Mix Interiors 212 - May 2021

Mix Interiors 212

May 2021

Our experience of an environment is highly influenced by the use of colours and textures within it. Through Form, we offer a practical way to harness the calming power of natural materials for hard-working commercial spaces.

Find out more at amtico.com Barrel Oak Ashen, laid Stripwood

Contents INSIGHT 30 UNDER 30 29

BIG QUESTION What advice would you give your younger self? Four leading architects and designers offer the career advice they wish they’d told themselves.

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THE CLASS OF 2021 Introducing the Mix 30 under 30 Class of 2021!

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ROUNDTABLE

IN PARTNERSHIP WITH MASONITE UK 40

HOME WASN’T BUILT IN A DAY We discuss the hottest of topics right now: the home vs office debate – and whether our homes are set to be the new office for the foreseeable future.

WORK 46

CASE STUDY: MONTAGU EVANS BDG architecture + design creates a new home for property consultancy Montagu Evans.

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CASE STUDY: BASF Inside BASF’s futureproofed Stockport HQ, designed by 5plus Architects.

HOSPITALITY 58

CASE STUDY: BONDI GREEN A celebration of art and colour at this new hospitality offering from Run For The Hills.

58 LIVING

ponders the life cycle of our office furniture.

62 PROPERTY

David Thame meets the

man bringing US

Build-to-Rent to this side

of the pond.

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CASE STUDY: LUMA Conran and Partners lights up King’s Cross with this new residential development for Argent.

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CASE STUDY: KAMPUS A melting pot of buildings and spaces, the first phase of Manchester’s new garden neighbourhood, Kampus, is revealed.

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THE FINAL WORD Donate to Destruction: Criteo’s Mike Walley

Mix 212 May 2021 | 1

WELCOME

A word from Mick

Get in touch

It has struck me, over the past couple of months, that more and more people, when commenting on the industry, have taken to dismissing more and more of other people’s opinions. But that’s just my opinion.

I’ve certainly found that, the longer we’ve been in lockdown, the shorter my own patience has become – and I have, on more than one occasion, been far too quick to dismiss people’s opinion, especially on social media. After all, they’re only offering an opinion – and I certainly would be genuinely angered if our right to have an opinion were taken away.

I’m sorry if my opinions on other people’s opinions have been too opinionated. In my defence, I have started to keep my opinions of other people’s opinions largely to myself, choosing to mutter in mild disgust at the wall or the TV or the sofa rather than taking to social media to bore the living daylights out of people with my opinion of what other people think. I think.

Then again, it doesn’t take a lot to start me off right now. I even found myself swearing at Janet or Jenny or whatever her name is from the Ribena advert. She is bloody smug though!

Anyway, I am sorry if any of you have been caught up in my own smugfest – still, at least I was being quietly opinionated before those opinionated bores on social media. Does that sound smug? Or too opinionated?

EDITOR Mick Jordan mick@mixinteriors.com MANAGING DIRECTOR Marcie Incarico marcie@mixinteriors.com BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER Kate Borastero kate@mixinteriors.com

The cover THE LOGO

This month’s logo was inspired by the hexagonal pattern of the flooring. By overlaying a simple geometric framework, we were able to form ‘MIX’ from the isometric pattern we’d created.The gradient on the lettering utilises the light source top-right.

WWW.BDP.COM

THE COVER IMAGE With the tactile power of natural, handworked materials and the performance of premium LVT, Amtico Form’s textures and natural colourways transform commercial environments. Its low-gloss wear layer gives the products a beautiful, natural appearance, while high performance antimicrobial technology reduces bacteria by more than 99% over 24 hours.

COURTESY OF AMTICO

HEAD OF OPERATIONS Lisa Jackson lisa@mixinteriors.com DESIGNER Tammi Bell tamzin@tamzinrosedesigns.com FOUNDING PUBLISHER Henry Pugh CONTRIBUTORS Steve Gale, David Thame Mike Walley, Neil Usher ADDRESS Unit 2 Abito, 85 Greengate, Manchester M3 7NA TELEPHONE 0161 519 4850 EMAIL editorial@mixinteriors.com WEBSITE www.mixinteriors.com TWITTER @mixinteriors INSTAGRAM @mix.interiors LINKEDIN Mix Interiors

Printed by S&G Print ISSN 1757-2371

Get your own To ensure that a regular copy of Mix Interiors reaches you or to request back issues, call 0161 519 4850 or email lisa@mixinteriors.com ANNUAL SUBSCRIPTION CHARGES UK single £45.50, Europe £135 (airmail), Outside Europe £165 (airmail)

2 | Mix 212 May 2021

EDITORIAL EXECUTIVE Chloe Petersen Snell chloe@mixinteriors.com

Developed to provide a haven away from the hubbub of a busy workspace, Quarters creates a secluded space for individual focused work, a private place to take a call, or a cosy, comfortable meeting space for creative collaboration. Bringing a sense of peace and belonging to any office environment, Quarters is uniquely designed with personal storage embedded for easy access. And, add an extra dimension in low light environments with British icon Anglepoise’s unique halo light-escape effect from its classic conical lampshade, designed by Kenneth Grange.

Quarters: a place to call your own.

www.bisley.com

Helping you work better anywhere

Inspiring spaces through colour and design.

Art Intervention is our carpet tile that makes great design affordable. In a palette of 32 plain colours and three coordinated designs, Art Intervention has the agility for schemes that build new relationships to the working environment. Made in Belgium and stocked in the UK.

IVC Commercial at The Gallery Clerkenwell 21-22 Great Sutton Street, Clerkenwell, London, EC1V 0DY

ivc-commercial.com

THE JOURNEY Our design process begins with a meeting... with nature. We see flooring differently. Pushing the boundaries has to be an adventure of discovery. It’s why we travel the world for inspiration.

From the ancient European woodlands to the Australian outback, we pack our bags and go there. Every time, we connect with something extraordinary that shapes our every step. It’s how we bring the inspiration from the outdoors, indoors.

Design is an endless journey Start your journey: karndean.com/designjourney

UPFRONT

Herman Miller acquires Knoll It’s not surprising that, over the past 12 months, we haven’t seen too many major breaking news stories. Earlier this month, however, we received probably the biggest furniture news this magazine has seen in its 21 years.

H

erman Miller and Knoll have announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement, under which Herman Miller will acquire Knoll in a cash and stock transaction valued at $1.8 billion.

The transaction, which has been unanimously approved by the Board of Directors of both companies, is expected to close by the end of the third quarter of calendar year 2021, subject to the satisfaction of closing conditions.

This highly complementary combination will create the preeminent leader in modern design, catalysing the transformation of the home and office sectors at a time of unprecedented disruption. Herman Miller and Knoll collectively have 19 leading brands, presence across over 100 countries worldwide, a global dealer network, 64 worldwide showrooms, more than 50 retail locations and global multi-channel eCommerce capabilities.

The combined company will have pro forma annual revenue of approximately $3.6 billion and pro forma adjusted EBITDA of approximately $552 million, based on each company’s respective last reported 12 months and including the anticipated $100 million of cost synergies, implying adjusted EBITDA margins of approximately 16%.

‘This transaction brings together two pioneering icons of design with strong businesses, attractive portfolios and long histories of innovation,’ says Andi Owen, President and Chief Executive Officer of Herman Miller. ‘As distributed working models become the new normal for companies, businesses are reimagining the office to foster collaboration, culture and focused work, while supporting a growing remote employee base.

At the same time, consumers are making significant investments in their homes. With a broad portfolio, global footprint and advanced digital capabilities, we will be poised to meet our customers everywhere they live and work.

Together, we will offer a deep portfolio of brands, technology, talent and innovation, to create meaningful growth opportunities in all areas of the combined business.’

‘This combination validates the strategic direction and our success in building a

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preeminent constellation of design-driven brands and leaders, and is a testament to the achievements of the entire Knoll team in bringing a contemporary perspective to how we work and live,’ says Andrew Cogan, Knoll Chairman and Chief Executive Officer.

‘We believe this combination offers significant benefits to our shareholders, clients, dealers and associates. Our shareholders will receive immediate and certain value, as well as future upside potential through ownership in an industry leader with significant growth opportunities. Our clients, the design community and dealers will have access to an expanded, exceptional portfolio of brands through enhanced channels. And our associates will benefit as part of a larger and

more diversified company with a shared design legacy.’

‘In addition to driving value for Herman Miller and Knoll shareholders, dealers and customers will benefit from a broader combined portfolio that will deliver beauty, joy, efficiency and utility,’ Andi adds. ‘The transaction will also create enhanced opportunities for employees across both organisations. Herman Miller and Knoll both have cultures guided by values that support problem-solving design, and doing well by doing good, and these shared beliefs will contribute to a smooth integration.’w

Three Wise Men

M

anchester-based architectural practice, stephenson STUDIO, has announced that two of its long-standing team members have been appointed to lead the firm into a new era alongside founder Roger Stephenson, as they rebrand to stephenson hamilton risley STUDIO. Between them, Keith Hamilton and Justin Risley have designed and delivered many of the practice’s recent hero projects, including Chetham’s School of Music, Halle St. Peters in Ancoats, Exchange Square in Birmingham and House in London, while Capital & Centric’s Leonardo Hotel on the fringes of Manchester city centre, which has been affectionately dubbed the ‘Jenga Hotel’ by locals due to its unique design, is also nearing completion.

Roger Stephenson OBE, who founded the practice in 1979 and whom you may recognise from Mixology North Awards Chair of Judges, comments: ‘The practice and its people have been a huge part of my life over many years. During that time, I have been enormously privileged to have worked on a significant range of landmark projects with many talented architects, not least of whom are Keith and Justin, who have been by my side for 30 years.’

‘I know I speak for Justin and myself when I say that it’s an honour to be steering the ship at stephenson hamilton risley STUDIO, as we look to grow the practice and further diversify our brilliant portfolio of projects,’ says Keith.

‘The architectural ethos and modus operandi of the practice will remain the same…so we can ensure the continued output of consistently high quality designs. However, we’ll be taking some steps towards a more client-focused approach to design. Too often architects are seen as introverted and self-referential, with clients feeling unconsidered. We would like to pursue active engagement and creative dialogue with our clients to help engender a trusting partnership in creating buildings. We would like to grow the practice to work beyond Manchester and the region, expanding our horizons and taking our creative team with us on the journey.’

‘We’ll be taking care to preserve our vibrant studio atmosphere, which helps us attract the fantastic, creative client base that we do,’ adds Justin. ‘Working with brands like Urban Splash, Capital & Centric, Property Alliance Group and Nikal has energised the practice; architecture is a collaborative process, and when likeminded clients and architects go on the design journey together, it ultimately enriches the city and produces great architecture.’ w

UPFRONT

Arper Diem

Kata collection

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rper has recently presented new designs as part of its 2021 collection, reflecting its values on colours, versatility and attention towards the environment. Mixu, designed in collaboration with Gensler, and Kata, by Altherr Désile Park, bring function and aesthetic together in elegant solutions.

Arper’s first solid wood lounge chair, Kata takes inspiration from artisan-made wood and woven straw chairs, creating a union of traditional craftsmanship and soft technology. Sustainability in Kata was a core impetus for the design: an oak and black locust FSC certified wooden frame supports a tailor-made 3D knit textile, created from recycled polyester, made from post-consumer plastic that is converted into durable and lightweight fibres. The knit technology is formed to fit the frame, avoiding leftover material waste found in traditional manufacturing.

Quiet in form and near endless in possibilities, Mixu is a sustainable and versatile collection of chairs and stools that can be completely customised to suit the needs of any context and environment. This three-part system of seat, backrest, and base can be personalised with

a myriad of colour and texture combinations, available in a range of material components for almost limitless design expressions. Seat options are available in post-industrial recycled plastic, FSC certified wood, fabric or leather finishes, and can be combined with backrest options in plastic, fabric or leather.

A stool option with the same size seat as the chair offers generous comfort for hospitality or contract use.

Like Kata, the Mixu system was designed with sustainability in mind and can be shipped disassembled to reduce its volume and carbon footprint, and can also be completely disassembled for correct disposal.w

Mixu collection

Gaia Power

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nspired by the Gaia hypothesis, Actiu’s new platform encompasses service, software and hardware to provide a wide range of information on workspace behaviour.

Just as the Gaia hypothesis suggests that the presence of life on Earth fosters conditions suitable to maintain the biosphere, Gaia behaves as a selfregulating system that seeks balance by connecting

10 | Mix 212 May 2021

people with the environment. As well as optimising the use of space and promoting energy efficiency by integrating them into environmental control systems, Gaia creates a comfortable working environment – strengthening engagement and facilitating talent retention.

By installing sensors in any piece of furniture, Gaia collects data and transmits it to the cloud

to be processed by a series of algorithms that provide extensive knowledge on how the spaces are used, with a view to correctly managing the work environment, both in the offices themselves and in third-party spaces where remote work is carried out.

‘Gaia is perfectly aligned with our commitment to people, as it speaks directly to the user experience with the environment in order to improve their wellbeing, an aspect that is so necessary at the moment,’ says Actiu CEO, Joaquín Berbega. ‘It is a practical and advanced tool for the smart management of spaces, as it provides valuable quantifiable data to facility managers and company management teams, to facilitate making changes in order to improve the productivity and usability of these spaces.’

To create Gaia, Actiu turned to a range of technology experts in AI, IoT, analytics, big data and user experience, as well as specialists in corporate wellbeing and health. Actiu is so convinced by its product that it is currently rolling out this technology in its own facilities, as well as developing new projects with several industry leading companies in Spain before the product launches internationally in June. w

DESK 2

Design solution for the modern living and work environment Latest USB-C charging technology

User-focused 35° orientation

Timeless design

#WePowerYourLife Find your ideal socket at www.bachmann.com Or contact our UK office at 77 Farringdon Road London EC1M 3JU Phone 020 3998 1821

UPFRONT

Silent Partner

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ute – one of Europe’s leading manufacturers in acoustic products for the workplace – has partnered with obo to support and accelerate its growth in the UK. New to the market, with a refined range of meeting pods, acoustic lighting and sound absorbers, this exclusive collaboration will see Mute supported by obo with upcoming product launches and showcases.

A genuine specialist in interior acoustics since its launch in 2016, Mute offers a comprehensive portfolio of acoustic products, thoughtfully designed to bring harmony to working environments, hotels and other commercial spaces, carefully striking the balance between sound and silence.

Szymon Rychlik, Founder and Managing Director of Mute, comments: ‘As we reach the next phase of our ambitious plans for growth and expansion, we are delighted to partner with obo – one of the leading providers of workplace solutions in the UK. It is of paramount importance to us that we work with people that truly understand and share our values, making obo and its dedication to world class customer service, in addition to its unrivalled industry knowledge and expertise, the ideal partner for the next stage in Mute’s development.’

Time in lockdown certainly hasn’t been wasted by our friends at obo, who have also been busy working on the new home of leading EDA and Intelligent System Design provider, Cadence, who relocated its Scottish office from Livingston to a prime location on Edinburgh’s Princes Street.

The design includes Haworth’s YourPlace motor-driven, heightadjustable desks, chosen to reflect Cadence’s desire for a different type of workspace. In addition, Framery’s acoustic pods have been selected for smaller meetings and conference calls, while other products procured include Buzzispace’s Buzziwrap screens, Verco’s Jack tables and Flux chairs and Bisley’s Buddy and Be Frames storage units. Look out for more of this impressive project in a future Mix.w

Novus A-Zone

Crème de la Frem

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rem Group has moved its London Showroom from the outskirts of Clerkenwell into the iconic No.84 The PrintWorks on Clerkenwell Road.

Whilst some manufacturers have left Clerkenwell during the pandemic, Frem decided to take the opportunity to invest in its future. Moving into the gold chain factory, designed by Ebenezer Greggback in 1879, the team carried out a sympathetic refurbishment, bringing back the industrial heritage of the building.

