Mix Interiors Issue 224

Mix Interiors Issue 224

Contents

u pfront News and highlights from the world of commercial interior design

t h I ngs I’ ve L earnt

Five workplace takeaways from tp bennett’s principal director, Leigh Dimelow

h e I ght of D es I gn

Gensler’s Collin Burry on how the item that shaped his approach to design

p ara D ox I ca LLy s peak I ng

Neil Usher on workplace ‘warts and all’

I n c onversat I on W I th : a fro DI t I k rassa

Restaurant designer Afroditi Krassa on why simplicity is a sign of confidence

I n c onversat I on W I th : k atr I na L ark I n

Katrina Larkin discusses how the world of festivals underpinned her success at The Office Group

t he a sk

Tina Norden on how to stampede the barriers facing A&D, even if it means starting small

c ase s tu Dy : t he B L ack & W h I te B u ILDI ng , L on D on TOG creates a sustainable landmark office in Shoreditch out of mass-timber

case stuDy: getty Images, LonDon Interior design and architecture practice Bluebottle draw upon early colour film photography at Getty Images

c ase s tu Dy : n e W c entury , m anchester

Our Mixology North22 Bar & Leisure winners give us a look around their latest music venue and dining destination

c ase s tu Dy : c am B r ID ge I nst I tute of s usta I na BILI ty L ea D ersh I p , c am B r ID ge

Eve Waldron Design create a new home for the university’s business, government and academia cohort

c ase s tu Dy : m ea D oWs ID e , m anchester

A new co-living space designed by JOLIE provides numerous tenure options for citydwellers

p os I t I ve I mpact Founding member of Greenpeace Sweden and Head of Sustainability at BOLON, Håkan Nordin, discusses why sustainability is a journey, not a destination.

c reat I ve t h I nk I ng

Steve Gale on why the future of our cities depends on the behaviour of workspace tenants

t he y ear a hea D

A look towards 2023’s incoming events and eagerly awaited projects

t he g L o Ba L p erspect I ve Mix’s Managing Editor, Harry McKinley, on the importance of in-person interaction

p roperty

Why the days of the big office floorplate is dead, and what this means for Manchester

m ater I a L m atters

Design, craft and architecture writer and podcaster, Grant Gibson, shares his four go-to materials

I nnovat I ve m ater I a L s

Cocoboard, a visionary coconut-based panel, takes the spotlight this week as our Innovative Material

t he f I na L W or D

Mike Walley on the sense of urgency for highquality, people-retaining workspaces

Get in touch

MAnAging editor Harry McKinley harry@mixinteriors.com

deputy editor Chloé Petersen Snell chloe@mixinteriors.com

MAnAging director

Leon March leon@mixinteriors.com

director

Marcie Incarico marcie@mixinteriors.com

buSineSS developMent

MAnAger Kate Borastero kate@mixinteriors.com

Account MAnAger Stuart Sinclair stuart@mixinteriors.com

Account MAnAger Jackie Grant jackie@mixinteriors.com

The Cover

Logo

Inspired by the sculptor Carl Andre, dMFK created this month’s logo by tessellating, rotating and extruding simple shaped blocks, using contrasting wood grain panels supplied by Unilin. The result explores the warmth, tone and tactility of wood to create a Mix logo that could be read as a playful surface, or an architectural model.

dmfk.co.uk

cover Image

The perfect finish to custom built furniture, shelves, cupboards, desks, wall panels, partitions and more; UNILIN Panels Master Oak has authentic detail and textures that go deeper than ever before. With Master Oak HPL and melamine panels you can say goodbye to oak as a decorative finish.

unilin.com

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AnnuAl SubScription chArgeS UK single 45.50 Europe 135 (airmail) Outside Europe 165 (airmail)

heAd of operAtionS Lisa Jackson lisa@mixinteriors.com

eventS & editoriAl executive Yasmin Waters yasmin@mixinteriors.com

MArketing & coMMS executive Neve McDermott neve@mixinteriors.com

deSigner

Tamzin Bell founding publiSher

Henry Pugh

colu M ni S t S Steve Gale, David Thame Tina Norden, Mike Walley, Neil Usher

contributor S Dominic Lutyens, Lauren Jade Hill, Lauren Teague 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

Welcome

We’ve traversed the strange hinterland that is January and the time for New Year’s wishes has passed. Resolutions are presumably already broken and gym memberships discarded. Yet, I’ve noticed, there’s still a sense of shifting sands; of centres of gravity fluctuating.

One, is the pivot in interest from the capital to England’s north – where Manchester has been steadily gaining steam as the UK’s second most important creative, cultural and economic hub. The imagination seen here – as well as the ferocious pace of change – is evidenced in this issue’s case studies, one a 1960s conference centre turned slick music venue, another a BTR project that aims to recontextualise city living. It’s seen also in our property story, Supply and Demand, in which we explore the rush on Manchester working spaces from the creative industries.

Ideas also feel unsettled; ways of doing things in flux. That’s manifesting in brave, pioneering design choices – including The Office’s Group’s new Black & White Building, another of this issue’s boundary-pushing projects – and in unexpected ones.

