Zaha Hadid Architects Archives | Society of British & International Interior Design

EPISODE THREE: The Future of Retail Design

With previous episodes addressing workplaces and the hospitality industry, the upcoming panel discussion with Zaha Hadid Architects will explore the evolution of retail design. Hosted by SBID’s founder & CEO, Vanessa Brady, the series examines new definitions of interior space and the consequential impact on the people who commission, design and use them.

One of the fall-outs of the pandemic is undoubtedly the retail sector. The lack of access to physical spaces forced the retail industry to find new and inventive ways to communicate and distribute their goods and services in the digital landscape. Guest speakers Sylvie Freund Pickavance, strategy and business development director at Valueretail; David McNulty, head of architecture at ICICLE Fashion Group and Kar Hwa Ho, head of interior architecture at Zaha Hadid Architects will discuss how evolving consumer attitudes and behaviours impact the design, use and significance of retail environments.

Key discussion points:

With online platforms burgeoning and physical stores shuttering, has the pandemic hastened the demise of physical retail or will we see a return to its pre-covid status?
Can bricks and mortar stores be supplanted by virtual platforms or can they co-exist?
Are certain types of retail more resilient to the pandemic fallout?
How has the way we approach retail design changed in a post-covid world?
How will this shape expectations for creating meaningful retail experiences in the future?

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Speakers:

Kar-Hwa Ho | Head of Interior Architecture at Zaha Hadid Architects

Kar first worked with Zaha Hadid in the 1980s before he spent eleven years with Kohn Pedersen Fox and further eight with Louis Vuitton Malletier in Paris. Kar re-joined ZHA in 2014 to set up and lead the new ZHA Interior Architecture cluster. His expertise in retail, commercial, and residential interiors has significantly strengthened ZHA’s architectural offer that includes bespoke interiors, furniture and product design for both private and public projects.

David McNulty | Head of Architecture at ICILE Fashion Group

David McNulty graduated from University College Dublin, School of Architecture in 1985. He moved directly to Paris and started work at the office of Marcel Breuer Architects. After 20 years managing the Architecture department at Louis Vuitton David joined the Chinese fashion company ICICLE in 2017 to head the Architecture studio for store projects in China and overseas. In 2012 he was given the UCD faculty award for achievements in his career.

Sylvie Freund Pickavance | Strategy & Business Development Director at Value Retail

Sylvie is a graduate of ESCP Business School in Paris, Shenzhen University in China and the Cambridge Institute for Sustainable Leadership. She is a member of the jury for The World Retail Congress Awards and gives her time to mentoring young designers and charities in the UK, Italy and the Middle East. She also sits on the Court of the Glasgow Caledonian University and Chairs GCNYC and the Luxury Club of the French Chamber of Commerce in Great Britain.

Image project credits: Zaha Hadid Architects©

EPISODE TWO: The Future of Workplace

Following on from the last episode on the hospitality industry, this online panel in collaboration with Zaha Hadid Architects explored the future of the workplace. Hosted by SBID’s founder & CEO, Vanessa Brady, the series intends to examine the new definitions of interior space and the consequential impact on the people who commission, design and use them.

With the two areas most affected by the pandemic being ‘work’ and ‘home’, and as their traditionally segregated contexts were challenged while the demand for a hybrid work/live space evolved, the guest speakers addressed how their boundaries have blurred and what the future might hold for these fast-changing environments.

Key discussion points:

How has the pandemic affected the way we view, design and use a living / working space?
For many industries what was missing during the pandemic, apart from the physical divisions between work and home, were the serendipitous encounters that contribute to the sociability and richness of the work environment. Can these encounters be designed and planned?
Has the pandemic accelerated the natural evolution of the workplace? Were there already existing fault lines that it exploited and exacerbated?
With the hopeful return to pre-pandemic normality, do you envisage ways of working returning to pre-pandemic status quo, or is there a paradigm shift in how we approach work / live lifestyles?

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Speakers:

Arjun Kaicker | Co-Head of Zaha Hadid Architects Analytics & Insights

Arjun has worked with ZHA since 2015. He co-leads ZHA’s Analytics & Insights (A&I) in-house research and development team, which applies algorithmic modelling and ‘big data’ analytics to optimise workplace architectural designs, including for wellbeing and operational efficiency. Arjun previously founded and led the Foster+Partners Workplace and Strategic Consultancy division (for 14 years), where he developed strategy and design for 200+ design projects in 50+ countries. Arjun also previously worked as a workplace consultant and designer at Morgan Lovell and at the London International Financial Futures & Options Exchange.