With three floors at its disposal, Frem has cleverly furnished each floor to highlight the beauty of the building with its design-led furniture, with stunning, contemporary artwork complementing each range. Indeed, this has led to a new social initiative that sees Frem support the arts, creating a platform for British artists to display their artwork, showing how art can be appreciated outside of art galleries, and how it readily fits with commercial furniture.

The lower ground floor for this new showspace is an oasis of calm, with the colour scheme, the contemplative artwork and a selection of hubs, booths and pods on show.

The display cleverly recognises the current hesitancy of being in enclosed spaces; Frem has shown how booths can be open with acoustic comfort.

The ground floor has a very different energy, with the theme of mobility running throughout. The design concept captures the blended theory of the office being collaboration space, with industrial styled, height adjustable systems dressed with planting, while products designed to deal with meeting fatigue provide ergonomic comfort in meetings.

Once again, eye-catching artwork is visible throughout, providing not only a wonderful social initiative, but also an insightful way of showing how modern art is accessible.

To see the fantastic new Frem space for yourselves, there will be a public launch on 25th, 26th, 27th May 2021.w Ground floor entrance

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Moxhull Hall

A Journey of Discovery

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here is no denying that design is an endless journey and it empowers us to look closer or interpret spaces in different ways, says Fleur Carson, Commercial Sales Director of Karndean Designflooring.

‘Over the last 12 months we have all learnt a lot about ourselves, our community and our connection with the wider world, including our ability to adapt when faced with a changing landscape,’ explains Fleur.

‘The way the design community has responded to the global pandemic should be applauded. Having the ingenuity and freedom to create designs that offer variation and flexibility, that allow people to gather or find solitude, is key to enabling us to come together again and move forward safely. The resilience shown by the industry and its ever-evolving ambition to do more to protect and inspire has informed our own natural progression.

‘Here at Karndean we have seen first-hand how the effective use of cutting edge technology is meeting users’ needs and how good design can support physical health and mental wellbeing. We are working with designers at the heart of the movement to design healthy spaces, improve indoor environmental quality and specify materials that contribute to a green built environment.

A perfect example is Karndean’s new multi-format Van Gogh collection, which features natural wood looks, available in both rigid core and gluedown luxury vinyl formats, as well as its first herringbone designs in a rigid core specification.

Designed to offer interior designers, architects and contractors greater flexibility, the same design can be specified in either gluedown or rigid core across different environments as part of the same project.

Like all Karndean floors, the designs are handcrafted to reflect the intricate beauty of real timber, but also feature a new, natural wood grain emboss, accentuating the natural texture and aesthetics of the individual wood that inspired it.w

London Showroom 25 Bastwick Street, Clerkenwell, EC1V 3PS

sixteen3.co.uk

What the billionaires want Trillions of pounds of ‘family office’ wealth are surging into property. It means 2021 could be a Cinderella moment for some property sectors, as huge volumes of money moves the market.

David Thame tells us what to expect.

“Recent analysis suggests family offices have something like $4 trillion under management, but that could be miles off the mark.“ 14 | Mix 212 May 2021

B

ill and Melinda may be getting divorced, but they won’t be separating from their wealth.

The Gates’ are not the only ultrahigh net worth (UHNW) individuals keeping a close eye on their money in 2021. The family wealth of the world’s super-rich – managed by so-called ‘family offices’ – has become one of the biggest drivers of the global property market. And its effects will be felt in your world very soon.

Of course, family money has always mattered to real estate. But today, thanks to a decade of quantitative easing and loose monetary policy, there are more UHNW individuals than ever.

There are now 2,500 billionaires – more than double the total in 2011.

The super-rich want their huge resources to work for their families, and the informal asset management teams they assemble (which is what ‘family offices’ are) exist to make sure that it does. There are between 6,500 and 10,500 family offices in operation, according to Credit Suisse.

Estimates are unreliable (because family offices are private) but even allowing for this, the scale of the wealth under management is eye-popping.

Recent analysis suggests family offices have something like $4 trillion under management, but that could be miles off the mark. In 2019, the figure was said to be $5.9 trillion, out of $9.4 trillion of wealth. Things will have improved since then: UBS say family offices did well out of the pandemic.

Either way, it dwarfs the global hedge fund sector, and rivals private equity.

Much of that money is going into the traditional home for dynastic wealth: property.

Late last year, Colliers predicted that around £60 billion will be invested in UK real estate in 2021. Today, with major economies bouncing back quicker and stronger than many had expected, that figure is likely to be an understatement thanks to family offices seeking higher returns from real estate than they can get from stocks, equities or gilts.

Again, estimates vary, but family offices allocated about one-sixth of their funds to real estate in 2018 (according to UBS/Campden). The consensus seems to be that it has risen to about a fifth today, and in Europe to as much as a quarter. That is a seriously large amount of money.

And because family offices are largely unrelated, answering only to the families that control them, they can take gambles other kinds of investors would avoid. This means bigger bets, at higher levels of risk, offering potentially higher returns.

The recent furore over the activities of Archegos Capital Management, a family office whose investment choices gave London and New York a serious jolt, shows how the vast resources of family offices can make the market move. Archegos also showed how serious the consequences can be if they move it in the wrong way.

So what are family offices looking for? Where will you begin to feel their influence in 2021?

WORK Property

“Late last year, Colliers predicted that around £60 billion will be invested in UK real estate in 2021.”

London offices

“London’s reputation as a safe haven and (still) a global financial centre makes it feel like one of a handful of global office markets that will prosper, whatever the coronavirus/ working from home fall-out.”

The office is dead, long live the office. This is the way many family offices are thinking as they review their options for the threeto-five year medium-term. They see opportunities to make money if they invest in the right kind of well-located, super-smart office floorspace. They also see risks, but not the same risks you see: the big risk in the mind of family offices is missing out in case workplaces yield higher returns than expected.

London’s reputation as a safe haven and (still) a global financial centre makes it feel like one of a handful of global office markets that will prosper, whatever the coronavirus/working from home fall-out.

Knight Frank estimates that £46 billion is hunting for London office floorspace this year. This could be destabilising. Why? In 2019, the last sensible year for which we have data, total London office investments topped £15 billion. That means there is roughly £3 chasing every £1 of potential deals, and that in turn means prices go up (and yields go down).

The result could be an acceleration in the pace of new development.

Today, Knight Frank estimates around 27 million sq ft is in the London office pipeline, but only 3.2 million sq ft is stated for speculative

development by 2024. Whichever way you cut it, that’s not a lot.

Investors have every reason to nudge developers into providing the amenity-right, high-specification offices they think will prove to be of enduring commercial value.

Because family offices are investing in tech businesses, they think they understand the kind of real estate the post-COVID tech world will require.

It also suits their approach to buy into the operational business and the real estate it occupies.

Faisal Durrani, Head of London Commercial Research at Knight Frank, says: ‘Even in a globally stressed environment, international investors, without a doubt, remain committed to London in 2021, even if not all of their capital can, in practice, be deployed during the space of one year. And as the world’s number one city for cross border investment and the top city for cross-border private investment during 2020, the resilience of London’s appeal cannot be understated.’

Family offices like ‘trophy’ buildings that reflect their own sense of importance. They will also become involved in club and joint venture purchases: in that case, it may be hard to spot that family money is involved.

Mix 212 May 2021 | 15

WORK Property

2

Wild Cards

3 Family money can take risks that might make other investors hesitate, which is why there will be some wild cards. They also like to diversify and, where they can, family offices prefer direct investment in operating businesses as well as investing in the kind of real estate those businesses use.

Keep your eye on anything with a food and beverage angle. This stretches from competitive socialising, through restaurants and bars, to home delivery of food or food ingredients. This spectrum of interests drives family offices into the UK leisure sector, warehouses and last-mile distribution centres, and repurposed city centre properties.

The names Weezy, Getir, Dija and Gorillas might not mean much to you if you live outside London, but these are the highest profile names in the growing food delivery business. Family offices are investing heavily. Weezy plans to have more than 50 UK fulfilment centres, with the aim of getting deliveries from warehouse to front door in just 15 minutes.

This growth sector is leading investors deeper into the bar and restaurant scene. What family offices want are leisure concepts appealing to highspending groups, with the potential to grow into national networks. Concepts offering relatively strong returns (high single-digit), growth potential and an extremely fast return on investment (12-18 months) are favoured.

Sustainable properties

Family offices inevitably look to the next generation, and their focus on environment, social and governance (ESG) in their property purchases is expected to increase. Advisors say they are now on the look out for projects with conspicuously good green credentials and a strong wellbeing profile.

This will help inspire their investment in the office sector and help them pick winners in the food and beverage business, both of which will have profound consequences for real estate. Projects that tick family office boxes stand a vastly better chance of success than those that don’t.

“And as the world’s number one city for cross border investment and the top city for cross-border private investment during 2020, the resilience of London’s appeal cannot be understated.“

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2

WORK Property

“Distressed property represents a real opportunity, especially if you think it has ESG potential and/or fits into the family office view of the future of workspace and the leisure sector.”

Distressed assets Family offices are generally allergic to off-prime or off-pitch property: they can afford the best, so why buy second best? But we live in a world of low interest rates and low returns. Family offices are often hunting for higher rates of return than traditional investment options can offer, and this inspires them to push their choices further up the risk curve, where rates of return are that little bit better.

Distressed property represents a real opportunity, especially if you think it has ESG potential and/or fits into the family office view of the future of workspace and the leisure sector.

Repurposing shopping centres could be one of the most promising areas for family office activity. Under priced, unloved but often well located, they offer a real opportunity. This opens the door to repurposing former

retail floorspace for high value uses like build-to-rent housing, student accommodation, coliving and hotels/ hospitality. There is also scope for workspace related development – and all at low entrance fees.

Of course, some family offices have been here before: the word on the street in 2016 was that values in the retail sector had not reached the floor, and that it would be a great time to buy an unloved shopping centre and convert it into something more lovable. The sad fact is that retail values had not reached the bottom by 2016 – they may not even have reached the bottom today – and family offices who got caught out back in 2016 are reluctant to take the same risk again.

That said, family offices are first-rate bargain hunters.

Major city centre and town centre development and the growth of the BTR sector probably depends on them.w

Mix 211 April 2021 | 17

UPFRONT Seven

7

inspiring design trends

COVID-19 has dramatically changed the way we live, so it’s not surprising it is already having a huge influence on the way we design. We are re-imagining how we use and design interior spaces, and seeking inspiration from emerging trends and key colours palettes that have longevity and flexibility in such uncertain times. Here, the team at Johnson Tiles offer seven trends and colour inspirations paving the way in 2021 and beyond.

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Astral Mindfulness and spiritual roots form the basis for this trend, with a seductive colour palette focusing on rich indigos and deep purples. Add splashes of colour for bold accents or try timeless earthy hues. Luxury materials and surfaces provide a hint of glamour, creating a positive and engaging aesthetic for any space.

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Serenity This trend encourages a natural rhythm and balance to modern life, taking inspiration from Japanese culture and traditions. Shape and pattern have links to Origami, concertina folds and panelling, with a ‘less is more’ approach. Handcrafted aesthetics are key to this trend, with colours captured on a spectrum scale from earthy neutrals to deep blues and greens for calming interiors.

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3

Nature Inspired Still a key trend, Nature Inspired focuses on bringing the outside indoors.

Influenced by natural materials, colours and plants, this trend creates a harmonious mix, with foliage décor moving to a more stylised and loose approach. This season’s colour palette is given a slight edgy feel with Military Olive showcasing a mossy tone, while Ultramarine Green brings seaweed-esque notes for a stronger, more confident shade.

UPFRONT Seven

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Modern Mix Modern Mix explores a nostalgic comeback from the 70s, paired with a modern twist. This trend showcases a muted colour palette to create a design statement that is simplistic but powerful.

Brave Ground Dulux Colour nominated Brave Ground as Colour of the Year for 2021, as it is an earthy, neutral tone that connects back to nature and simplicity.

With warm base notes, Brave Ground creates a feeling of stability and growth, providing a firm foundation for change and creativity. This colour is perfect for creating a calming, tranquil atmosphere, complemented by pops of colour for interest and depth.

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Geometrics Geometrics have been a staple for many years now, with hexagons and chevrons still vital. Shapes are smoother and more rounded across all design aspects, including furniture.

Geometrics can create symmetry and balance within any setting or can be used as a feature visual to create interest and appeal.

Surface Detail Surface detail continues to push the boundaries across all aspects of interiors, taking inspiration from the Nature Inspired and Serenity trends, alongside architecture and geometrics. All surfaces evoke texture and depth from highly structured to organic raised surfaces.w

Mix 212 May 2021 | 19

UPFRONT Steve Gale

The difference between futurism and the future Is an Intelligent Building utopia or dystopia? Steve Gale asks the question.

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n commercial real estate, the concept of the intelligent building is enjoying a revival. Technology can extract economic efficiency from buildings, and make us happier and possibly more productive at work. Has its day arrived, or has the intelligent building yet to come of age?

The optimism of 30 years ago was summarised in a paper by workplace consultancy, DEGW, called ‘The Intelligent Building in Europe’. It described how buildings would move and breathe according to the demands of its occupants, and predicted lifts arriving when needed, shades adapting to the position of the sun and air conditioning cranking up automatically in busy areas.

DEGW saw programmable buildings; they could not see occupants interacting directly. This was

Steve Gale is Head of Workplace Strategy at M Moser Associates.

SteveG@mmoser.com 20 | Mix 212 May 2021

before smartphones and cloud storage. The age of big data and machine learning was yet to dawn. Just like Fritz Lang in his 1927 film, Metropolis, the future turns out different to the futurist vision.

Smartphones, broadband and cloud applications now allow systems to be democratised, and cheap reliable sensors generate data for machine learning algorithms. Building occupants are actively and passively involved. How will they accept their place in its evolution?

The technology that helps us find and book parking spaces, meeting rooms, or a vacant desk, is an easy sell, as long as it works and is user friendly.

The same goes for recognising meeting participants and painlessly starting video technology, just as car owners are happy when their vehicle unlocks the door and adjusts the seat before they get in.

However, can automation and remote control improve all work activities? Here are three points of potential failure.

Communal environments are always tricky, like temperature, window blinds and shutters, lighting levels, or even music playing in the background. Who decides? How do we make everyone happy with the outcome? Democratised tech on your phone does not solve this problem.

Another area is space monitoring. Sensors record the use of meeting rooms and desks, but it’s not always welcomed if people fear it might be used to ‘engage low performers’, as Barclays Bank stated four years ago. And ask the Daily Telegraph employees, who literally threw out their monitoring system days after it was switched on. Trust was not installed with the kit, and it failed. Completely.

Finally, there is pleasure in being able to act directly. Humans seem to be more analogue than digital, and interacting through a smartphone is not always the answer. When you walk into a stuffy meeting room it can be rewarding to fling open a window, which is not the same as using an app to adjust the air conditioning, or issuing voice commands. Will you always be happy to order food through your phone, if you prefer to wander up to the cafeteria to smell the cooking and see what others are eating?

The line between a useful AI application and a dehumanising experience has not yet been drawn.

After a million years of dealing with variety, we might not be ready to have our environment made quite so predictable and effortless.w

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UPFRONT Material Matters

MATERIAL MATTERS This month, David Bishop, Design Director at Oktra, chooses a selection of his favourite material products.

Metal Mesh amronarchitectural.co.uk Spiral and Expanded Mesh from Amron Architectural has an incredibly long life. In fact, it’s an infinitely recyclable material. Mesh is also extremely versatile in its appearance. It can be manufactured in large sheets, which are great for cladding façades, but can also be used as curtains to divide space without closing off sightlines. With so many material and finish options, this material can add a modern contrast to almost any space.

Solid Textile Board kvadrat.dk 95% of textiles can be recycled, but only 25% of them are: Kvadrat’s Really line upcycles textiles and cut-offs from the installation of their products. Solid Textile Board is one of the Really materials, and is made from cotton and wool. There are four standard colours to choose from, or consumers can mix their own materials to customise the finish without impacting the product’s green credentials.