That renowned restaurant designer, Afroditi Krassa, was recently approached to design the headquarters for a global hotel group is proof that the lines between sectors and disciplines are growing ever woollier. Workplace no longer stands apart from hospitality; hospitality from commercial residential; residential from public sector, or any combination of the above, and then some. Failure to recognise this is folly. In our interview with Krassa, we discuss what constitutes good design and why it isn’t as subjective as you may think.

But while we’re seemingly still in a period of revision, revolution and uncertainty, we do aim to help you steer the way. In our The Year Ahead piece, we chart upcoming projects, products and events, and hear from industry leaders as they offer their thoughts on what lies ahead. Separately, tp bennett’s Leigh Dimelow posits his greatest lessons, in our newly introduced Things I’ve Learnt piece; while Gensler’s Collin Burry demonstrates why some items will always have appeal, in the equally new Height of Design.

So while I can’t guarantee you’ll ever use that gym membership again, I can be certain there is something for you in these pages. Happy reading.

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A cut above

goLDman sachs’ former European HQ on Fleet Street is being remodelled into 292,000 sq ft of curated Grade A workspace and retail units. Construction firm mace will work with Jra and BDp to deliver what is its biggest project in the past decade.

Set to open midway through next year, the £120million refurb has been heralded as a flexible workplace with a climate and health-conscious ethos. The property, known as Peterborough Court, will feature 100% ‘all-electric’ technology including car charging points, and appeal to London’s cyclists, with parking for up to 600 bikes.

“We are delighted that the Mace interiors team will be playing a key role in delivering such an ambitious landmark project. As a responsible business we are particularly proud to deliver workplaces with strong sustainability credentials and we look forward to making this bold vision a reality,” says Mace’s Managing Director, SteWArt WArd

Spanning 11 floors including four private terraces, a public courtyard and attractive onsite F&B amenities, the property will contain floor plates of between 16,000 sq ft and 33,000 sq ft, making it a malleable space for businesses. Retail units on the ground floor will be complemented with activated frontages and transformed entrance points, leading out onto Fleet Street and Shoe Lane.

macegroup.com

Sense of arrival

Global interior studio march anD WhIte DesIgn (maWD) has unveiled an art installation at the WIngate , a modernist office building in the heart of Soho, London. Designed in collaboration with London gallery eDeL assantI and commissioning artist nathanIaL rackoWe , the arrival space has been transformed from a common lobby into one of interest and intrigue.

Made to resemble Soho as daylight fades into night, the installation activates The Wingate’s arrival space while embracing the office’s connection with its surrounding area. “As an extension of the trend for experiencebased offices, the traditional lobby has evolved from a transitory place to an immersive space that brings people together through a fusion of art, technology and experience-centric design,” comments JAMeS White, MAWD’s co-founder

The Wingate installation is part of a growing area of work around experience-centric design, also known as ECD. Paying attention to arrival sequences, MAWD’s aim is to create more sensory-led interiors so people can ‘feel’ the spaces they enter, rather than passively walking through. The result is “a more significant space that benefits key decision makers, tenants and visitors alike,” explains White.

maWD.co

Drumming up support

An innovative ‘reconceptualisation’ of big box retail is set to drive the future of office design in one of the UK’s fastest growing cities. hammerson anD make archItects have unveiled new plans to create a dynamic workplace destination as part of a renovation of the former department store at Birmingham’s Grand Central.

Inspired by the 15-minute city concept, Drum aims to be the best-connected office in Birmingham, with access via train and tram, as well as benefitting from excellent cycle and pedestrian access, and integration with Hammerson’s wider Bullring estate.

The proposed new 200,000 sq ft workspace, expected to accommodate up to 2,000 people, is firmly grounded

on the principles of connectivity, amenities and sustainability. Much of the existing retail structure will be retained while enriching the site’s offering with a rooftop garden, premium grocery store, gym and flexible events space – visually connected by a sweeping communal entrance that draws daylight through the heart of the space.

Targeting a BREEAM ‘Excellent’ rating and a ‘Gold’ WELL Standard for occupier wellbeing, plans reflect Hammerson’s strategy to reinvigorate its prime urban estates through diversified uses while maximising the re-use of embodied carbon in existing buildings. Subject to achieving planning consent, work is to begin later this year, with the potential for completion in 2025.

hammerson.com

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West End star

A sister hotel to the award-winning Middle Eight and The Guardsman is coming to London’s West End in July 2023. the Botree will nod to the area’s duality of character – both evoking ‘village life’ as well as luxury –with interiors by Amsterdam-based studio, concrete

Found at the intersection of Marylebone and Mayfair, The BoTree will accommodate 199 guestrooms including 29 suites with a personal bar, integrated cocktail station and balcony. Scalable in size from 78 sq m on its own to a 350 sq m wing when adjoined with others, the Presidential Suite will offer uninterrupted views of the city via an outdoor terrace, plus a private elevator lobby and guest entrance.

