter marble bar that greets you when you walk into the office. With just a flick of the switch, the purpose of the bar changes instantly. It is the place where you get your morning cup of coffee, your 5 o'clock tea in the afternoon, and a sip of London Dry after 7.

Why did you enter this project into the SBID Awards?

Teodora sincerely believes that what they created here is unique. Countless offices have game rooms, pool tables, relaxing zones, and lots of areas for different purposes. This project incorporates two of the most opposite use cases possible. It does so in a single space, without one interfering with the other. It contains everything that an office needs and so much more yet stays true to the industrial minimalism the designers set off to achieve.

Questions answered by Teodora Panayotova, Interior Designer, Teodora Panayotova & Max Baklayan.

This week’s instalment of Project of the Week series features a renovation project of a Victorian Eatery by 2021 SBID Awards Finalist, Blue Sky Hospitality.

MAGENTA restaurant, bar, and private dining, have been created from the conversion of a 19^th century bank building, located on the corner of Euston and Belgrove road, just across St Pancras and Kings Cross train stations.

What if… in 1880, British engineers and scientists from the St Pancras Coal, Steel and Gas industries had decided to create their own eatery? Enlisting help from the large community of Italian immigrants based around Kings Cross, they would have built a venue celebrating ‘La Dolce Vita’ with an authentic, local British identity. A place for libations and celebrations of everyday life, until it closed, swept away by the turmoil of time.

What if… 141 years later, the premises were renovated and updated with a modernist sensibility and reopened… transformed into a giant art installation? A bar and restaurant within an indoor pergola of Victorian industrial architecture, dressed in a palette of coal, steel and oak, upholstered with magenta wool and anthracite leather. An evocative space where thousands of butterflies, flutter overhead, in shimmering hues of pink and silver, to a cinematic soundtrack punctuated by atmospheric bird songs. The result might look, taste, and feel like what “MAGENTA” is today.

What was the client's brief? 

The brief was to convert an existing bank within a 19^th century building into a restaurant and bar with a design that will optimise the internal volume and reduce impact of constraints, draw inspiration from its location, provide a joyful environment for staff and customers, offer a unique, memorable social space and enhances the neighbourhood of Kings Cross- St Pancras.

What inspired the design of the project?

The main inspiration for the design was a story about Kings Cross in 1880 - blending facts and fiction.

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

The most challenging part of the brief was optimising the internal layouts to make it efficient to operate and provide a pleasant customer experience…while respecting the period architecture of the façade.

What was your team’s highlight of the project?

The most exciting part of the project was the creation of a ceiling art installation using 5,000 metal butterflies.

Why did you enter this project into the SBID Awards?

It is always an exciting experience to enter awards, however given the calibre of work and entries into these global awards, it makes it even more special.

Questions answered by Henry Chebaane, Creative Director, Blue Sky Hospitality.