Palladina Terrazzo diespeker.co.uk Palladina, a type of terrazzo by Diespeker, is a stunning material option for flooring, bars and countertops. It’s a technique that’s been used for centuries – believed to have been first used in ancient Rome – but still has a bold, contemporary feel to it. The pieces of marble used to create the finish are hand-placed, making this material particularly bespoke. And, because it’s made of post-consumer material, terrazzo is sustainable as well as incredibly durable.

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UPFRONT Desert Island Desks

Hanging hoop chair

Desert Island Desks

Okay, it doesn’t look the comfiest of things, but I love this hanging chair from Lee Broom. Channelling my inner Beyonce (she used this in her latest music video), I’ll be enjoying the island tunes, hanging from a tree.

Mustafa Afsaroglu

Co-founder Taner’s Sons Design Studio

A

fter graduating from Bournemouth University, Mustafa started his career at Foster+Partners, working mainly on the Bloomberg HQ. He then spent the next six years at HLW International working with clients such as Google, Facebook & Amazon – but most importantly meeting some amazing friends.

Just under two years ago, Mus co-founded TS-DS in London, an architecture and design firm with a motto to challenge the ordinary.

TS-DS works across commercial, hospitality and residential sectors, offering a boutique service to its clients.

Outside of TS-DS, Mus has picked up running as a hobby and completed his first half marathon last month – but really can’t wait to get back to his real hobby: travelling and, as a result, is looking forward to his time on the Mix desert island. Here’s what Mus would take with him…

Mangal Known as BBQ in English! I know it’s an obvious choice but really a Cypriot could not live without a Sunday barbeque. Expect my infamous meatballs, pirzola and hellim on the menu – and obviously a toasted marshmallow to finish things off.

Spun Inflatable Great way to make the most of this down time until a cargo ship finds me.

24 | Mix 212 May 2021

I’ll be alone on this island, right? So I need to keep myself entertained. The Spun chair from Magis, designed

by Heatherwick, never fails to entertain me and will be a must have here.

UPFRONT Desert Island Desks

Backgammon When I’m back homehome, we always take a backgammon board to the beach. It’s going to be really sad playing by myself, but it’s a fun way to pass the time.

My pink sofa (obviously!)

The COR Trio sofa is the heart of my flat. Super comfy, looks cute, and would look great on the sand, facing the sea. Perfect for that sunset view.

Offering leather solutions, plus antibacterial and antifungal faux leathers for seating

Tracks for the juxebox Enya – Orinoco Flow Sail away sail away sail away.

Destiny’s Child – Survivor Got to have an inspirational song to push me through those morning jogs around the island.

Queen – Somebody to Love Just a classic.

Adam Lambert – Believe A pretty amazing cover – good for chilled vibes.

Lykke Li – I Follow Rivers Sunset tune.

Mabel Matiz – Toy Back to my roots.

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OPINION

Paradoxically Speaking: Generations

Neil Usher tells us that, while we can’t be surrounded by our colleagues, we’re all missing out – and not just the young’uns.

Neil Usher is Chief Workplace & Change Strategist at GosSpace AI, and Author of The Elemental Workplace and Elemental Change 26 | Mix 212 May 2021

E

verything of its time. With time, in this instance, being the operative thing.

The ‘generations at work’ debate really began around 20 years ago with the sudden realisation that things were no different to the way they had been – older and younger people under the same fluorescent firmament. Yet somehow it became a thing, defined by the idea of ‘millennials’ – who, having been the subject of unduly oppressive attention, are now all well into their comfort years, succeeded by the greenery of generations Y and Z. Who on earth starts a scale with X anyway?

The ‘generations’, born within determined dates, were allocated innate characteristics, ambitions and desires, dreamed up in a ‘thought shower’ and offered up as inviolable truth. A form of workplace astrology. There was no credible evidence in support, yet why let such an absence spoil a good consulting, PR and product placement opportunity? Where we thought, ‘hang on, I want that too’, we were somehow in denial of our true nature. We elicited sympathy rather than understanding.

Yet segmentation is nothing new, either.

It’s the unequivocal basis of every societal and workplace inequality: conclusions drawn about people for the way they are or the way they choose to be. The desire to characterise and package is finding a renewed zeal, as we struggle to fathom how high levels of individual flexibility and variable attendance at the citadel will actually work when we’ve no guarantee we’ll be in the same place as the people we need to be working with. Ever. So we try to understand and categorise the way we work or would like to work. The outcome: we end up with monikers more akin to posh school nicknames like Camper, Buzzer or Zipper that describe supposed common behavioural traits.

We therefore find ourselves in a new form of matrix structure – generation and type – from which we’re supposed to understand our colleagues and ourselves in ways that actually talking to them – face-to-face – would otherwise more helpfully reveal. But then, having everything set out for us is quite handy, especially when we need to post-rationalise an awkward outcome. ‘They should never have given that project to a Slider. Was never going to work.’

Yet with generations, a new challenge has revealed itself that may at last actually prove helpful. It relates to how we have perceived working from home during the pandemic and how we might approach our whereabouts in future. In the last 14 months, younger people have faced two problems. First, unless they’re at their wealthy parents’ home, the logistics have been tricky. They need a space more

suited to work than the end of the bed. Second, they are being denied the osmotic benefits of immersion in organisational culture and behaviour in their formative years. The longterm impact of their social and professional isolation won’t be known for some time. Given that the former problem merely requires a practical fix, we’ll focus on the latter.

Our paradox is, therefore: young people need to be in the office to learn from their senior colleagues who aren’t there. The elders feel, in many respects, that they’ve done their time; the commute, the habitual slog, the ignominy of being turfed out of their private offices into open plan, the requisite diminished status, the struggle to avoid being disturbed. So they are comfortable and happy in their fifth-bedroomto-office conversion. Yes, the generation that enjoyed free higher education and now saddles its offspring with crippling debt as a form of inverse sign-on bonus is happy extolling the benefits of being impossibly ‘nowhere’.

What we are facing therefore is a cohort of eager, energised Hoofers and Dockers, converging on the office for the benefits of learning from their seniors to find they’re just spending their time annoying one another. This, at the same time as the majority of learning and development is moving online due to the beneficial cost and logistics. More boxes ticked for less.

It boils down to another matter, where much-championed personal choice creates a potentially negative outcome. Left to their own devices, the generations are likely to choose differently for no-one’s benefit. Younger colleagues need the presence of their longertoothed colleagues for their experience, manner, guidance and care. Elder colleagues need the energy, perspective, challenge and style sense offered by their juniors. The mix of generations in the workplace was always beneficial to all, and will be so again. The interactions that result are invariably spontaneous and unplanned.

They are the result of neither of the competing holy grails of workplace strategy – collaboration and serendipity – but from the most barelymentioned aspect of the contributions of the physical workplace biffed around in the postpandemic mosh pit: proximity.

If it means scheduling attendance to ensure the benefits of inter-generational immediacy are realised, then so be it. For many, this will feel like heresy. Yet sometimes choices have to be made for us, particularly where we can’t agree or the hassle of trying to achieve a compromise is just too taxing. Far from diminishing us, we’ll be better for it. As individuals and communities.

And, one day, we may even realise it.w

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30 UNDER 30

CLASS OF 2021

In partnership with QUALITY SINCE 1948

28 | Mix 212 May 2021

30 UNDER 30 The Big Question

The Big Question What advice would you give your younger self? Four leading architects and designers offer the career advice they wish they’d told themselves.

Raquel Machado Associate, Design M Moser Associates

My younger self would probably not pause long enough to read this, so I would start by saying that, although it’s important to work hard and get experience, it’s equally as important to find time for yourself and inspiration outside of work. It does wonders for both creativity and wellbeing.

Giving all doesn’t mean giving your best. Every time I take a holiday, I come back recharged. I don’t stress as much because I’ve gained some clarity, which usually helps me work smarter.

Don’t be afraid to take risks and ask for more responsibility. If you are proactive about taking ownership, people will see your potential to grow with the bigger picture in mind. On the way to growth, you will inevitably make mistakes, and that’s okay. I certainly learnt faster that way, alongside taking some measured risks! Find a mentor and/or a group of like-minded professionals that you can talk to, collaborate with, learn from and bounce ideas. When setting up the office in Amsterdam, connecting with my London colleagues was very important.

Look beyond the brief, listen and engage with your clients. Think about the needs of the people using a space.

Be strategic and create solutions that answer problems for both the client and user. You don’t need to apply everything you know about design – think about what makes sense for each project and what will provide real impact. Have fun along the way and always celebrate your achievements!

Collin Burry Principal Gensler

Seven points to live by: 1, Great projects don’t get given to you; you make them happen. 2, Find the opportunity to do something exceptional no matter how small or large the ask is of you. 3, Clients are the best source of inspiration. Without clients you won’t have a career. 4, Be an exceptional listener. 5, Live a life of continuous learning – you will never know everything you need to know, learning will keep you current. 6, Change is constant – embrace it. 7, There will always be someone prettier, skinnier, richer, etc. than you – don’t compare yourself to others. Be your best you. You have some wonderful attributes to share with the world.

Marie Leyland

Associate Partner ID:SR Sheppard Robson After the turbulent year we’ve had and more time to reflect than usual, my advice to my younger self would be ‘be grateful for opportunities.’ Looking back, I’ve had fantastic opportunities not only to work on varied projects, but to visit key trade exhibitions such as the Salone del Mobile, Stockholm Furniture Fair and various manufacturing facilities across Europe, and meet some wonderful inspiring people along the way. All this provided great enthusiasm and inspiration for design, but perhaps now with recent times and a few years to consider, you realise how lucky you are to have these opportunities.

As a young designer I’d make the most of industry events no matter how far flung, not only to knowledge share, but the added benefit of meeting other designers, and industry professionals that enables you to build your network and ultimately exposure.

It’s amazing how many great people I met at the start of my career on early projects or events that I still have connections with today. Two of my current team I actually met at design events and they later joined the team, as well as meeting a future client; so you never know what these opportunities will bring you in the future.

Tim Gledstone Partner Squire & Partners

Push on open doors. Explore as far as you can. Link your evenings, weekends and holidays to your current interests and studies. Live it and experience it to design for it.

Do what you like to do. Surround yourself with people you like. Share and engage. Give as much as you can. Be generous. Compliment excellence. Appreciate everyone.

Understand all processes of making. Always research and develop. Design for all senses. Design for all moments.

Learn new skills. Travel wide. Study nature.w

Mix 212 May 2021 | 29

30 UNDER 30 The Class of 2021

Olivia Madley Designer AECOM

The Class of 2021 Not even a global pandemic can halt talent and creativity. Despite lockdowns and the harshest of circumstances, a number of young people have risen to impress their colleagues and clients alike. Over the next few pages, we salute the rising stars who, over the past 12 months, have gone above and beyond. Welcome to the Mix 30 under 30 Class of 2021!

Gert Van Dam Interior Designer 3Equals1 Design

Great name, but apparently no relation – although his team still tries to get him to do the odd high kick! Since the age of 17, when he hopped on a plane to Birmingham’s NEC to hand out his CV for an internship at one of the UKs top companies, Gert was determined to become an interior architect in London. Seven years later, his CV and astonishing portfolio landed on 3equals1 Design’s lap – and the rest is history!

Gert has developed so much in the past four years, from working on small test-fit projects to now delivering full interior architectural schemes. He leads client meetings and drives new business initiatives such as designing retail unit spaces for concert halls in prestigious venues.

The level of care he shows for other people and his kind nature are genuine rarities, and his team feel lucky to benefit from them. Gert took a brave step in coming to London without knowing a soul, and it has been amazing to observe him getting involved in so many creative projects. His inquisitive nature and passion for culture are both evident in his creative output, while he is an absolute joy to have a pint with after work.

Gert is progressing into a great team manager and is training three junior designers who have excelled under his wing. As he evolves, so does 3equals1 Design. His patience and care for everything he produces make him an inspiring colleague.

30 | Mix 212 May 2021

Olivia joined AECOM in February 2019 as a Graduate Interior Designer, following the completion of her BA (Hons) Interior Design from Manchester School of Art. Since joining AECOM, Olivia has grown in confidence and gained a great deal of experience working on large scale workplace projects from concept design through to project completion, allowing her to have an understanding of all stages of design.

Olivia's contribution to HMRC's Regional Centre in Manchester has been central to the successful delivery of the CAT B design. She has been involved since RIBA Stage 1, through Stages 2, 3 and 4, and is now involved in the delivery stages on site.

She is enthusiastic towards all aspects of design but has a particular interest in creating spaces that benefit the users’ needs in functional but exciting and interesting ways.

Since Olivia joined AECOM she has stood out among her peers. As well as having strong design flair, she has worked tirelessly to improve and advance her career with AECOM and design in general; in the process becoming a much valued and admired colleague by everyone she comes into contact with.

Haroulla Georgiou Architect Align

Align nominated Haroulla because of her great potential, both in terms of skills – with a fantastic design aptitude and real eye for detail – but also because of her warm and friendly manner, which means she makes friends with everyone on site, from clients to contractors, as well as being a really positive (and fun!) member of the team. For global legal services client, Lexis Nexis, part of RELXplc, Align needed to create a new central London workplace to house up to 129 staff, including a relocated Tech Hub team, previously based out-of-house. The project pushed Haroulla to her limits, allowing her to lead the design for the first time, give client presentations, handle on-site queries and oversee output from more junior team members. Haroulla was heavily mentored behind-the-scenes throughout, to allow her to gain authority with the client, consultant and contractor teams. She grasped her new responsibilities with enthusiasm and level headed prudence, knowing when to step forward and check back, rewarding Align’s faith with excellence at every point.The resulting project is an elegant, contemporary and highly functional workspace. The strategic reintegration move fulfilled the brief to preserve and evolve the tech team’s singular identity and culture, whilst at the same time ensuring proper integration into the overall Lexis Nexis work family.

30 UNDER 30 The Class of 2021

Alex Carron Brown Senior Interior Designer AWW

Alex is a creative, innovative and inspiring interior designer at AWW, progressing her career since 2015 when she first arrived as a junior interior designer. Since then, Alex’s flair for design, attention to detail and exceptional client rapport has seen her gain practice-wide respect for her work. Alex has worked on landmark projects in a variety of sectors across the UK, including BBC Professional Services Framework, The Farmiloe, Parmenion, Cefas – Defra, St James’s Place Wealth Management, to name but a few. She has contributed to the growth and success of the interiors team with her enthusiasm, teaching and motivation of others, and regularly takes on work experience students, giving them their first insight into an interior design department. Alex sits in a small but indestructible team, where she has gone from strength to award-winning strength; she expertly juggles several of her own projects simultaneously. For Parmenion, her vision was to deliver an agile workplace that reflected the client’s identity whilst focusing on staff wellbeing. The resultant award-winning project is a living example of how Alex’s vision, passion for design, unfaltering determination, and ability to push boundaries can improve quality of life at work. It is the relationships that Alex builds – with both suppliers and clients – that sets her apart. Through her multi-disciplined dedicated approach, quality work, boundless energy and unwavering calm she continually surpasses client visions and aspirations, securing repeat work

Melodie Peters Interior Designer BDP

Melodie brings her creative interior design background, positive attitude, talent and language skills to the BDP design team. She has worked on a variety of projects whilst at BDP, both in the UK and Europe, that range from retail refurbishments and new builds, to food and beverage destinations and large residential schemes. Most recently, her work within the residential sector has been outstanding. She has taken large, complex projects from the initial concept stage through to detailed design, which has included the design and dressing of show apartments.

Her great work ethic has impressed clients, set new standards and become a benchmark for others to follow. Melodie has an eye for detail, manages costs and creates seductive 3D visuals. Melodie has impressed BDP with her energy and passion for design and has embraced all the challenges that projects present, creating some wonderful solutions - her work has impressed clients and attracted new project enquiries. Her contribution to the residential projects BDP are currently working on at Plumstead and Grand Union has been magnificent. For the Plumstead development, she proposed a holistic concept for the interiors, based on the history and location of the site, which could subtly evolve across the six residential blocks. Melodie has created unique interiors that are fresh relevant and subtly different.