Inside each suite, guests can expect to see a separate reception space with discrete sliding panels leading through to bedrooms and lounge areas, along with extravagant furnishings. A series of natural fabrics in bright contemporary colours will also be featured throughout, made exclusively for the venue.

Elsewhere, two destination restaurants will cater for guests – one with rooftop views over London – plus several bars, a live music club, fitness suite and private screening room. The BoTree will open as a member of the Preferred Hotels & Resorts’ top tier Legend Collection.

Trading in tradition

Having previously designed the company’s Singapore headquarters, m moser extends its partnership with ultra-dynamic quantitative trading firm huDson rIver traDIng, at its new London office at 100 Liverpool Street.

As a company that trades across over 200 world markets, the need for a responsive space, mirroring the firm’s everchanging trading algorithms, was vital. M Moser Europe’s agile design and build solution speaks to HRT’s collaborative culture, and to the dexterous nature of the industry in which it operates.

Reconfiguring the traditional trading floor, M Moser have introduced the ‘Tink[er] Tank’, a dedicated setting for collective problem-solving, apart from

the banks of desks. Within the Tink Tank, moveable furniture has been deployed to allow for effortless spatial remodelling, tailorable to the changing needs of different team gatherings.

To prevent distractions within the surrounding open plan office, M Moser divided the Tink Tank from the main workspace by utilising curved walls and semitransparent curtains.

Team relationships can thrive away from the office floor too, as the social café area and private terrace, doubling as an events space, offers further opportunities to connect –whether it be to unwind at the pool table or watch sports in the lounge area post-work.

mmoser.com

Things I’ve Learnt

Lesson 1: Be DIverse

In a volatile market, it has never been more important to think about the diversity of the work coming into the business. Establishing a mix of core existing sectors, alongside pushing for opportunities that might be seen as ‘out of the box’, is a good way to stay engaged and relevant.

Lesson 2: LIsten to your team

Team wellbeing is more important than ever and, with a lot of tp bennett’s team eager to come back to the office on a hybrid basis, this also highlighted the need for ‘magnetic’ factors to attract people, such as increased mentoring, group knowledge sharing and more valuable design critiques.

Lesson 3: nurture your Work netWorks

There are many ways to be successful at the ‘business side’ of our industry but my top tip is to not ignore existing contacts as your networks expand. It’s important to keep pushing for new connections to bring in work but it’s equally important to reconnect with those already in your ‘black book’ and nurture those relationships. Don’t end up only calling them when you want something.

Lesson 4: keep pushIng your skILLs anD passIons

It’s easy to overlook skills that may be sitting underutilised or buried within your team, either from past projects or experiences elsewhere. Don’t be afraid to speak up if you have knowledge that would be useful to a project or you want to investigate new sectors leads that speak to your skillsets.

Lesson 5: Work harD But pLay harD

It’s that good old cliché: work hard but play hard. If the past few years have taught me anything it’s that we are all social animals with an inbuilt need to be around people as much as possible. This doesn’t just mean working from the office to share ideas or take part in design reviews – although this is also important – but to find ways to interact socially with friends and colleagues through activities or a good old-fashioned trip to the pub.

LeIgh DImeLoW Principal Director, tp bennett

With tp bennett since 1998, DImeLoW spent the first 16 years at the practice’s London HQ before establishing the Manchester office in 2014. He now heads a team of 30 architects and interior designers in the northern hub, delivering projects for DLA Piper, Hilti and BT.

The Height of Design

the Item: Original iPod introduced on October 23rd, 2001

the Why:

The iPod was one of the innovations that ushered in a tidal wave of advancement in technology, that led us to where we are today; technology enabled lives. The original iPod had 5GB of storage or 1000 songs, which at the time was the most songs one could have on a digital device. Today, we take for granted our ability to use our iPhone (storage capacity 521GB) or other mobile device to order an Uber, get a pizza delivered, check emails, social media, play games, watch the latest Netflix programme and, still, listen to music. As designers we are at our best when we use our creative minds to envision and advance society. The iPod is just that: a well-designed, intuitive and beautifully functional product that advanced society. It heralded a new era that valued design in products and spaces.

hoW Does It InspIre you anD your Work?

I started working with Apple a couple years after the launch of the iPod so had the good fortune to have a front row seat, see the innovation there first hand. It was incredibly inspirational to learn from Apple to ‘think different’, strive for excellence no matter the circumstances and make the complex simple and intuitive.

What Do you thInk has Been the Impact?

Burry has transformed the interiors of many of the world’s most innovative brands, including Apple, Samsung, Gallo and Dolby, and his creative and contemporary approach to design has earned him more than 60 design awards. gensLer.com

I believe it got society excited about the potential technology offered the average person. It also made us more comfortable with tech enabled devices, that led to almost 20 years of increased connection, productivity and innovation. Some may wish to go back to a time before advancements in technology, but imagine your world without your mobile device.

the personaL connectIon:

I was super excited when I bought my first iPod. I thought I was pretty cool running around the gym and city with my white (wired) headphones.