NEW Juergen Junker - Head of A&D Development - Virta UK

Juergen Junker | Head of A&D Development for Vitra

Juergen has been with Vitra for almost 15 years in various roles. Over time he specialised in collaboration with the architectural and design partners, the associated design of work spaces, their dynamics and continuous development. Over the last 20 months, as the world switched to remote, Juergen started focusing on lectures, digital format conversations and discussions, while working on the outreach to bring people back together in the analog realm.

Bidisha Sinha | Senior Associate at Zaha Hadid Architects

Bidisha finished her first degree in New Delhi before moving to London for her Masters at the Architectural Association. She has had an architectural career spanning over 18 years, delivering projects in India, UK and Hong Kong. In her role within Zaha Hadid Architects, over the last 15 years she has personally delivered projects which have made a positive difference to the revitalization agenda of the programs that were associated with them.

Cover image credits: Project by Zaha Hadid Architects

The post-pandemic environment has forced us to reconsider our understanding of the traditional definitions of living, working and leisure. Particularly for the Interior design industry, these questions necessitate an investigation into the pre-established typologies in both the private and public realms. Hosted by SBID’s founder & CEO, Vanessa Brady, the webinar series intends to examine specific typologies, the conflation of their boundaries, the emergence of new definitions of interior space and the consequential impact on the people who commission, design and use them.

EPISODE ONE: The Future of Hospitality Design

For episode one, the focus is on the hospitality and travel industries which have faced considerable challenges during the pandemic. The limited mobility and opportunities for interaction between people during this period have meant that demand has waned. On the other hand, continual restrictions has created a pent-up need to escape and to bolster one’s well-being. Guest speakers, Kar-Hwa Ho, Head of Interior Architecture at Zaha Hadid Architects; Douglas Grieco, Senior Director of Architecture and Design at Hilton Hotels; and Mari Balestrazzi, Director of Operations for Environments at Airbnb address how hospitality as an industry foresees a fundamental change in the services that it is expected to provide, and how design can evolve to navigate these restrictions, while satisfying the needs of current lifestyles.

Key discussion points:

One key thing that the pandemic has underscored is the need for adaptability. While the focus has been on the immediate need to adapt to rules that keep changing constantly, how do the effects impact the way hospitality services are programmed and physically designed?
For many, what was missing during this period of enforced isolation, was the sense of community and connection. While we have experienced the advantages of virtual connection, how do we design or program experiences in a meaningful and global way?
With leisure/personal time being monetized and commodified with a decline in business travel, has the design of experiences become the starting point of a design brief as opposed to the physical accommodation of its functions? Would we envisage the involvement of interior architects at an early brief development stage to allow for pro-active engagement rather than a reactive response to a pre-determined program?
With the hindsight of the last year and a half behind us, would you approach your current role any differently? What are the key changes?

Watch on demand

Speakers:

Kar-Hwa Ho | Head of Interior Architecture at Zaha Hadid Architects

Kar first worked with Zaha Hadid in the 1980s on a number of competitions and architectural projects. For eleven years he worked with Kohn Pedersen Fox as the Senior Associate Principal responsible for the design and implementation of mixed use, commercial and retail projects across the USA, Asia and UK. He ten spent eight years with Louis Vuitton Malletier in Paris, as the Design Director in charge of the establishment and development of LV stores across the Asia-Pacific Region. Kar re-joined ZHA in 2014 to set up and lead the new ZHA Interior Architecture cluster that strengthened ZHA’s architectural offer to include bespoke interiors, furniture and product design for both private and public projects.

Douglas Grieco | Senior Director of Architecture and Design at Hilton Hotels

Douglas is a brand and innovation leader with a strong entrepreneurial background. He has worked for 2 Pritzker prize winning architects, holds 2 Masters Degrees and led Design for W Hotels. With Hilton Hotels, as Senior Director of Architecture and Design for Latin America, he is on the team responsible for growing the LATAM region through hotel projects and brand extensions. Specifically, Douglas is leading Design for Collection, Full serve and Lifestyle brands in Central America and South America. He also teaches Hotel Design and Brand Development at Yale, Columbia, and Parsons New School for Design.

Mari Balestrazzi | Director of Operations for Environments at Airbnb

As Director of Operations for Environments, Mari oversees the team that designs Airbnb’s offices worldwide, and collaborates with real estate developers to create new models of housing that support Airbnb’s goal for guests to experience the world in a more authentic, connected way. Before assuming her role at Airbnb, Mari held numerous positions within the hospitality design industry; most recently she was Vice President of Design Services for Hyatt Hotels in Chicago, where she oversaw design for Hyatt’s portfolio of full-service hotel brands throughout the Americas region.

Cover image credits: Project by Zaha Hadid Architects

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Interior Architecture Reconsidered: The Future of Retail Design