Rosie Ford

Interior Designer Basha-Franklin Rosie has an exceptional ‘can do’ attitude and is a talented designer with an exciting future. Her natural problem-solving ability and energy is an asset to every project. Her creative abilities shine through with a passion for materiality, unique and interesting products, form, and sustainability.

Rosie has a high emotional intelligence, collaborative ethos, and maturity – all invaluable when working with her team, external consultants, and suppliers. These attributes have enabled her to establish longstanding, strong relationships across project teams, peers and the wider industry.

Her ability to quickly understand a brief and interpret this into a design concept is invaluable to the momentum of a project. Her strengths are in the strategic definition, early design stages, materiality & FF&E packages.

Rosie has several high quality commercial and residential projects in her portfolio – bringing valued experience from recently delivering a prestigious 100,000sq ft project for a global consulting firm at The Post Building in London whilst at her previous practice.

Rosie joined Basha-Franklin in April last year, working remotely from the outset, and has overcome every obstacle to make working with the team seamless and successful. She has been instrumental in the design of a café in East London for Spotlight, a dynamic user experience solution with creativity and music at the heart of the design.

Megan McMurrough Senior Designer Claremont Group

Megan is a creative and passionate senior designer with over five years’ experience in the fit-out industry through each stage of the design process.

Prior to joining Claremont, Megan worked for two D&B companies and has demonstrated an ability to manage client expectations, working with confidence to create an entire design-led package, including FF&E schedules.

Megan is self-motivated, proactive and passionate about pushing the boundaries of design whilst maintaining an eye for detail and commercial understanding.

She joined Claremont during the first lockdown of 2020, starting her new role remotely. Nevertheless, she got stuck straight in, imparting her knowledge and experience on the younger members of the team and helping to keep the buzz of a design studio alive over Microsoft Teams.

Her work with Myenergi has resulted in an outstanding design, where she has meticulously developed the scheme to stay in line with the cost plan, whilst also being a true reflection of their ethos and project goal – one to watch out for! Her commercial approach and infectious desire to be the best with the best has been the most invaluable contribution for Claremont: a true rising star.

Mix 212 May 2021 | 31

30 UNDER 30 The Class of 2021

Rachael Reid

Interior Designer Dexter Moren Associates Rachael joined DMA three years ago and has played a key role in pitches and on two major hotel projects. Rachael is also the key design member on the Grainger team, for whom DMA have five projects with.

It is her keen eye and tenacious grip on project requirements that have meant DMA’s clients are repeat clients, which are the best clients to have!

Rachael is incredibly fun to work with and is a talented young designer with an excellent skillset, who can turn her hand to anything a project requires – be it creatively, administratively and practically on site. Rachael has overcome an incredibly tough year personally and still turned up every day with a smile, never allowing her personal sadness to affect her work and showing incredible strength and resilience. Not only that, but she is also always striving to be better, do more and work harder.

Rachael has excelled this past year, under intense pressures with the pandemic and has delivered another two amazing projects with Grainger during national lockdown, and is currently working on another two. She is a vital part of the DMA team and has shaped the way the practice designs coworking and amenity spaces for their residential projects. Rachael uses her excellent wide and varying skillset to convey the designs to clients and follows them through, ensuring consistency and originality to the concept is maintained throughout, all the way to completion on site.

Nathalie Vitek Interior Designer Gensler

Nathalie is a talented designer with a continual drive to get involved, learn and make projects the best they can be. Her always-positive attitude and drive to succeed allow things to happen in a way that others seemingly cannot. Nathalie’s layered approach, with a particular eye for how to use shapes, form and texture, makes everything she designs daring, elegant and with an eclectic twist that makes every project different. Working for a range of high-end companies such as Barclays, LinkedIn and Adobe, her ability to sell her passion for design and amazing taste allow her to easily connect with our clients and deliver amazing projects, without getting swayed by trends. Her work for the Sidley Austin’s office relocation in London last year contributed to the creation of a space that fully reflects the brand’s identity and ethos. Nathalie helped design a timeless aesthetic, providing a balance of private and social space, thanks to her extensive knowledge of the industry for furniture and finishes. Nathalie’s dedication and will to grow makes her the fiery, gutsy designer every team and company would be lucky to have. Her creativity doesn’t stop at the desk, but also extends to the makers’ lab, where she loves learning how to use all the tools/equipment there. This perfectly balances her can-do attitude; she's always up for learning a new skill or learning exactly how to solve a problem/challenge.

32 | Mix 212 May 2021

Jessica Henry

Mid Interior Designer DV8 Jess joined DV8 Designs in 2015, just as she completed her degree in Spatial Design. She was quickly identified as having huge potential and her acceleration within the business reflects that. Over the years, she has worked with the team around her, first shadowing and then beginning to take control of her own projects and climbing the ranks to become a very trusted and valued member of the team. Her skill and flair have allowed her to work creatively on many projects across the portfolio but, more than that, her ability to connect with clients is incredible. She can wow even the toughest crowd – and delivering the best service to her client is clearly central to everything she does. She is a highly skilled creative and vivacious designer, full of flair and enthusiasm – and what is extra special is that her talent and skill in hospitality design are fully grown by her and the team – which makes them extra proud of her. She’s a very loved member of the DV8 work family. Jess can adapt, and that’s important in this industry. She was chosen to lead on a critical client and their portfolio of bars at a time when their future work didn’t feel secure. The client is demanding and allows for little flair (Jess’ main skillset), yet she challenged herself and her abilities and delivered an amazing job, wowing the client and ensuring their retention even during a pandemic. She deserves high praise and acknowledgement for this.

Alexandra Freeman Architect Glancy Nicholls

Alexandra joined Glancy Nicholls after graduating with a distinction from Oxford Brookes University. Since then, she has continued to expand her knowledge and skills, qualifying as an architect in December 2020. Alex is most attracted to architecture that inspires thoughtful resolution, such as complex social conditions or challenging site constraints. This has led her to work on both large-scale masterplans, building new communities, together with smaller interventions within listed buildings. Alex has an appreciation for the heritage and existing qualities of all her projects, bringing these elements to the forefront of design, treating them as opportunities rather than constraints. Working with a heritage developer, she has provided a solution, marrying together their aspirations of traditional construction and contemporary design, while navigating challenging statutory requirements.

Alex does not back away from a challenge; applying her pragmatic problem solving, attention to detail and thorough knowledge of her projects, she can reach innovative design solutions, whilst not compromising on the quality of the design. Alex’s abilities are quick to shine through, giving clients, contractors and colleagues confidence in her. She has become a key member of the residential team, always making time her colleagues and is keen to share her knowledge. The team at Glancy Nicholls have watched her grow in skill and confidence, and she has developed into a well-rounded, designorientated architect who is acutely aware of the importance of the small details to provide a well-considered and appropriate response.

30 UNDER 30 The Class of 2021

Kay-Leigh Van Wijk Interior Designer HLM

Following the completion of her degree in 2014, Kay-Leigh joined HLM’s South Africa studio, while she has also worked in the Dubai and Cardiff studios, before settling in the re-designed London studio at the start of 2020. Kay-Leigh’s design skills focus on storytelling and concept development, combined with a sound knowledge of technical delivery across a wide range of sectors. Her optimistic and hardworking attitude is infectious – clients and colleagues alike love her big personality, and she is a key member of HLM’s interior architecture team. Over the last 18 months, Kay-Leigh has delivered the interior scheme for Al-Karama, the UAEs first SEN educational building for the Priory Group. Kay-leigh worked on the scheme from concept to completion, developing a building typography that was new to the region. The success of the scheme was recognised by winning a Gulf Cooperation Council Regional Award at the Middle East Economic Digest Project Awards. This was a very special award in the form of the Editors Award for Contribution to Community. Kay-Leigh has recently been key in delivering the interiors for Wokingham’s ‘Carnival Pool’ project – a multi-use centre featuring two swimming pools (a six-lane 25m pool and teaching pool with moveable depth floor and splash pad); a larger fitness suite and specialist group cycling studio; large studios; a four-court sports hall, which can convert into a 400-seat performance venue; a spa, a health and wellbeing centre; larger café and library.

Barbara Bischoff Interior Designer HOK

After spending time in HOK’s Los Angeles office, it took some convincing to lure Barbara away from sunnier climes, and HOK London’s team is fortunate to have her. Her talent and creativity were put immediately to work by joining fast-paced teams delivering projects in the UK, Europe and the Middle East. Her insatiable design curiosity cuts across many project typologies, from corporate and commercial through to hospitality and aviation. From her design background, she has particular expertise in the hospitality sector, where she learned how to create immersive experiences through a journey of colours, textures and patterns; and from her higher education design background, where she understood how to create inclusive and vibrant academic interiors that reinforce the user’s wellbeing. In all her projects, understanding the DNA of a client is at the crux of the assignment. This understanding becomes the springboard for her interpretation of a client’s brief and shapes the appropriate design narrative to tell each of her clients’ unique stories.

Barbara has been doing just that on a world class corporate headquarters in Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District and, closer to home, she has been instrumental in developing a Bristol-based workplace design for the commercial arm of the UK’s leading broadcasting institution.

Mitch Parkinson Designer HLW

Mitch joined HLW in August 2017, ‘fresh off the boat’ from Brisbane, Australia. Mitchell is a highly skilled, technical and creative designer with a passion for creating workplaces that inspire and support the wellbeing of the people that use them every day. He is a highly motivated and ambitious individual with an aptitude for innovative solutions and, most important of all, a fantastic team player. He has brought to HLW a wonderful energy and is a valued member of the team. Whilst at HLW, Mitch has worked across a number of high-profile projects for the likes of Google, Hilton and Amazon.

Over the last 12 months, Mitch has really shone, working extremely hard alongside his team and exceeding expectations of HLW’s clients across multiple projects, embracing the challenges lockdown has brought. Mitch is a team player and understands a designer’s and the design team’s role in delivering and making an impact for our clients on their projects. His hands-on approach and commitment run throughout a project’s life and he has certainly not shied away from a challenge or two! Mitch’s commitment to the team is not only on projects: he is an active and valued member of HLW’s BOOST committee. They have been working hard this year to ensure the strong HLW culture and ‘teamness’ has not been eroded by the distance of this new virtual world.

Josh Stokes

Architect IDSR – Sheppard Robson Josh is a fantastic colleague and friend. During a difficult year, for many reasons, Josh has taken over as the lead on one of ID:SR’s largest interior projects and worked tirelessly to deliver the highest standard of work possible. This has been a difficult task but Josh has taken to interiors like a duck to water!

As the office social secretary, he is always plotting the team’s next big event.

You might catch Josh sailing down the Thames in his wetsuit on a Saturday afternoon, with a drink in hand. Sailing is one of his most recent hobbies, which reflects his strong, determined and fun-loving nature. Josh also has a love for food and hosting. He shares this with friends and family whenever he has the chance to and never fails to impress – an all-round great guy.

Josh always brings his positive and personable approach to every part of the project, no matter how daunting the scale or small the task.

Currently overseeing the delivery of a 15,000 sq m fit-out for a high-profile international retailer, due for completion this year, Josh manages client expectations and contractor queries whilst maintaining design input on a number of other projects with no trouble.

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30 UNDER 30 The Class of 2021

Fern Thompson

Senior Interior Designer Jolie Studio Fern completed her BA (Hons) in Interior Design at Huddersfield University, and went on to work with Finch Interiors in London, where she delivered some of London’s most Instagrammable spots – London's casual dining chain, The Breakfast Club, Tonight Josephine, and the award-winning Vagabond Wines. She was part of the team behind a string of industry awards, including Best UK Bar at the Restaurant & Bar Design Awards 2016 and 2017 and Pinterest’s Best Restaurant Design 2018. Fern also works as a guest lecturer and believes in inspiring future generations.

Fern recently relocated to Manchester, amidst the pandemic, to join Jolie Studio. Her wild design aesthetic, technical skillset and bold freethinking is a refreshing change for the commercial world and introduces a new layer of creativity into the existing Jolie approach. At Jolie, Fern has worked on a variety of schemes and led the design of one of Manchester's newest independent hospitality offerings, Mule. Using magical lighting, curved walls, woody aromas and eclectic fabrics, she has created a space that will transport from the Manchester curbside into a dreamy Utah sunset. She has brought an invaluable extra dimension to Mule, with her brave and colourful material choices, technical ability and attention to detail. This skill and aesthetic can also be seen in the work that she has delivered for the Far East Consortium amenities within their Victoria Riverside scheme.

Hannah Bradshaw Designer MCM

Hannah wanted to be a designer from a very young age, being part of a family heavily involved in renovation and interiors. Having joined MCM in March 2017, Hannah is involved with creating initial concepts and progressing them to fully developed design drawings. She sees the design process through from client briefing to on-site application.

Nothing’s impossible – that’s Hannah’s M.O. She loves finding answers to the trickiest of design puzzles. She starts a project by pulling apart and analysing every detail of the brief; then putting it back together to find the missing piece. Hannah worked on the design of Hyperion Group’s 115,000 sq ft HQ at One Creechurch Place, designing several key features and seeing them through to on-site completion. She is now part of the design and client presentation team (concept development, space planning and visualisation) on an exciting project for Sony PlayStation. The new 60,000 sq ft development and testing facility, at the former Liverpool Echo building, is due for completion this year. She is also an essential part of the MCM team, delivering projects across Europe for a confidential, prestigious global technology company. Besides design, Hannah is fascinated by sociology, which brings an extra layer of richness to her approach to design, creating spaces that really respond to the needs of the end user.

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Benjamin Munday

Assistant Design Manager Mace Interiors For more than three years, Mace have been developing Woolwich Works for the Royal Borough of Greenwich. Ben has helped develop five Grade II listed buildings into a major performance venue, rehearsal studios, exhibition areas, event space and workshops supported by back of house functions and public facilities.

Ben’s primary role and responsibilities included working closely alongside the design team, managing the production of CDP designs, samples, driving the digital BIM coordination process, ensuring design risks are adequately addressed, and managing benchmark and quality control requirements, Ben has shown consistency and accuracy in a role that he has only recently been taught; he has impressed with his attention to detail and sheer determination to produce more and to work the hours to get things finished. Even with those long hours, he still takes on other development tasks – he has taught himself Power Bi just to produce reports for the practice, while he listens in to the construction managers’ ‘post it’ sessions. For Woolwich Works he produced the sample schedule and managed it from start to finish – his skills as a team player are better than anyone Mace have come across.

Esme Wills

Interior Designer M Moser As project designer, Esme runs the project from inception to completion.

She is comfortable with fast pace projects and demanding deadlines, and has the necessary communication skills to ensure the interconnection and understanding between the project and construction teams.

Esme has experience in various projects, ranging from retail through to residential, commercial and institutional, and is a flexible interior designer, bringing a vibrant and unique perspective to design.

She has demonstrated great leadership in her most recent projects, and has been across numerous project typologies, handling each task and deadline with great attentiveness and coordination. Esme shows great talent with diverse skill ranges and her passion to succeed really comes through when delivering these projects and when dealing with clients.

Tough and tenacious, Esme is, first and foremost, a team player who is always willing to step up and contribute positively.

All members of staff appreciate and admire her diligence, dedication and positive attitude towards her work. She is a valued member within the team, and M Moser looks forward to seeing her grow in her career.

30 UNDER 30 The Class of 2021

Lillie Cannings Designer Modus Workspace

Lillie might be young, but that hasn’t stopped her from making her mark in the industry. She’s not one to follow trends – she makes her own. In the two years that she has been in the industry, Lillie has shown tremendous growth and willingness to take on any challenges thrown at her. Her honest, confident and sassy nature has made her incredibly trusted by her clients. As a fashion girl at heart, she has a natural eye for style, and this shines through in her designs. Nothing is off bounds with Lillie; her attention to detail, out of the box thinking and creative mindset is what sets her apart from the rest.