With coLLIn Burry, deSign principAl, gensLer

Immediately following the pandemic, most organisations didn’t know what to do with their workplace so didn’t do anything. The predictable patterns that had sustained office design and fit-out for decades had been shredded. Roll forward to 2023, and most organisations still don’t know what to do with their workplace but are now doing something anyway.

Most workplace projects once followed a similar threephase course, with varying degrees of overlap: strategy, design and delivery. The strategy phase was sometimes performed by the designers who sometimes delivered it, too. Sometimes it was undertaken by independent specialists. But the vital thing was, it was undertaken.

The process: interviews with key stakeholders, workshops with staff, utilisation study and satisfaction survey. Outputs: a report saying how amazing the organisation is and that it needs a space for innovation, collaboration and creativity, proposing a move to agile working with a wide range of secondary settings.

It was a golden age for workplace strategy. The trends were so ubiquitous and agreeable, it was a no-lose activity. If the workplace scheme didn’t quite deliver as hoped, it was a problem with the interpretation or execution, or it was down to unforeseen factors. It was fun, too – it wasn’t required to ask the difficult questions likely to reveal fault lines in the organisation. ‘Warts and all’ was rarely part of the brief.

Whither strategy?

Yet as the year begins, workplace strategy finds it can no longer say how much workspace an organisation will need, nor promise how well and in what ways it will be used. It can’t be sure of the types and balance of worksettings required. It still looks at the performance of the workplace itself via utilisation and satisfaction rather than the contribution it’s making to the organisation over and above not having it at all. Above it all, it’s not sure of the problems it’s trying to solve.

Increasingly convinced that a dramatic shift in workplace thinking and outcome will draw people back to the office to do things they didn’t used to do much of before, organisations are starting to take risks on the basis of little calculation. They’re bypassing strategy and moving straight to design. If the strategists can’t provide the assurance of success they once might have, then what are they for? Our paradox becomes: we need to know what the future workplace will look like, so we’ve created it.

It’s a potentially dangerous and expensive place to be. Like all hit-and-miss affairs, occasionally it may work, and we’ll hear about it; when it doesn’t, we won’t. Workplace strategy has a massive year ahead in which it needs to thoroughly reinvent itself for the postpandemic era. Design needs strategy to flourish in order for design to flourish; for strategy to be able to identify the problems it needs to solve and to develop the tools to solve them. ‘Warts and all’ will need to be part of the brief. It may not always be comfortable, but it’s never been more necessary.

n e IL u sher is Chief Workplace & Change Strategist at gospace aI and author of The Elemental Workplace and Elemental Change

Bare bones

a fro DI t I k rassa on why designers aren’t storytellers, why good design isn’t subjective and why confidence is all about simplicity.

Afroditi Krassa is at home when we speak – a swish Primrose Hill pile with high ceilings, wooden floors and sweeping staircases. She’s a good fit for this affluent North London neighbourhood, notoriously the stomping ground of rock stars and rebels done good. Just a few years ago she rebranded her eponymous studio, dropping Krassa and joining the ranks of those recognisable from a single name – the Sting of restaurant design, once listed by the Evening Standard as one of the capital’s ‘most influential people’.

“Yeah, the decision was a bit rock ‘n’ roll,” she laughs. “I think the more confidence you have as a brand, the more simple you become.”

She recalls her early days flying solo in the noughties, an alumnus of Seymourpowell where she was the first female designer hired in the practice’s history. Though operating out of ‘some shitty garage in South London, with murders all the time and no heating,’ she played with various grand monikers: Afroditi Krassa & Associates at times, Afroditi Krassa Industrial Design Studio at others.

“Over the years more and more was taken out, to the point where now we’re just the bones,” she says. “I always ask why we have something and if there’s no good reason, we get rid of it. As a studio that’s embedded in the way we do things. If something is

WordS: harry mckInLey

redundant, if it’s just repeating, then kill it; creating simplicity in design and simplicity in processes.”

The chilly, murder-adjacent garage now a decades-old memory, it’s perhaps this clarity of vision that has seen her define, and often redefine, what hospitality means for our times – whether designing and branding Itsu, now a high street stalwart; or Dishoom, the restaurant collection commonly credited with reinventing Indian dining in the UK. The latter, inspired by the Iranian cafés of Bombay, still stands as one of the studio’s landmark projects, celebrated for – what is regularly termed – its narrative driven concept and interiors. Yet the oft-used, even cliched, characterisation of designers as storytellers is something Krassa gives little sway to.

“Because we’re not,” she says, hoody-clad arm flung wide for dramatic effect. “And I hate the word narrative, because it’s so overplayed. We’re not storytellers and we’re not artists, we’re designers. We have a very particular obligation, which is to satisfy a specific audience. That’s the beauty of the job.”

This pragmatic approach to the work of design – as much ‘economics, experience control and commercial savvy’ – is understandable from someone who trained as a product designer, at Central Saint Martins and subsequently the Royal College of Art. She’s even surrounded herself with them, half of the studio’s team coming from a product design background, something she credits for its rigour and discipline.