When lockdown 1.0 hit, Lillie was handed her biggest challenge yet; to design and manage her first project completely virtually. Lillie only had the chance to meet her client twice to get their brief, which happened just before the first lockdown kicked in. Another big first for Lillie was codesigning with residential and hospitality designers, Todd Hunter Earle Interiors. Everything was executed virtually, from Zoom catch-ups to sending samples via post for approval. Lillie took everything in her stride, and without her hardworking attitude and easy-going nature, this project wouldn’t have been possible.

Steffi Diola Designer Oktra

Steffi joined Oktra as a technical designer in 2018. She first supported lead designers, before moving to a lead design position herself in 2020, where she’s proven her outstanding skills by exceeding client expectations and winning repeat business for the company. ‘Steffi is an integral member of Oktra, with her eagerness to help and passion for design, she does this all with a smile on her face,’ explains Oktra’s Managing Director, Wayne Judge. ‘She has grown to become a confident creative with ambitions to push the boundaries and deliver multiple successful projects. Steffi is a world-class designer, and we look forward to seeing her continue to grow and become a leader within the industry.’

Steffi has been a fundamental part of Oktra’s success over the last year and a half. She transformed her first project as a lead designer into one of Oktra’s main accounts of 2020. Her work garnered outstanding client feedback and led to five projects with Aviva – with more to come. ‘Steffi enables clients to embrace the design process, removing their anxieties and opening their minds to new ideas,’ adds Oktra’s Pre-Contracts Manager, Tom Metcalfe. ‘The resulting designs capture the imagination of clients, while fulfilling their specific needs many times over. Going ‘above and beyond’ is Steffi’s starting point for everything – and the results speak for themselves.’

Faith Pittock

Project Designer Morgan Lovell Faith is friendly, straightforward, easy to work with and possesses a wealth of design knowledge. She has a calm and thoughtful approach to projects and demonstrates a clear understanding of what her clients want to achieve as well as how best to respond to the brief. Her communications are clear and she plans well in advance to mitigate any potential issues.

Since joining Morgan Lovell, Faith has been involved in several major projects and special mention must go to the relocation project for the charity headquarters of WaterAid from London Bridge to Canary Wharf.

WaterAid wanted solutions that were forward thinking and highly sustainable. The design needed to offer a higher grade of workplace from the previous Borough Market office. The workplace also had to be highly effective for the end user. The feedback from WaterAid was that Faith came up with elements of design that truly reflected their brand and values, and they now have a home they are incredibly proud of.

Faith is a highly valued member of the Morgan Lovell design team and the wider business. She continues to develop key relationships with her clients by listening to their ideas and understanding what their aspirations are whilst working with them through every stage of the project to deliver solutions in a fun and creative way.

Georgia Nogas Project Designer Peldon Rose

‘If you have a design style with every project then you risk becoming outdated.’ Georgia has been an interior designer at Peldon Rose for the past five years, and champions creating workspaces that develop with their people. Having begun her career in joinery, Georgia found herself drawn to workplace design, working at a number of different agencies across the globe, from Canada to Sydney and then London, where she joined the Peldon Rose team. Georgia takes her inspiration from how we function as a society and as people, looking at the effects it has on the spaces we create. Combining this with key trends in wellbeing and mindfulness, Georgia is fast becoming a trendsetter in the future of office design. With the events of the past year changing the office landscape, Georgia is excited for what the future will hold for the design and build industry as we enter a new era of design. Last year, she worked as lead designer for global law firm Vedder Price’s workspace. She transformed the office into a bright, welcoming and flexible space that encapsulated the client’s image as a successful, professional firm. The design focuses on a people-based space that enhances productivity whilst incorporating wellbeing. The quality of features, such as bespoke walnut veneer joinery, personifies Georgia’s skill in design. From winning the project amidst a global pandemic, through to handing over the keys; this is testament to the strong relationship Georgia built with the client.

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UPFRONT 30 under 30 Class of 2021

George Papadopoulos Intermediate Architectural Assistant Perkins&Will

George joined the Interiors team at Perkins&Will in 2018 and quickly found his love for theoretical background research. He uses multimedia techniques when approaching a project, such as sketching, photography and model making, alongside design tools like 3D software.

His background in architectural regeneration led to a desire to bring buildings back to life and give back to the community. He brought this thinking into his latest project, in which he was the P&W sustainability champion. George’s experience began in residential developments and, more recently, he’s focused on interiors for clients like Pfizer, Smith and Williamson, HPE and Uber. George’s most recent project is an HQ for a global technology company, located in an iconic business park originally designed by Aldo van Eyck. His architectural background impacts his design process: first understand the building and what it gives you, then understand the client and how they’ll use and interact with the space.

Humancentric design is his passion, and through the design process he brings himself into the story. His skillset lends itself to all aspects of a project, as he is proficient in concept stages through to technical detailing.

George is a highly valued member of the studio, with an incredibly strong work ethic. He takes everything in his stride with a smile, is continuously growing and takes the time to mentor junior members of the team.

Beth Gibson

Interior Designer SpaceInvader Design Beth started with SpaceInvader in 2018, straight from university where she graduated with a first-class degree in Interior Design. SpaceInvader were immediately impressed with her creativity and drive – and soon with her tenacity too. Beth has now been with the studio for over two and half years and has become an integral part of their close-knit team, always willing to go above and beyond to help her colleagues and clients – and always with an infectious smile! During the craziness of the last year, she has proved resilient, quick to adapt to new ways of working and always supportive of her team and the company’s clients in a time period that has been complex and demanding. She has shown great maturity.

SpaceInvader have chosen Beth for all of the above reasons. She really is a rising star who is a pleasure to work alongside and to mentor. In the studio, she has recently started leading her own projects, revealing even more of her design flair and enabling her to continue flourishing. Beth has also had an integral role in an important up-and-coming project, where she has completed an intense briefing period with the client. She rose to the challenge on this and the feedback has been outstanding. The project is now ready to take into completion with a firm grounding.

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Phoebe Wood Interior Designer Scott Brownrigg

Since joining Scott Brownrigg in 2016, Phoebe has been working in the hospitality, commercial and high-end residential sectors of the company, developing not only her skills in creative thinking but also gaining a strong technical understanding of design, and has risen as a creative leader eager to deliver outstanding projects. Phoebe has significant experience in the UK market, recently delivering a prestigious residential development in Chelsea, and has been a vital design lead on Expedia’s new headquarters in London. She has been able to work internationally, predominantly in Moscow, on projects that range from private clinics to high end residential. After a turbulent year of lockdowns, Phoebe cannot wait to continue learning and creating sustainable designs that adapt to our changing world and environment and is also passionate to experience new designs and spaces created by others. Phoebe has blossomed into a multi-sector designer capable of leading and supporting on any ID project in the studio. Throughout lockdown, Phoebe has remained a valuable and positive member of the team and embraced the opportunity to mentor and support her fellow team members, whilst also stepping up to support her seniors and move forward in her capability and career.

Francesca Mutch Interior Designer Squire & Partners

Francesa (Chess) has worked for Squire & Partners for over five years, working on projects across the world, including her first projects, which included Lancer Square, a residential-led mixed-use development in Kensington, London. More recently, Chess has completed a workspace project for Derwent in Westminster, which gave her the opportunity to work with great furniture and materials brands to produce a complete office fit-out ready for the post-lockdown work environment. Chess and the team have also recently designed the interiors of a 49-storey mixeduse development in Toronto – providing an opportunity to study different building standards and consider the difference in climate and how it affects design.Over the five years that Chess has worked with Squire & Partners, she has grown in experience and confidence, working on a wide range of projects, from concept design to site and installation. Chess is an excellent team player and a vital member of the Squire & Partners studio. She is generous with her time, not only within the team – offering guidance and assistance to other team members – she has also mentored many work experience students over the years. Chess is hardworking and unafraid to take on new challenges; she has a great positive attitude, which is a joy and essential in the busy studio.

30 UNDER 30 The Class of 2021

Tom Iles

Designer Thirdway Interiors Tom always knew he’d be a designer and enjoyed product design through school. His work experience led him to uncover a talent and passion for interiors and architecture, which he went on to study at Nottingham Trent. He joined Thirdway immediately after completing university and has been with the business for over five years. He finds his motivation in squeezing the most out of every situation, whether it’s a tight deadline, a difficult floorplate or an exciting brief. ‘The best bit about this job is seeing projects come to life. Lots of hard work goes in up front and the most rewarding aspect is when it all comes together, looks good, and allows the people using the space to get the most out of it. The best projects are the ones built on great relationships.’ The team at Thirdway call Tom their silent assassin: a calm, considered but courageous designer with an infectious can-do attitude and positive energy. Tom has worked on a wide variety of projects during his time at Thirdway, ranging from fashion brands, to high profile corporate clients like Virgin, to CAT A schemes with Derwent and gaming company, Splash Damage. His portfolio is certainly diverse! One of his recent projects – 222 Bishopsgate – is a 25,000 sq ft full building refurbishment with complex structural modifications. Tom has tackled the project head on and driven the design forward with real passion. The resulting scheme is elegant, timeless and sympathetic to the existing building fabric and surrounding area.

Lewis Huff

Associate Director tp bennett An Essex boy through and through, Lewis is an experienced designer with a creative portfolio of workplace schemes. His love of design was influenced by his close relationship with his grandfather, whose interest in design sparked something in Lewis. He joined tp bennett in 2014 as a work experience student before choosing his undergraduate degree, later graduating with an honours degree in Interior Architecture whist continuing to work part-time at the practice. He has since delivered major schemes for forward-thinking clients such as Société Générale and Citi.

Lewis is at the heart of any project team, giving 110%. He applies his innovative and original approach to ensure spaces have a positive impact on the occupier, whilst ensuring all the details are taken care of. He is confident, proactive and comfortable presenting to senior leadership teams, building long-lasting relationships with clients, consultants and suppliers: all testaments to his calm approach, unmatched work ethic and easy-going nature. Lewis brings joy, excitement, talent and dedication to all his projects. He has a big smile, a ‘cool as a cucumber’ attitude, a desire to learn, as well as being an amazing team player, especially throughout lockdown! Lewis has been invaluable in the design and delivery of 285,000 sq ft for Société Générale in Canary Wharf and his work on the Citi EMEA headquarters project.

Charlotte Afford Interior Designer Woods Bagot

Charlotte joined the Woods Bagot team in 2019 and has since worked on a number of workplace interior projects, quickly proving to be an invaluable member of the interiors team. Charlotte brings with her a wealth of experience in the workplace sector and a comprehensive understanding of the real estate industry. Her strong design skills allow her to create bespoke and considered solutions for occupiers, while factoring in the ever-changing requirements and expectations of the workplace. Prior to joining Woods Bagot, Charlotte spent three years at Cushman & Wakefield, successfully completing their graduate program and moving on to become a full-time interior designer. Of course, the impact of COVID-19 forced the studio to move work to a virtual setting, and to adapt quickly to a new way of working. Despite such challenges, Charlotte has shown tremendous personal growth in the last year, finding real confidence with clients and taking ownership of her projects, becoming a pillar of support to her project team and helping to bring the best out of all of the team.

One such project is the design of a new workplace in Germany for a global tech firm. It is on this project that she has demonstrated her ability to not just understand the obstacles and complexities of truly sustainable workplace design, but she has also been excellent at finding robust solutions to them.w

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QUALITY SINCE 1948

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ROUNDTABLE

Home wasn’t built in a day We usually work with our sponsors to decide upon a great topic. However, when it came to working with our friends at Masonite UK, we didn’t need to – as they had done much of the work for us.

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hey were keen to bring together the finest industry minds in Manchester to discuss the hottest of topics right now: the home vs office debate – and whether our homes are set to be our new office for a long time to come? There are, of course, differing attitudes, views and solutions for this – we’ve even seen this from our own regular correspondents, with one looking at the debate from a design point of view, one from an end user’s point of view and a third from workplace specialist’s angle.

So how subjective is the office vs workplace debate? Is this something that should be tailored to individuals, never mind individual businesses? Also, when it comes to home working, what can we learn from the traditional workspace and how should we be adapting our homes for work life? Or is it the other way around?

Should we be concentrating on making the workplace more like our homes? Think safe and secure and comfortable.

Speaking of comfortable, we’ve gathered (safely and legally) at the brilliant Foundation Coffee House – which is owned and operated by our friends at NoChintz, so thank you to them for providing such a great venue for what proved to be a great discussion.

We begin by asking our guests where and how they are currently working, how that is working for them and what their hopes are for the immediate future.

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ROUNDTABLE

“

I think that, now we’ve been forced to work from home and it’s been proved that it can be done, it’s opened up the idea of flexible working

” Franky: Some of us are still working from home and some are now coming back to the office. We’re very much in this transitional phase – we don’t know whether we should be back in full-time, so we’re trying to tick both boxes right now! We are very aware of the fact that we can’t work from home five days a week any more – we’ve reached a bit of a limit with that. We need a level of collaboration and we also physically need access to samples and things like that. So, I’ll come in maybe three days a week and we have people dropping in periodically.

Rachel B: My regime at the moment is to work from home full-time. We did open up the office after the first lockdown, when things did start to ease. We’ve since completely closed our office until 21st June. We do miss it. For me, the balance of working from and going into the office will be great because I have two young children – and that flexibility will be a massive benefit to both me and my husband, who is also in the industry.

After I had my first child, I was working from home one day a week – and there was a stigma surrounding that. I felt guilty – even though I was able to get so much more work done from home! People still had that thought that you weren’t working if you were at home. I think that, now we’ve been forced to work from home and it’s been proved that it can be done, it’s opened up the idea of flexible working and takes the pressure off those people who do have commitments away from work.

Anna: We’re quite a large company and what we’re currently trying to do is to encourage everybody to work at least a little bit from the office – to see each other again. It does very much depend on the individual though

– if you’re not that comfortable, then you can work from home, but if you need to meet a client or you need to go through samples, then you do have the opportunity to go back into the office. I’m definitely using that opportunity to go back into the office at least a couple of days a week – it’s really nice to see faces I haven’t seen in a long time. It’s great to see what people are working on and what’s

happening throughout the office. I think it’s really easy to go into your own silo – and lose that collaboration and interaction. I think there is still very much a need for the office – and we’re also seeing this across our clients. I think spaces do need to work a lot harder now, to become more agile – but there is definitely that need for people to come together.

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“

Personally, I really miss seeing everyone – although I do think it’s a real shame that it’s taken a pandemic for people to realise that you can have this balance!

”

Rachel W: I agree with all the points that have been made. My routine is still very much transitional. Our studio has remained open throughout the pandemic – and we’ve had a system in place where you can use the studio if only a certain number of people are in etc. I agree with Rachel that this will be a real game changer in terms of working while having small children, and the flexibility this now offers. Our biggest challenge in terms of this transition is that, although we all want to be back in the office, all want to see each other and collaborate, our clients still aren’t doing that – and are still heavily reliant on Zoom and Teams calls. Our studio is not set up to allow six or seven people to be on separate Zoom calls, simply because of the noise factor. So, at the moment, we’re all staying at home to make those calls because we know that, if we come into the studio, we’re just going to disturb everybody. Personally, I really miss seeing everyone – although I do think it’s a real shame that it’s taken a pandemic for people to realise that you can have this balance!

Neil: I’ve got to say that managing people via Teams or whatever has been quite hard. It’s been especially difficult when you are dealing with contractors, who have various different departments, and getting them together to talk has been tough. There are as many bad things as good things from all of this – I feel that there needs to be a minimum of a 50/50 split. I personally feel the need to get back in front of people.

When looking at the design of offices now, we’re constantly thinking about options and places to go that aren’t just at the desk – and that’s going

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to be a big factor in new office designs going forward. That’s exciting. We’re looking at bringing in more facilities for wellness and for people to be comfortable. The way we work is undoubtedly changing – but there is undoubtedly a place still for face-to-face interaction.

There’s been a lot of talk about the downfall of the office – but we’re actually finding that, yes, a third of the workforce might well be able to work from home, but the other two-thirds now need a third more space. The reality is that the size of space needed probably won’t change that much – it just needs to be different.

Catherine: As we are a manufacturer, we had to originally close all our sites and many of the UK employees were furloughed as we weren’t producing any doors for a period of time. On the gradual return, our factories had to change the way they worked as a result of the pandemic to

ensure the safest environment possible for our employees. From the office employee point of view, everyone was very quickly set up to enable home working, with managers discussing the individual needs to ensure the environment was as best as it could be to ensure both comfort and productivity, so support with screens, ergonomic chairs etc.

One thing I did in lockdown was to change the space I was working in at home. Over time, I created a much more functional space that

ROUNDTABLE

allowed me to use my chosen space as an office, a gym and a place of relaxation.

We ask Catherine to tell us about the changing residential market from Masonite UK’s viewpoint.

Catherine: Last year, residential home improvements were bolstered by stay at home requirements, driving a significant upturn in DIY projects. With more people spending more time at home, residents wanted to see an improvement in their own space.

House builders and commercial renovations struggled to keep pace due to restricted labour and disrupted supply chains. Some renovation companies experienced restricted access to homes and commercial properties.

The start of 2021 has seen home improvement activity continue to be buoyant, along with a backlog of work for contractors. The commercial activity may take time to recover and would require more employees moving back to office work. Social housing and residential public sector spend is focused around fire safety and preparing for a carbon neutral future. The big question is what the size of the impact will be once restrictions are fully lifted and the UK public is allowed on holiday or to travel. We are expecting to see a potential shift in priorities away from home improvements and towards the travel and leisure industries – the

question is the size of the impact and how long it will last.

As far as the future is concerned, we are trying to get back to the office, but we’re such a big company and as such we’re treading extremely carefully. We need to manage any wellbeing and mental health concerns we may experience for any of our employees during this transitional phase. So, we’re gradually doing a phased return to the office here in the UK. I’ve experienced that, with Teams and Zoom, it is tough to read how people are feeling and whether they’re really missing that interaction just from a screen.

Rachel B: I think younger people have missed out on a lot – that whole experience of learning on the job and being mentored has been completely wiped out for them. Also, we’ve got younger people who flatshare and really want to come into the office because they simply don’t have a suitable place to work at home. I think we’re going to see a shift in the residential market as well as the office market as people change how they work.

Neil: It is undoubtedly tougher for younger people – and it is no wonder that a lot of them are struggling.

Rachel W: It’s not just the kids either – I think virtually everyone has suffered to some degree throughout the pandemic.

“

When looking at the design of offices now, we’re constantly thinking about options and places to go that aren’t just at the desk

”

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“

I think we’re going to see a shift in the residential market as well the office market as people change how they work.

Lucy: I think, as designers, we’ve become so used to being in a studio environment, where you can simply turn around and ask a question out loud or chat with colleagues. Sending an email or picking up a phone just isn’t as easy or instant.

We sent everyone home just before the first lockdown – we’d started to see how crowded the trains were, yet people weren’t wearing masks, and we assumed it would only be for a few of weeks!

”

Neil: We all thought this would blow over and everything would be back to normal pretty quickly…how wrong were we?’

Lucy: We continue to work from home – and we also have the coffee houses, of course, which we’ve been able to work in very remotely. We were also out of lease on our space and so started to work remotely – and quickly realised that, despite missing each other, people were working really well from home. We then took a new shared space back in October, but by this time we had worked out that the ‘hard work’ – the focused, technical stuff – was being done brilliantly at home, and it was the collaborative stuff, the ideas and the meetings that we were missing in the office. We’ve given everyone an opportunity to be flexible and to choose how they balance everything.

Franky: I feel that the whole purpose of having a base to go to work will force a movement that was already starting to happen – the creation of a hub more than a workplace. The way we’re now seeing things shift is that it is becoming more like a private members’ club, and you are a member of this club – but you’re getting paid to be there!

You go in and you can have your lunch there, then you can go and focus somewhere for an hour, then you can go for a run, then come back and have a team meeting…it’s an exciting place to go to and everyone wants to be a member of this exclusive club. This is what employers should be striving towards. We need MD’s and FD’s to turn their spaces on their heads and buy into this vision.

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“

The way we’re now seeing things shift is that it is becoming more like a private members’ club

”

Conclusion: Even in a single industry, people are individuals, with individual wants and needs. Flexibility is key – even if that means one person working the majority of their time from home while another chooses to be office-based. The office, as Franky and Neil suggest, needs to offer much more than a desk and a chair, while the home working space should be – as Catherine alluded to – more functional, ergonomic, acoustic and private – a Home Sanctuary. Oh, and it certainly helps if you own and operate great coffee houses! w

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OUR GUESTS

Neil Pickup

Rachel Bishop

Franky Rousell

Lucy Goddard

Neil leads and manages the design and delivery of projects within the Ask portfolio, including elements of the letting process, and has delivered developments with a construction value of over £150m – managing the delivery of the design process from inception through to practical completion.

Hugely experienced in delivering highly complex projects, Neil has recently overseen the successful completion of the two-phased officeled development at Embankment Salford, and has a crucial role at two of Ask’s latest projects in the North East.

Rachel joined BDP in 2020 to lead the expanding interior design team in the Northern regions. She started her career at Foster + Partners in London and joined BDP from her role as Project Director at tp bennett, where she spent five years delivering major office schemes for Manchester clients including real estate advisors CBRE, law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer and property developer Bruntwood.

Rachel is a highly creative, passionate designer, with over a decade’s experience, delivering award-winning projects across numerous sectors.

Voted one of Manchester’s 30 under 30 entrepreneurs, Franky founded Jolie Studio in 2017,with the aim to design beautiful,inspirational spaces that are both thoughtful and environmentally responsible.

Using carefully selected colours, fragrances, sounds,textures and tastes, their designs promote productivity and support mental wellbeing. After just two years in business, Jolie Studio took home its first major award at Mixology19 – going from strength to strength across a variety of sectors, and with plenty of exciting projects in the pipeline.

As Creative Director, Lucy is responsible for the multi-awardwinning practice’s impressive portfolio of hotels and developer services, and is the Co-founder of today’s Roundtable venue – Foundation Coffee House; Greater Manchester’s rapidly expanding group of food and beverage venues, which are owned and operated by the studio. The driving force behind trend forecasting at NoChintz, Lucy is motivated by a desire to make engaging, considered and intelligent design accessible, and has delivered a variety of hospitality and living concepts to clients across the globe.

Anna Baker

Rachel Withey

Catherine Horsfall

Anna works across various sectors, ranging from office fit-

Rachel has worked for over 20 years within the design industry. Her projects have spanned the country, several of which have been awardwinning. Her experience crosses all design sectors, from workplace to hospitality, gained from working in exemplary architectural and interior design studios throughout her career. As well as being highly creative, she also prides herself on focusing on the user experience and

Project Director Ask Real Estate

Interior Designer Sheppard Robson

out to commercial, education and healthcare schemes. Often working on high-profile projects, she is a creative and dedicated member of the team who always strives to produce comprehensive and innovative design. Anna also has a passion for sustainability; as an active member of SR’s sustainability team, she often looks for new products and opportunities to implement this into her work.

Her love for sustainability also continues at home, where she has a large collection of biophilia.

Associate Interior Designer BDP

Associate Director SpaceInvader

putting the ‘human’ at the centre of any project.

Founder/CEO Jolie Studio

Founding Director NoChintz

Channel Marketing Manager, Architectural Masonite UK Joining Masonite in 2014, Catherine has worked across various roles within the business to ensure her product knowledge and understanding of the industry is up to the highest standards. Prior to Masonite, Catherine brings experience from retail, office consumables and, more recently, commercial flooring. She has always had a passion for building strong relationships with colleagues and customers alike, allowing her to ensure she understands the needs and requirements of the customer.

Mix 212 May 2021 | 45

In the Can While individuals get a letter from Her Majesty to mark 100 years in existence, independent property consultancy, Montagu Evans, decided to move premises as it approached its own special milestone.

CASE STUDY Montagu Evans

The central core features a new stylish black steel staircase

‘T

he vision was to launch the business into a completely new and modern way of working, in an office environment that fostered mentorship and collaboration,’ explains Tony Knight, Director at BDG architecture + design, which worked on the strategy and design of this new 25,500 sq ft space.

BDG supported this client’s property search, working with Montagu Evans’ real estate team to look at potential new HQs, eventually deciding to take two levels of 70 St Mary’s Axe, colloquially known as the Can of Ham in the City of London. BDG used input from a variety of sources, including building and occupation analysis, stakeholder interviews and scenario planning, recording over 6,500 survey measurements in the process. ‘This then allowed us to design and create spaces with connection, health and inclusion, with a range of modern work settings,’ explains Adam Childs, BDG Creative Director. ‘This is a very human office, designed to nurture community, encourage collaboration and care for the wellbeing of its people.’

On level 11 of this curved high-rise building, designed by Foggo Associates, a series of glazed and open flexible meeting spaces fan out to either side of the central core with its new stylish black steel staircase, installed by BW: workplace experts as part of its fit-out works here at 70 St Mary’s Axe. The staircase has a glass balustrade with no immediate posts or supports and presented a challenge in terms of ensuring the quality of finishes and interfaces.

Responding to this, BW built a full-size section so these could be fully investigated and signed off before being installed.

Agile working is the name of the game here, with a series of booths and team working areas, including a long banquette opposite whiteboards that run the length of the open space surrounding the staircase. A hot desking area, meanwhile, has its own kitchenette, allowing for smaller café type meetings.

This workplace interior isn’t just about how Montagu Evans’ own people work together but also

“

This is a very human office, designed to nurture community, encourage collaboration and care for the wellbeing of its people

” Mix 212 May 2021 | 47

CASE STUDY Montagu Evans

top & above Dramatic views across London have been maximised as a dynamic backdrop

48 | Mix 212 May 2021

how they collaborate with their clients. To this end, much of this flexible space can be client facing, with a high-end finish featuring warm, light and natural materials, combined with sharp detailing to achieve a balance of quality without extravagance. Multi-coloured exposed surfaces with a softly lit joinery feature wall continues the sophisticated look and feel where spaces flow from one to another, inspiring a dynamic and connected way of working.

There has been an organisational shift to neighbourhood groupings here, which is reflected in the layout of the upper floor on level 12. Individuals now sit with experts in similar industries, who work with complementary clients, and this colocation strategy ensures there’s plenty of scope for knowledge sharing.

Acknowledging that Montagu Evans’ people also need their quiet time as much as the rest of us, BDG has incorporated a library and wellbeing space. Both floors of this dynamic workplace interior also benefit from the building’s

panoramic glass, and fantastic views across the City and way beyond.

Sustainability was considered carefully by BDG and it was of importance to maintain focus on it for the client, who has swift ambitions to achieve Net Zero. The design maximises natural light and the layout has been deliberately planned around efficient building density. While old furniture went to local reuse schemes, new elements included environmentally sound choices such as Interface carpets, which use 100% recycled yarn, and acoustic panels featuring at least 60% recycled PET. On the upper level, the CAT A ceiling was left largely untouched to once again cut down on new materials used. Elsewhere, natural materials, such as oak flooring and clay brick for the reception desk, were used as much as possible and planting also features heavily to provide staff with plenty of that outside inside.

Individual end users are encouraged to live and work with less environmental impact and

CASE STUDY Montagu Evans

Client Montagu Evans Interior Architecture BDG architecture + design PM REPS Ltd (Real Estate Project Solutions), Caroline Pearce-Brown (Client), Jerry Williams (Construction) QS Heasmans MEP GDM Partnership AV/IT MIX Structural Design Waterman Group Fire Consultant WSP Main Contractor BW Furniture Supplier Day 2 Flooring Interface, Ege, Havwoods, Forbo Flooring Furniture OPM, Knoll, Brunner, Molteni, Andreu World, Muuto, Icons of Denmark, Arrmet, Fogia, La Plama, Dare Studio, Swedese, Carl Hansen, &Tradition, Moroso, VG&P, Arper, Santa Cole Storage YourWorkspace Acoustics The Collective Agency, Woven Image Fabrics Kvadrat, Camira Lighting Vitra Much of the flexible space can be client facing, with a high-end finish featuring warm, light and natural materials

Other Ruckstuhl, Creative Debuts, Valley Provincia

Mix 212 May 2021 | 49

CASE STUDY Montagu Evans

the business has its corporate future in mind too with a modular approach to lighting and air conditioning.

The strategy piece of this project gave Montagu Evans a chance to reflect on when and how the company wanted to work in the future, as it approached its centenary. A review of its offices at Bolton Street, near Green Park, was undertaken before the move to the Square Mile, ‘There was a desire to mark the landmark year with a complete office reset,’ Tony says. BDG’s workplace analysis formed the foundations for this change in office dynamic, giving the client the confidence to invest in a new and intuitive way of working in a variety of facilities and amenities. As Montagu Evans is part of the property world, helping its clients shape some of the UK’s largest commercial, residential and mixed-use development projects, it was really important that it led the way in terms of its own real estate.

That’s not to say a century of innovation has been forgotten. Far from it. This interior retains the best

of the client’s identity and culture, while providing a workplace fit for 2021. Summing up the scheme, Tony concludes: ‘We created a space that supports how the business wants to work and grow together, attracting and retaining staff in the process.’

The new space for Montagu Evans is an expression of modern work, with staff happiness, wellbeing and community at its heart. This is a very human workspace, which reflects the nature of the partnership and the value it places on building and maintaining relationships. Spaces flow from one to the other with a shared DNA: ‘Better Together’.

The scheme encourages collaboration, inclusivity and diversity at every opportunity. Dramatic views across London have been maximised as a dynamic backdrop for work life, whilst long sightlines give the environment a welcome sense of openness and spaciousness. Warm, light, natural materials and well executed details give the scheme a timeless quality, whilst striking the right balance of professional without being corporate.w

“

We created a space that supports how the business wants to work and grow together, attracting and retaining staff in the process

”

above Multi-coloured exposed services with a softly lit joinery feature wall continues the sophisticated look and feel

50 | Mix 212 May 2021

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CASE STUDY Liverpool Football Club

Chemical Brothers When global chemical company, BASF, took the decision to move its UK headquarters to Stockport town centre, after agreeing to take 21,500 sq ft at Stockport Exchange, it turned to 5plus to help make the relocation happen.

photos: tom bird

above ‘Third’ spaces account for a large part of the scheme, ranging from private personal focus areas to shortstay collaborative open spaces

B

52 | Mix 212 May 2021

ASF provides a wide range of raw materials to most industries in the UK, including agriculture, automotive chemicals, construction, energy and pharmaceuticals. The company has 13 locations across the UK, eight of them manufacturing sites, and about 850 employees.

Back in 2019, 5plus was commissioned to support BASF in the relocation of this new UK and Ireland HQ from its original home in Cheadle Hulme to Stockport Exchange – a new build office facility located next to Stockport’s central train station.

The development offers Grade A office accommodation across five floors, with an external terrace at level 5 and retail units at ground floor.

BASF is committed to supporting the regeneration of Stockport town centre with this move to Stockport Exchange.

The decision was taken to relocate to a reduced footprint, in a

lower energy modern building, to realign with the company’s corporate global strategy and ‘future of work’ concept. BASF was also keen to promote greater use of public transport in travelling to work, alongside the social and economic benefits of being able to use the town centre amenities.

The brief for 5plus was to deliver a welcoming, calming, homely and engaging environment that would support agile and collaborative working for BASF’s 200+ employees here in Stockport’.

‘BASF made the decision to change the way it operated in the UK and Ireland in line with a realignment of our Global Corporate Strategy in 2019,’ Chris Skurray, BASF Facilities Manager UK & Ireland, says. ‘As a result, our ‘Future of Work’ concept was developed, designed to bring our new global strategy to life.