“When I first started 20 years ago it was mostly architects designing restaurants,” she explains. “But the world has changed and it’s now about creating a product that is branded and packaged, more than just a spatial response. As product designers we’ve been trained to consider how something sits in the market and how it’s different from everything else out there. Understanding that context is central, before considering design.”

One of the studio’s latest projects is HUMO London, a just-opened, Miller Prada-helmed, 32-seater Mayfair restaurant that has been more than a year and a half in design development and realisation. With an open

aBove Image: Dishoom

theatre kitchen, the cuisine is rooted in wood-firing – the material also forming the foundation of the interiors. It’s an ambitious and provocative space, all sultry lighting and plush textiles. More importantly, it has a point of view, uninterested in being all things to all people.

“If you try to appease everyone, you deliver something vanilla, going against the principle of good restaurant design,” Krassa says. “I don’t care whether something is liked by everyone, but I care very deeply that it’s liked and understood by those we’re trying to speak to. If that audience felt we’d created something derivative or inauthentic then I’d be upset, because as designers we’ve failed. The goal is to touch people in a special way and create that magic that happens when people connect with an experience, because that’s what they’ll want to come back for.”

Although, initially, bums-on-seats and return trade is a decent marker of success, for Krassa, time is the ultimate judge. Her design philosophy is grounded as much in how something withstands as in the weight with which it lands; the inevitably fleeting buzz

that accompanies the new. It’s why she’s worked so consistently with those who have an equal sense of staying power, not least titans of the culinary world including Gordon Ramsay and Heston Blumenthal.

“Look at the Acropolis,” she says, nodding to an icon of her native Greece, “it has a very clear identity, presented simply, and that’s why it has this eternal relevance as a piece of work. It actually takes a lot of guts to cut away the inessential and the fussy, and yet for me that’s where the longevity comes from, because good design isn’t as subjective as people think. We can all recognise that if something is unoriginal, if it doesn’t progress the conversation, then it isn’t good design. If someone has gone on Pinterest and mashed together 10 different things to create something ‘new’, then it isn’t design at all.”

But what about personal taste, then? “Well, I do think people confuse design and aesthetics, which can be subjective. Zaha Hadid’s work might not be my own aesthetic language, someone else might not like it, but no one can deny she pushed boundaries – something I profoundly appreciate in other people’s work. Great

opposIte page

Rosewood, Hong Kong

design is not just a response to – and a mirror of –what is happening, it has a perpetual quality that transcends; like a David Bowie song. And it takes visionary clients, not just designers, to create seminal pieces of work.”

Currently, the studio’s client list is buoyant: a Mandarin Oriental in Greece (the country’s first), helming design on all public spaces, including F&B; projects with One&Only and Rosewood; translating Pasta Evangelist into a bricks and mortar space; a cool Covent Garden bar and restaurant with French innovators, Experimental Group; and another dining destination with Ramsay, at the grand dame of London hotels, The Savoy. Then there’s the little matter of a Saudi island in the Red Sea, for which the studio is responsible for master planning dozens of outlets, from concept through to delivery – all part

of almost unimaginably pioneering plans by NEOM to put the kingdom at the forefront of design and hospitality but also, according to its own marketing spiel, human progress. Certainly the scale of development and pace of change is mindboggling; the rewriting of a country’s place in the world, a modern Acropolis. The studio’s vision, still coalescing, will be unveiled in the near future.

Wrapping up, conversation turns to whimsical mundanities – a pair of bold glasses, new; large dramatic frames. “I’d never worn glasses in my life,” Krassa chuckles, “so I decided that if I was going to have to start, I should get something fun, something that makes a statement. After all, there’s something powerful about that.” Even in the simple, then, the importance of a perspective, of having something to say. A compelling attitude on design and, more enticingly, on life.

BeLoW Image: Gordon Ramsay’s Lucky Cat

Once in a lifetime

From the world of festivals to the world of coworking: k atr I na L ark I n on new adventures and curating experiences.

At The Office Group’s on-brand HQ, a short turn off Tottenham Court Road, we meet Fora cofounder Larkin in a calming, egg-yolk-yellow room, monochromatic down to the golden curtains and shelving. On her beginnings in the industry, Larkin laughs: a very easy person to laugh with and the sort you might find yourself drawn down a conversation rabbithole with. “It’s a bit like that Talking Heads song: ‘you may ask yourself, well, how did I get here?’”

Considering the vast success of flex workspace brand Fora, including its merger with The Office Group, it’s surprising that Katrina Larkin started off in such different shoes – or more accurately, wellington boots. A pioneer in the festival world, Katrina Larkin co-founded The Big Chill in 1994, curating escapism for 16 years before moving on to new challenges in a completely different market.

“I left the Big Chill at a point where I needed a break, it was very intense. With design, things get delayed, deadlines get pushed back. You can’t do that at a festival, you have to produce something no matter what’s thrown at you – and then you have to take it down at the end. That really toughens you up, it is a risky business. It’s also a really good business to learn about and to understand people, to learn resilience, to think on your feet and to be constantly new – because you can’t repeat. Of course, people come to you for a certain curation style, they trust that if you put it together it will be good. But they’re relying on you to bring new things, new adventures and new experiences. That keeps you on your toes.”

Sounds familiar. Drawing parallels between the world of work and a festival experience has made a successful career for Larkin, who moved to Market Tech, which owns Camden’s four main markets, working on the

WordS: chLoé petersen sneLL

redevelopment, rebranding and curation of Camden Lock Market – with great acclaim. When approached by Brockton Capital, who were interested in moving into the office market, Larkin initially declined, with thoughts of grey carpets and rows of blank white desks swirling in her mind. Of course, coworking and flex working didn’t hold the same interest as they do now.

“I spent my life telling people to run away from the everyday. It was a challenge to look at that [proposition] and think, can we change the way people work and, as importantly, the experience at work? But that’s what sold it to me.”

Larkin was introduced to Enrico Sanna, a global hotel executive who managed high-end hospitality at Deutsche Bank – and the rest is history, as they say, each taking their experience in hospitality to create a

workplace offering that aimed to be different from the rest: better service, better design.

“It’s not like I sat up one day and said, you know what, I really want to work in real estate, or I really want to go into flex workspace. Like all things in life, it’s the joy of one small turn and then a door leading from another door; the quite marvellous adventure that is life.”

A self-professed seeker of the ‘new’, Larkin attributes her ability to adapt and change to her childhood, moving from North London in the late 70s to the remote west coast of Ireland at a young age, and turning her life on its head.

“Suddenly I was learning Gaelic in a classroom with no heating in a little school on a peninsula,” she says. “So I always had to find ways of adapting. You adapt

aBove Image: Fora Shoreditch

to find the best things around you, to latch on to and learn from. We didn’t have a TV, so it meant I read and listened to music. You couldn’t curate your own life. You had to accept anything coming your way and find the best parts of it. I really learnt to daydream, which I think is one of the big skills missing in life. Now, you have to block out time in your day for doing nothing – it’s about wellbeing. When I was growing up there were big periods of nothing, which led to brilliant ideas.”

This deep-seated sense of wellbeing is clear in Fora’s workspace approach. Since its launch on Old Street in 2015, the Fora network has grown to 17 locations across London – including Soho, Spitalfields and Borough –recently moving further afield to Reading, Cambridge and Oxford. Positioning itself as forward thinking and a brand reimagining the working day, Fora’s offer comprises thoughtfully designed spaces and, crucially, a curated programme of events. The brand hosts an annual ‘Restore’ wellness festival each year, featuring sessions and activites on a myriad of topics from meditation to gut

health classes, taboo-tackling talks and beyond. Although individually designed by the likes of Modus, Hassell, Oktra and Piercy&Co to name a few, Fora spaces have a clear design language, even if Larkin describes it as a constantly evolving recipe.

“If you’re sitting there waiting for it to be perfect, you’re never going to launch it. And until you’ve launched it you don’t know what perfect is, or what the market needs to be out there.”

Last year, Fora joined TOG to become The Office Group, bringing together two complementary businesses with similar cultures and high quality, design-led workspaces. Despite the merger, Fora retains its own personality.

“One of the big things that has changed since Enrico and I started Fora is confidence. We went out with all these insights from the market and what we’ve gleaned is that the idea we wrote down on the back of an envelope is still what people want.”

opposIte page top: Fora Shoreditch

Bottom Long and sleek meeting rooms feature prominent pendant lights

A recent example is the newly-launched Montacute Yards – a stone’s throw from Shoreditch High Street and designed by Ben Adams Architects, the space is typically ‘Fora’ in style, flirting with bold maximalism and Scandi minimalism. Found down a bijou path and set on its own freshly named courtyard (named for a 14th century nun, we’re told), a creative, cool Shoreditch vibe is apparent in the use of block colour and natural materials, with Mutina’s Nathalie Du Pasquier-designed tiles, statement rugs, lots of fresh greenery and wood furniture. Sustainability is prioritised, including solar panels contributing to 100% clean electricity, zero VOC materials and ethically sourced timber.

For Larkin, success in workplace design is ultimately centred around the people that use the space. “Unlike a festival, a workspace is here permanently and people get to enjoy and experience them. It’s also not a transient clientele like a hotel. We have to work really hard to entice people in and give them support so they can be the best version of themselves. There are loads of Katrinas and Enricos out there in these workspaces, who have dreams like those we have,” she enthuses. “It may sound fluffy, but isn’t it amazing?”

aBove Image: Pastel pink staircases complement natural elements

Another year has started. No doubt all of us are wishing for less disruption and the ability to move on – whatever that may mean. With everyone across the globe facing troubling times, we are all craving positivity or even just normalcy – again, whatever that may mean.

That makes it the ideal time to think about the challenges facing us and our industry, and the subsequent ‘to-do list’ for the year(s) ahead. Of course, the issues affecting the design industry are closely related to wider concerns, but we have the opportunity to tackle them with the creativity that makes us unique.

Climate change and sustainability: a subject we are all grappling with and a lot of ‘greenwashing’ is going on. Should we just admit that we are on a journey with this and very few are experts, but that working together with our clients, suppliers and contractors is the only way to make a real and meaningful difference? What we should be striving to do is question everything, specify responsibly, make conscious decisions and push where we have a say.