CASE LIVING STUDY Property BASF

“

It was important for us to create collaborative spaces/areas, enabling our colleagues to work closely together, balanced with quieter areas to offer privacy and seclusion

”

below The space promotes both flexible and agile working throughout an open plan environment

‘The ‘Future of Work’ was built around a new way of working, adopting modern thinking and principles to enable us to achieve our goal. Agility, empowerment, digitalisation and collaboration were just some of the principles we adopted as the foundation of our concept.

‘To enable us to achieve our goal we made the decision to relocate our UK and Ireland HQ, moving from a building we had built and owned for almost 25 years to leased space in a multi-occupancy office building at Stockport Exchange. The challenge of moving from 5,000 sq m to 2,000 sq m, with no reduction to headcount, was one we didn’t take lightly, understanding it was critical to engage with the right architectural and design partner to fully interpret and help develop our vision.

‘5plus worked very closely with us from day one, listening to our ideas and requirements and developing them into the exciting, multi-functional and fun

welcome area is located on the 5th floor, alongside a flexible café and events area that opens out onto the large terrace, allowing the opportunity for meetings, collaboration and private conversations in the fresh air. The terrace also adjoins the open plan café and games area to encourage staff interaction with the outdoor space. A new central feature staircase was designed to connect the two floors and further encourage both collaboration and staff interaction.

In addition to the customer facing area, the 5th floor includes a range of traditional and agile work settings, collaboration spaces and meeting rooms. These continue through to the 4th floor, which also includes numerous quiet working areas, an IT help desk, a library space and dedicated wellness room.

In order to create a personal and responsive new home, which explores the very nature of BASF, 5plus smartly selected products and materials that contain BASF raw ingredients within the interior finishes.

spaces we now have. It was important for us to create collaborative spaces/areas, enabling our colleagues to work closely together, balanced with quieter areas to offer privacy and seclusion.’

The project includes a wide range of settings, from a library space to a games corner, with areas for both individual and team-based working. The reception and

With support from its graphic design team, 5plus also designed signage, wayfinding and feature walls that showcase both BASF values and products to further strengthen the narrative and personalisation of the space.

The design process was carefully considered, allowing for extensive consultation with the

Mix 212 May 2021 | 53

CASE STUDY BASF

Client BASF PLC Limited Architecture 5plus architects Interior Design 5plus architects Contractor Overbury Environmental/ M&E Engineer Hilson Moran Quantity Surveyor Cost Consultant JLL Workplace Analysis Baker Stuart Employers Agent/ Project Manager JLL Acoustic Engineer Sandy Brown Structural Engineer Curtains

“

The heart of the concept was to promote an agile working environment, creating connectivity between the two floors and, ultimately, between the people within

”

54 | Mix 212 May 2021

client team, which comprised representatives from across all sectors of the UK business, from junior to senior levels. This ultimately led to the fit-out being delivered to plan, without client changes, on time and on budget – despite the COVID restrictions in place.

The workplace design places the health and wellbeing of the building’s users at its centre. This approach is embedded into the core principles for the fit-out – the completed space is not only healthy and environmentally friendly but also offers people a home away from home.

‘The heart of the concept was to promote an agile working environment, creating connectivity between the two floors and, ultimately, between the people within,’ Natasha Dance, Associate Interior Designer at 5plus, explains.

‘The key architectural intervention was to include an accommodation stair between the two floors to further encourage those chance interactions

between users and allow BASF staff to move freely between the two floors.

With BASF being one of Europe’s largest chemical manufacturers, many of the materials and surfaces used throughout the scheme were chosen for their use of BASF raw materials.

We worked closely as a design and client team to ensure the overall design reflected the BASF values.’

During the early phases, 5plus worked closely with the client and strategic workplace consultants to better understand how their existing space was being used. The data was then used to help establish the detailed brief, space requirements and desk-sharing ratio of 0.5:1 across the scheme, with a robust evidencebased approach. 5plus also undertook staff engagement and visionary sessions to help identify the interior narrative and allow staff to be involved in the design process.

As Natasha says, when it came to the selection of the products and materials, a vast amount of research

Principal Designer Safer Sphere Furniture Supplier The Furniture Practice Furniture Hitch Mylius, Workstories, Vitra, Established and Sons, Modus, Boss, Brunner, Allermuir, Humanscale, Albion, Spacestor, Muuto, Anglepoise, Hay, Fritz Hansen, Silverline, Lintex Flooring Tarkett, Interface, Desso Fabrics Kvadrat, Camira Surfaces Egger, Polyrey, Kvadrat, Forbo, Annie Sloan Paint, Tektura Digital Storage Spacestor Glazing Optima Lighting Atrium, Muuto, Northern Acoustics H&H Acoustic Technologies

CASE STUDY BASF

was undertaken to understand which ones contained BASF raw materials. This was then used to build both the narrative and specification for the space.

‘Much of the loose furniture was also selected because it included BASF raw materials,’ Natasha continues. ‘This was also apparent for many of the interior finishes, such as acoustic panels, paints and laminates. The overarching interior vision was to create a homely space that included biophilic elements and showcased BASF’s identity, which influenced the choice of both colours and textures.’

The internal arrangement prioritises the location of workspaces in primary zones near the external walls to maximise the natural daylight and views across Stockport.

Cellular spaces were then inset from the building perimeter, with considered use of glazed partitions to maintain connections and create sightlines across the space and out through the perimeter curtain walling. ‘Third’ spaces account for a large part of the scheme, ranging from private personal focus areas to short-stay collaborative open spaces. They are carefully distributed around both floors. Some facilities, such as phone booths, are located close to open plan workstation zones for ease of use, whereas café and utility areas are deliberately centralised to ensure staff stand up regularly and move around the space, increasing chance interactions with colleagues. The aforementioned external terrace on the 5th floor is a key feature, allowing staff to connect to the outside

above & right The subtle and complementary blend of fixtures, installations and furniture have enabled BASF to provide settings to suit every activity

“

Much of the loose furniture was selected because it included BASF raw materials

”

56 | Mix 212 May 2021

CASE STUDY BASF

below A new central feature staircase connects the two floors, encouraging both collaboration and staff interaction

“

Activity based working was an important part of our vision, we wanted to create multiple working settings designed to suit whichever mode of work one was conducting at that time

”

and fresh air. The theme is continued internally with the use of biophilic design and planting. BASF’s facilities team was fundamental in this, carefully selecting specific plants to maximise their air purifying attributes whilst reinforcing the function of the spaces.

Once the project completed, it resulted in a unique situation for the client. As the space had been intrinsically designed with flexibility in mind and generously spaced work settings, there was no need for the layouts to be modified to respond to COVID measures. The client introduced carefully considered management strategies, which allowed some staff to return and experience the space, once government restrictions allowed.

‘The design had progressed quite significantly when we first went into lockdown, just as we were due to appoint a contractor, therefore the original design intent remained,’ Natasha recalls. ‘The original intent was to create a space that promoted both flexible and agile working throughout an open plan environment. The client had a fully agile remote working functionality in

advance of the workspace project and the design has lots of flexibility built into it with many connected, but subtly separated spaces. The open areas were designed with the intention of adaptation and re-configuration in the future.

‘Appointing the contractor during the first national lockdown meant that we had to work closely as a design and client team to adapt to new ways working. Many of the final finishes’ presentations were held online with furniture fabric samples being specified from home.’

‘Activity based working was an important part of our vision. We wanted to create multiple working settings designed to suit whichever mode of work one was conducting at that time,’ Chris concludes. ‘The subtle and complementary blend of fixtures, installations and furniture has enabled us to provide our colleagues with a setting to suit every activity they might undertake.

‘With clever and innovative use of space, along with in-depth research and analysis of how our existing space was being used, we believe we have absolutely achieved our goal.’ w

Mix 212 May 2021 | 57

photos: katya de grunwald

Green Day Run For The Hills has designed Bondi Green – its second offering for Aussie hospitality venture, Daisy Green Collection – a new all-day drinks and dining spot set within a huge, light-filled space at the base of the landmark Brunel Building in Paddington.

F

ollowing their successful Scarlett Green restaurant scheme in Soho, Run For The Hills opted for a paired-back, semi-industrial theme for this new venue, building upon the high ceilings and raw concrete backdrop of the site, and adding touches of luxury throughout.

The Bondi Green restaurant’s large main bar includes two cocktail stations and a dedicated tank beer and wine tasting zone. ‘For our core decorative scheme, we decided with our clients to leave some of

58 | Mix 212 May 2021

the walls beautifully raw and untouched, simply highlighted with soft washes of light.

Other walls we knocked back further and embellished with decorative effects,’ says Anna Burles, Run For The Hills’ Creative Director. The walls behind the beer tanks have been distressed with a special decorative effect, shot through with metallic gold touches and hand-finished by artist Tabby Riley, who was commissioned to add some of the special touches to sister venue, Scarlett Green. ‘We had great fun designing this centrepiece,

“

For our core decorative scheme, we decided with our clients to leave some of the walls beautifully raw and untouched, simply highlighted with soft washes of light

”

injecting a luxe feel by playing with dramatic curved forms and arches,’ adds Anna. ‘The bar was concepted around the beating heart of the mixologists, but it also has a perfectly positioned ‘opening’ in the centre of the back bar, offering a direct view down the barrel of the pizza oven set behind the bar.’

The team has kept the rest of the bar finishes fresh and light in pale refined concrete, in keeping with the industrial theme. The back bar is dominated by a range of curved arches set at different heights, in dusky coloured pigmented plaster from Clayworks, picked out with soft lighting, highlighting the curves and casting a glow onto the antique mirrored shelves, glassware and bottles. The fluted bar front is also raw, contrasting with a lush, seaweed-toned marble countertop with double bullnose edge. Rising above the kitchen pass is a series of glazed metal framed panels featuring atmospheric botanical motifs by artist Justin J Hibbs.

The design scheme centres on a modern Deco-beach palette of clashing pinks, corals, pale mints, teal greens, and dusky blues. Oversized ‘Deco-fabulous’ booth-banquettes in clashing coral and pink offer an Instagram-worthy dining spot beneath oversized pop-art pieces by Oli Epp – specially commissioned for Bondi Green by the clients, founders Prue Freeman and Tom Onions (all of the Daisy Collection venues include bold and colourful art, often specially commissioned by the clients or on loan from their private collection).

above Framed botanical panels from artist Justin J Hibbs

left Oversized ‘deco-

fabulous’ private booths

“

The design scheme centres on a modern Deco-beach palette of clashing pinks, corals, pale mints, teal greens, and dusky blues

”

Mix 212 May 2021 | 59

HOSPITALITY Bondi Green

below A huge installation from artist Ant Hamlyn blooms and wilts over the course of a typical visit

The long cocktail bar is flanked by enormous custom PVC daisies by Ant Hamlyn; each daisy head on the installation is rigged to bloom and wilt during the duration of a typical restaurant visit.

For the furnishings, Run For The Hills chose swivel seats for a golden-age style, pared down with 70s style cantilever dining chairs in a mix of raw cane and upholstered in tactile fabrics. Fabrics were an important choice, a mix of patterned and plain velvets, textured wool, and leather. ‘For the bar we opted for blackened steel swivel stools, upholstered in clashing fabrics from one of our favourite textile designers, Charlotte Jade, using her gorgeous hand-illustrated botanical palm and animal print styles,’ Anna points out.

Dining tables were sourced in a mix of rounds and squares, topped with a range of

60 | Mix 212 May 2021

finishes for an eclectic feel, including cool smoke-tinted glass, deep emerald-green, and Carrara white marble edge-banded with antique brass.

The botanic theme is underlined with acres of lush planting within the space, suspended from ceilings and with clusters of greenery used to zone the space during these times of COVID, creating private, sheltered corners for people to eat and drink in a relaxed way.

Outside, fully retractable glazed doors lead to a large outdoor terrace next to the Grand Union Canal in Paddington Basin – when combined, creating a perfect destination for al fresco dining and socially-distanced gatherings both outside and (by the time this magazine hits our desks) inside too! w

HOSPITALITY Bondi Green

“

We had great fun designing this centrepiece, injecting a luxe feel by playing with dramatic curved forms and arches

” left Outdoor dining space

Mix 212 May 2021 | 61

LIVING Property

Clubhouse, Canada Gardens

Family Values David Thame meets the man bringing US Build-to-Rent to this side of the pond.

62 | Mix 212 May 2021

B

uild-to-rent developer, Quintain Living, is beginning to look and sound like a US-style multifamily operator. So what does it mean for UK furnished apartments?

Lift or elevator? Pants or trousers? Tom-artoh or tom-aytoe? The United States and the UK truly are two countries divided by a common language.

‘Multifamily’ is the latest on a long list of words that have struggled to make it across the Atlantic.

The problem is that the equivalent UK expression, build-to-rent (BTR), is a very poor translation. It is too narrow, too exclusive, too…English.

At which point, James Saunders, Chief Executive of UK-based but US-owned BTR developer, Quintain Living, steps forward from dictionary corner.

Nobody has a clearer idea what multifamily means than James, and few people have a stronger sense of where it could go in the UK. With its Texan money and increasingly US leadership team, Quintain Living is shaping up to be the first serious US multifamily operation on this side of the pond.

It will mean more family-style accommodation.

It will also mean a housebuilding business geared to operate at scale: Quintain is backed by Dallas-based

LIVING Property

investor, Lone Star, and, like most things from the state of Texas, they expect everything to be big.

‘We had significant US influence at the early design stage. Working with our US shareholder, Lone Star, has hugely benefited us by introducing influences from the US multifamily market,’ James says.

‘I wouldn’t say that what happened was Americanisation, but they brought with them an opportunity to change our strategy.’

For US-style multifamily development to work, developers need long-term capital. Unlike buildfor-sale housebuilders, who can borrow, build, sell, take a profit and re-invest, in a fairly tight timescale, BTR developers cannot recycle capital in quite the same efficient way. True, selling completed blocks to investors can work (see side panel: Getting too hot?).

But the list of potential buyers is not long, and lot sizes are high, which tends to limit sale prospects.

If your strategy is more about long-term investment than building-and-trading, you need

Officer after 25 years in the US multifamily scene, most of it on the West Coast.

‘Danielle has experience with communities of thousands of residents, she’s seen it all, including great experience maturing and developing management platforms like ours,’ says James.

Danielle has now been joined by a new Texas-born Head of Sales, as the US-born workforce grows.

“It’s great for us that we have Americans in key positions. It’s helped us learn quickly how to run our product in an efficient way, because over there it is a mature market,” says James.

So what to expect from this stateside influence?

Quintain are already operating an annual output of 600+ units, making it one of the UK’s largest BTR housebuilders.

Today, the 86-acre Wembley Park development in North West London has 2,400 units with another 4,000 still to come. Larger scale development sites (measured in thousands of units) are their target, says James. But only once

long-term money. This is where relatively patient capital, like that provided so far by Lone Star, comes in handy.

‘We were too dependent on recycling capital before Lone Star. Now they have provided us with the long-term capital we needed,’ James admits.

The American influence also extends to personnel. Quintain Living began hiring from New York’s multifamily talent pool as far back as 2016, but that process has now accelerated. Two senior figures from the United States are setting the tone.

Danielle Bayless has joined as Chief Operating

Wembley is completed.

Second, expect some genuine multifamily development of the US kind.

In North America, ‘multifamily’ means exactly what it says: purpose-built (or converted) housing schemes, which provide homes for several families. In contrast, BTR tends to be multiple occupation by singles or singles sharing. Rarely, if ever, does an actual family with actual children wind up in a BTR block.

As part of the latest Canada Gardens phase at Wembley, Quintain will make a concerted effort to

“

I guess our primary market will always be urban young professionals, but our instinct is that there are also more interesting target audiences out there, and the family market is one of them.

” Getting too hot?

The UK multifamily sector recorded £771m investment in the first quarter of 2021, according to data from global real estate advisor, CBRE. This was the second highest quarterly investment volume for the sector since 2014. Performance was only bettered by the last quarter of 2020.

Stand-out deals included MGT Investment Management’s £150m forward commitment on a portfolio of units at Battersea Power Station and an £80m forward-funding for the construction of Moda Living’s build-torent scheme in Holland Park, Glasgow.