Creating opportunities for a career in design for everyone, no matter their background. We can all play a role in encouraging young people to consider a career in design, even if it feels out of reach. There is so much untapped talent out there and it is crucial for the future of our industry. What is needed for this to happen is support in education. Both in how design is taught (could

Start with Monday

it be, for example, more apprenticeship based?) and support from the government to assist with university or training fees. Paying a fair wage to new starters fresh out of education will also help, as well as offering paid work placements during their education. What about a system where companies contribute to tuition fees in exchange for a commitment by the budding designer?

Appreciating that design can make a difference for people, finance and longevity of a project: convincing our clients that a bit more investment at the start will pay dividends in the future. The craziest ideas led to design solutions we now consider to be indispensable. We need to keep on dreaming and reinventing for a better world.

Hand in hand with this are pressures on fees, with studios being squeezed from both sides. Fee levels are on a downwards trajectory whilst fixed costs and salaries are going up. Creative solutions and bringing best value to our projects is what we do – we need to make sure that our clients appreciate what we add and are willing to pay a fair fee for our input.

2023 is the time for us to start doing our bit, no matter how small. I always loved the sentiment of the McCartney’s Meat-Free Mondays: a small sacrifice to get started, but if everyone does it a massive difference is made. Mondays can then lead to all week once you realise how easy it is.

t I na n or D en is a partner at conran anD partners, and has been a co-owner of the business since 2022

Tall timbers

The hottest innovative material on everyone’s lips? Well, it’s wood. But not as you know it.

We explore The Black & White Building from tog: a sustainable design landmark.

WordS: chLoé petersen sneLL

photogrAphy:Jake curtIs

After almost 20 years of retrofitting and rejuvenating buildings in the UK and Europe, the first TOG workspace to be built from scratch had to be impressive. The tallest mass-timber office building in central London, the new Black & White Building in Shoreditch rises from the site of a former timber seasoning shed no less – a union of style and substance, and then some.

Named for the tired black and white painted building that once stood in its place, the concept behind the seven-floor timber structure also references the notion of ‘no grey areas’ when it comes to sustainability. In a city recently named one of the greenest in Europe (in terms of parks and trees), The Black & White Building is a lesson in mass-timber as an alternative to carbonradiating concrete and steel – using 37% less embodied carbon than comparable structures and powered by 100% renewable energy sources.

As TOG’s Charlie Green comments, as he cuts the hypothetical ribbon for the building, sustainability and commerciality are no longer mutually exclusive. Reacting

to workspace demand in Shoreditch and with the previous building unviable for extension or renovation, the TOG team were determined to create the most sustainable building they possibly could. Taking lessons learnt from the sustainability efforts at their property next door at 81 Rivington, their research led them to Waugh Thistleton Architects – a firm responsible for pioneering timber designs for over a decade.

Since its inception, Waugh Thistleton has been pushing for change within the industry, to shift building practices away from mineral-based construction towards advanced, biogenic material systems. In 2009 the practice pioneered the use of cross-laminated timber (CLT) as a structural solution for high-rise residential buildings with Murray Grove, demonstrating that there is a viable alternative to concrete and steel. Since then, Waugh Thistleton has delivered more than 25 buildings using engineered timber across scale and typology, exploring the properties and boundaries of this replenishable, sustainable building material and, importantly,

Image on

prevIous page:

A neutral reception space sets the tone

opposte Image: Earthy tones

BeLoW Image: Timber accentuates the kitchen

Image on

opposIte page: Bold lighting draws the eyes

top Image: A stylish addition of chequerboard flooring

Bottom Image: Looking into London’s latest sustainable landmark

demonstrating that low-carbon construction is possible. “Mitigating our impact on the environment is central to everything we do,” explains Andrew Waugh, who is all too familiar with the environmental impact –and challenges – the built environment faces.

“There are currently no mandated limits on the embodied carbon of a new building – the emissions caused by the extraction and manufacture of the materials and the construction process itself,” he continues. “Successive sustainability assessment methods, such as LEED and BREEAM have consistently failed to account for the embodied carbon; and frequently energy-saving measures are implemented without any calculation of the carbon cost of their production. Given that buildings are responsible for around 40% of global CO2 emissions and 10% of this comes from the embodied carbon, it is fundamental that we actively target zero-carbon construction.”

Thanks to its structure built from the ground up using cross-laminated timber (CLT) and laminated veneer lumber (LVL), the building minimises carbon in both its construction and operations. The engineered wood saves thousands of tonnes in C02 during production, is high-performing and highlydurable, and at the end of its life, the building can be disassembled, and the materials reused.

“Fundamentally working with materials that can be grown, not extracted, is our future, leading to a more harmonious relationship with our planet,” says Waugh. “Building buildings that are made of natural materials, that are healthy environments for us to live and work in, and that are adaptable over time, can be refigured, and ultimately de-constructed, represent the forms of relationship with our planet that we need to evolve towards.”