The flow of deals is expected to continue, not least because deals worth £1.5bn were under offer as Q2 began.

Clearly, it is going to be a busy year.

‘We are anticipating more equity to target UK multifamily assets than Central London offices over the course of the year,’ said Jason Hardman, CBRE Executive Director for Residential Valuations.

Quintain Living’s James Saunders is adamant that the UK BTR market is nowhere near the top. ‘The truth is that BTR in the UK has been years of talk and no action. We are definitely not at the top of the market, because it is only recently that investors have begun to focus on the resilience of the product.

For instance, we’ve been collecting 98% of our rents throughout the pandemic, and didn’t lose a single day of construction. There aren’t a lot of other property sectors that can say this.’w

Children’s playroom

Mix 212 May 2021 | 63

“

We learned that most of the demand is from within the UK – not necessarily British citizens, but British residents – and that is different from built-for-sale flats, which often have international buyers in mind. That means we designed for a UK market

” The rooftop gardens feature allotments and work-from-home sheds

attract real family occupiers to schemes with a bias towards three- and four-bed homes.

‘We are learning from the US multifamily sector, and applying it in a UK context.’

The result is now taking shape at Canada Gardens, where a family-oriented product offers a variety of child-sized extras.

The seven building Canada Gardens scheme has been designed with families in mind. There’s an acre of private gardens (separate from the rest of the scheme) for the kids to run around in. Co-designed with John Lewis & Partners and Samsung, on-site facilities include allotments and a greenhouse, work-from-home sheds on the roof, a pet park, a children’s play room and pirate ship, spaces for BBQ’s, a rooftop terrace with entertainment spaces, a library and a clubhouse.

In other words, plenty of distractions to help create the feeling that your young family is not trapped in its apartment.

Canada Gardens’ studios and one- to fourbedroom apartments are available furnished or unfurnished, with a ‘plug and play’ offering that allows residents to move in swiftly and painlessly – including WiFi set-up ready to go from moving day.

‘We think we can grow the family side of the business,’ says James. ‘We don’t have a precise target figure in mind, and we know that the two- to three-bed flats could also be occupied by sharers and working-from-homers who want an extra room as a workspace. But we are aware of strong demand for family accommodation and we’re tapping into it at Canada Gardens.

“I guess our primary market will always be urban young professionals, but our instinct is that there are also more interesting target audiences out there, and the family market is one of them.’

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The Quintain product has evolved. The first units were built-for-sale apartments, converted to build-to-rent purposes. The building was not ‘optimised for BTR’ James says, pointing to few lifts, few loading bays, insufficient back-of-house space and narrow corridors, among other things.

By 2018, Quintain was on its second generation of BTR product. More lifts, more loading bays and wider corridors were duly incorporated, and a refined leasing/operator structure put into place.

The third generation has been rolling out since last year and, according to James, lessons have been learned.

‘We learned that most of the demand is from within the UK – not necessarily British citizens, but British residents – and that is different from built-for-sale flats, which often have international buyers in mind. That means we designed for a UK market,’ he says.

Today, Quintain does not have a presence in the UK BTR sector outside London. But that could change in the medium-term.

James is happy to speculate about expanding his business to the UK regions. But he is not rushing into development: the relatively small regional markets might struggle to digest the high volume of new apartments Quintain is designed to produce. When the moment comes to expand to the regions, Quintain are likely to debut via management agreements signed with other developers. With so much still to do at Wembley, this is unlikely to be before 2024-5.

OK, so patience may be required before a serious US-style multifamily developer is operating throughout the UK. But make no mistake: Quintain Living are heading in that direction and, when they arrive, will turn the local BTR world upside down.w

What’s in a name?

Quintain Living enjoyed a brief spell operating under the brand name Tipi, before a recent rethink and reversion to the Quintain label.

It could be that another name change is imminent if Texan owners, Lone Star, follow through with delayed plans to sell their controlling stake in the business.

Interest in a sale began to grow as Quintain looked for investors with deep pockets to acquire the 1,500 housing units it has already completed at Wembley. The price tag was north of £1 billion, with the additional prospect of funding another few thousand new apartments. In September 2020, Lone Star began talks with J P Morgan on the best way to run a sale of the Quintain business.

Despite rumours that German investor, Patrizia, and rivals – like Longharbour and Get Living – were all tempted by the offer, Lone Star pulled the sale in January. Market uncertainty during lockdown is thought to have depressed pricing.w

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LIVING LUMA

LUMA has it One of London’s largest and most exciting redevelopments, King’s Cross, has been described as a symbol of London’s industrial past and creative present – both of which inform Argent’s new residential development, LUMA.

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LIVING LUMA

W

ith a unique identity amongst a characterful collection of neighbouring office and apartment buildings currently under construction, LUMA is inspired by the industrial heritage of King’s Cross, with a delicately layered façade symbolising the interconnecting rail tracks.

Competing with many other new residential developments currently on site or recently delivered in the area, LUMA needed to own its identity, making it a desirable place to live.

This joined-up collaboration between the client, Argent, architects Squire & Partners and interior designers Conran and Partners, has made the story of LUMA’s design an easy tale to tell.

The building’s aluminium façade, with a second layer emulating dappled light, creates an organic pattern used on decorative lattice screens, bas-relief aluminium and concrete panels. The exterior panels can be moved to modulate light into the apartments, mitigating the effects of solar gain and helping to keep the apartments cool in the summer months. All apartments benefit from either a balcony or Juliette balcony, which blur the boundary between inside and out, further reinforcing the connections to the parks on either side.

‘The pandemic has heightened most people’s desire to be connected to nature, so the concept is even more relevant now than it was when we designed the scheme some years ago,’ says Simon Kincaid, Partner at Conran and Partners. ‘The building’s unique positioning between two adjacent green spaces – Jellicoe Gardens to the east and Lewis Cubitt Park to the west – helps to create a sense of openness for residents, as well as enhancing the quality of light inside the apartments. This strong visual connection to the parks, combined with the dual aspect of many apartments and generous balconies, gives LUMA a distinctive feel of urban luxury.’ left The lobby features an architectural light installation from Orlight

photos: patrick williamson and jake walters

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LIVING LUMA

below The integrated kitchen features refined materials such as natural stone to create a connection back to nature

Key to the design is the journey from a bustling urban eternal space to the serenity of the interiors. Conran and Partners has created a tonal journey, from the atmospheric and rich lobby to airy light-filled apartments – a unique interior identity that contrasts dramatic design features with moments of calm, offering a tranquil, spa-like escapism for residents.

The composition of the lobby area is influenced by Conran and Partners’ experience of hotel design. Conceived as a mixture of a sophisticated hotel lobby and a welcoming members’ club, with the level of concierge service to match, LUMA’s warm and multi-layered lobby offers a clear visual connection and axis between the two parks.

High ceilings, dark-stained timber joinery, bespoke lighting and soft furnishings create a serene and atmospheric entrance, complemented by a layering of details such as full-height bronzeblack metal decorative screens that divide the space, light grey terrazzo flooring with brass inlay pattern, leather upholstery and a Venato marble concierge desk.

left The graphic pattern of the metallic brise soleil on the façade references the pattern of dappled light that forms when sunlight filters through a tree canopy

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A similar design motif to the façade is repeated in the communal lobby

LIVING LUMA

As residents and visitors move through the building to the corridor and apartment spaces, the material palette lightens in contrast, to create relaxing, light-filled environments in which to live.

Whether inside the apartments looking out, or outside looking in, the essence of LUMA – the theatre of light and shadow and the considered journey between the two – is unmistakeable: the graphic pattern of the metallic brise soleil on the façade references the pattern of dappled light that forms when sunlight filters through a tree canopy. This effect is replicated throughout the apartment spaces as light passes through the screens and into the rooms, creating a delicate light pattern effect. A similar design motif is repeated in

the communal lobby, where latticed screens subtly partition the main reception from a lounge area, which features additional spaces for meetings or relaxation. The screens also modulate light to mitigate the effects of solar gain.

‘The belief that ‘light brings space to life’ stands at the heart of LUMA’s design ethos – it’s the inspiration for the curation of the living spaces, the muse behind the distinctive architecture and interior colour palette, and the essence of the building’s name,’ Simon adds. ‘The key objective was therefore to create bright and open spaces which offered a feeling of openness and luxury.’

The generous, light-filled apartments provide an open and tranquil setting, with

tall balcony windows, smoothly integrated kitchens and bathrooms, and deliberately understated, natural, light and refined materials – such as timber and natural stone – to create a connection back to nature and to induce a feeling of purity and serenity.

‘We have sought to create a sense of identity and character within the apartments themselves, which have been described as having the feel of a collection of bespoke residences, despite there being a total of 61 units,’ says Simon. ‘We have focused on using finishes and materials that are deliberately understated, natural, light and refined, which serve to accentuate and celebrate the spectacular views from the building – creating a unique destination on the King’s Cross masterplan.’w

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above An impressive Venato marble concierge desk greets residents and guests

top right Light passes through various screens, creating more patterned light

bottom right Soft furnishings and light grey terrazzo flooring add a sense of luxury

“

We have sought to create a sense of identity and character within the apartments themselves, which have been described as having the feel of a collection of bespoke residences

”

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LIVING Kampus

Kampus Life A melting pot of buildings and spaces, the first phase of Manchester’s new garden neighbourhood, Kampus, has been revealed, showcasing a rooftop ‘village’ of Amsterdam-inspired Dutch Houses that sit atop the development’s North Block.

D

eveloped by Capital & Centric and HBD, and designed by architects Mecanoo and Chapman Taylor, the North Block is the first of five individual buildings to complete at Kampus.

Featuring Lancashire red brick and exposed concrete, the development will eventually be home to 500 apartments, independent retail and F&B offerings.

Sitting adjacent to Manchester’s iconic Canal Street, the project will eventually incorporate two derelict Victorian shipping warehouses and a 1960s brutalist tower – a former office block, which has been stripped back to its original concrete frame.

‘Each building at Kampus has its own distinct character,’ says Adam Brady, Executive Director at

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HBD. ‘So, whether you fancy living in a rooftop village with unbeatable views across the city, or an exposed brick loft is more your thing, we’ve got something for everyone.’

The newly landscaped entrances from Exterior Architects provide access to Kampus, and the interesting spaces between the buildings have been developed to draw people into the heart of the scheme – creating a unique ‘secret garden’ that forms the perfect backdrop for the afternoon and early evening social events.

Like more and more developments in the city, Kampus offers something beyond the usual rental property – a pre-defined lifestyle and sense of

“

There’ll be loads of places for residents to meet their neighbours – as Kampus grows there will be independent shops, bars and eateries by the lush garden,

”

LIVING Chapter LIVING Old Kampus Street

opposite Apartments were designed for residents to leave their own mark

top Kampus North Block above Amsterdam-inspired Dutch Houses sit atop the development’s North Block

community that arrives fully formed in the middle of the rapidly redeveloping centre, instead of developing over the course of decades. As housing becomes less affordable, many young people are turning to renting rather than owning – and, for this growing group – developments like Kampus can provide more than just four white walls within a flat.

‘There’ll be loads of places for residents to meet their neighbours – as Kampus grows there will be independent shops, bars and eateries by the lush garden,’ adds Adam. ‘They can catch a film in the rooftop cinema, host a dinner party or have drinks in the lounge or join in a yoga class on the terrace. We’ve even got the Bungalow – an ex-security cabin on stilts, overlooking the canal, which is our village hall.’

Inside, interiors have been designed by Manchester’s YOUTH Studio, ready for the residents to make their own mark.

‘Throughout this block we wanted to create an environment of adaptability and functionality, giving residents an ever-evolving aesthetic,’ explains Liam McGroarty, Co-founder at YOUTH Studio.

‘We wanted the apartments to feel like home, somewhere you can make your own, so the design is understated with simple details – wall colours that add warm tones, floor colours that don’t dictate what you do with the space, furniture made from natural materials. It’s not a white box, but neither is it too much. You bring your own style.’

YOUTH collaborated to design the sofas and some key bespoke furniture pieces, which play a huge part in the overall

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LIVING Kampus

right Landscaped entrances from Exterior Architects

aesthetic of each block and have enabled the team to deliver distinct identities to each space, going through a lengthy and vigorous process of furniture selection to ensure it reflected the overall vibe of Kampus North Block as well as delivering comfortable and liveable settings. ‘With it being a PRS scheme, we’ve explored many ways in which we can use the furniture to work hard to complement the overall concept and create visually exciting and inviting homes for future Kampus residents,’ says Liam.

‘Kampus has developed over the past four years and we’ve been on a journey with the design process. The overall aesthetic has moved to the position it is now, through indepth research and continuously questioning the design to ensure it will be delivered to the highest standard, both visually and physically.

We started with a concept and threaded this right through to the technical and delivery stages to ensure it embeds the Kampus lifestyle.’

‘We wanted create something different to the bland white boxes designed by spreadsheet that you see across the city,’ Adam Higgins, Co-founder of Capital Centric – and Mixology North Awards judge – tells us. ‘We’ve got textured concrete ceilings, a wide range of apartment layouts and a rooftop village. When it came to the interiors, we chose YOUTH because they immediately got the spirit of Kampus and what our vision for it was – and we’ve not been disappointed.’w

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LIVING Kampus

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THE FINAL WORD

Donate to Destruction I have been pondering furniture recently – driven, I suspect, by the large quantities of it I suddenly find I have no use for, concedes Mike Walley. As we right-size our spaces for the new world of hybrid working, and redesign those spaces that we will keep, I find myself awash with desks, chairs, monitors, pedestals and huge meeting tables.

Mike Walley is Senior Director of Global Real Estate & Workplace Strategy at Criteo 76 | Mix 212 May 2021

T

here is not much of a market for second hand furniture, not in any quantity at least, so it has a low intrinsic value, and this presents me with a couple of problems: how to get rid of it sustainably, and how to avoid spending a fortune doing so. It used to be that we could find a school or charity that could make use of the items that we no longer needed. This improved the working environment for the recipient’s staff, avoided dumping stuff into landfill and made us feel like we were helping a little. A win/win!

The trouble today is that so many businesses have had the same idea, all the possible recipients within 25 square miles of our office now look like they have been designed by the best in the business. They are all sitting on Steelcase chairs, meeting in Vitra pods and balancing laptops on Allermuir Host tables (other brands are available). So, when I ask if they are interested in another 698 desks, they just laugh.

The other knotty question is who will pay to have it moved. Back in the day, when conscience alone drove us to donate (as opposed to Corporate and Social Responsibility reporting), it was very often the recipient who would come and collect. That solved our problems and they got nice stuff for the cost of a rental van. The sheer volume of furniture that we are dealing with now has closed off this avenue as a viable option.

I’d need to identify hundreds of recipients, hire a fleet of lorries and employ large numbers of fitters to dismantle and refit. I would have to go into the furniture business full-time.

We are also now much more concerned that these items are recycled responsibly at the end of their life. It may feel wonderful to freecycle unwanted furniture but if, at the end of its working life, it will just end up in landfill, the point has been missed. It is not really the done thing to donate furniture while requiring the recipient to sign the equivalent of a pre-nup to guarantee what happens when the gifted material reaches end-of-life, so you need to do your homework on the recipient and ensure they are committed to sustainable behaviour. This does, in all probability, rule out the majority of furniture brokers, as their role is to sell on as fast as possible, not to check the green credentials of every prospective client.

I hate to say it, but I think it is now almost impossible to do anything other than to directly recycle this stuff ourselves, particularly if we want to ensure it is handled sustainably. This will come with a price tag and so, in the future, consumers will need to consider the total cost of ownership as purchase, maintenance AND disposal.

Ultimately, I want to see the manufacturers play an end-to-end role in the life of their product, much as car makers are beginning to.

Make it sustainably, sell it thoughtfully and help us recycle it responsibly.

Now, I have a terrific deal on 1,000 penholders – if anyone is interested. Anyone? w

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