Inside, the honest and functional approach found throughout this project brims with personality and nostalgia, set against natural materials. TOG approached Daytrip as a local design studio in East London: a fiercely independent hub for creatives and makers. Typical Daytrip tropes of striped textiles and a rich material mix fill the ground floor space and lower coworking spaces, contrasting with exposed timber walls that could scream ‘sauna’ anywhere else, but here blend seamlessly with the rest of the space for a light, warm feel.

“We explored artists’ studios and makers’ workshops as playful and informal working environments and looked at how these could influence the coworking and office spaces at The Black & White Building to create an appealing backdrop and respite from generic office interiors,” explains Daytrip co-founder Iwan Halstead. “TOG was particularly interested in exploring new ways to connect people, asking how the interiors could be designed to aid and benefit multiple ways of working.”

The practice drew inspiration from different decades and styles, playing on nostalgia with nods to the 70s, 90s and today. Warm institutional tones hark to the 1960s interiors of Hotel Okura in Tokyo, Halstead explains, whereas more attention-seeking patterns and colours stem from the studio and residence of furniture and textile designer Antti Nurmesniemi in Finland.

“One recurring theme is the importance of craft and artisanship in opposition to mass production,” cofounder Emily Potter adds. “The majority of furniture pieces are bespoke designs from British makers and artists, selected for their originality and integrity.” Armchairs in the coworking lounge were created especially for the project by Sebastian Cox, using British sycamore and upholstered in fabric derived from T-shirts by Yarn Collective. Andu Masebu’s Union chairs are artfully constructed using a single plank. “The power of these crafted elements is that every piece has its own story and in this project there are so many to tell.”

Lounges of various sizes and layouts sit between breakout areas and pockets of outdoor space, culminating in a decked rooftop terrace offering cityscape views. Louvres shaped from tulipwood maximise energy efficiency and natural light throughout the spaces, and a lightwell runs the full height of the building – from the rooftop terrace down to a courtyard.

For TOG and Waugh Thistleton, the structure stands as a proof of concept that will inspire a shift towards thoughtful, innovative engineering – and a positive future for construction in 5, 10, 15 years and beyond. “The future of construction is timber. The carbon burden of manufacturing steel and cement is immense and, with the inevitable implementation of carbon taxes, it’s only a matter of time,” Waugh contemplates. “I think that the beauty of buildings made of timber will become the attraction that drives the change.”

archItect

Waugh Thistleton Architects

InterIor DesIgner

Daytrip

fLoorIng

Gravity Flooring, Puur, Gerflor, Desso, Design Work

Tiles, Trekker Global

furnIture

Sebastian Cox, Andu Masebo, Kusheda Mensah, Jan Hendzel, Lucas Dupuy, Fred Rigby Studio, Philippe Malouin, Puffer Chairs, Very Good & Proper

surfaces

Viroc, Alpi Sottsass Brown, Resonics, Kvadrat, Oscar Acoustics SonaSpray, Richlite, Forbo, Sebastian Cox, Tibor

LIghtIng

Matteo Fogale, Artemide, Foscarini, Nicola Cecutti, Naomi Paul, Celine Wright, Ingo Maurer

opposIte Image: Brown sees a resurgence

Flash of inspiration

BLueBottLe draws on early colour film photography for the collaborative new office space of getty Images, at London’s newly designed 280 BIshopsgate.

WordS: Lauren JaDe hILL

photogrAphy: eD reeve

Tasked by Getty Images to design a new London headquarters for the post-pandemic era of flexible working, Bluebottle came up with a colourful and collaborative workspace that radically rethinks the traditional office set-up, while also taking inspiration from early colour film photography. In doing so, the design firm has succeeded in encapsulating Getty Images’ brand identity in a 10,400 sq ft space that transforms how its occupants work and draws hybridworking employees into the workplace.

“We wanted to offer something that you can’t necessarily replicate at home,” says Zelda Hogg, facilities director for Getty Images. “There needs to be a draw (post-pandemic) for people to come in and we’ve definitely created that.”

While Getty Images’ former London office, which Bluebottle designed over 10 years ago, followed the traditional office format with dedicated desks for each

employee, this new site, which is less than half the size, contains a series of different zones designed to promote a more dynamic way of working.

The long, broken-plan space, stretching all the way from the Bishopsgate side to the Spitalfields end of this duo-entrance building, is made up of small areas of desking — with no more than 12 in any one location — soft-furnished collaboration zones, both social and quiet breakouts including a kitchen and, amid those, a collection of phone booths and meeting rooms as well as editing suites. The largest meeting room, designed to function as a multi-purpose workspace, is set apart by its floor-to-ceiling windows commanding impressive views over Bishopsgate.

Based on the company’s approach to flexible hybrid working, employees reserve their desk space through the Condeco booking system on any day they plan to come in. “From the collaboration point of view, people

Image on prevIous page: Round tables and hanging lights provide a meeting room focal point

BeLoW Image: A light-filled social space

rIght Image: A blend of browns and blues

can see who is going to be in on any given day,” says Hogg. “And on the days that we’re oversubscribed, it isn’t an issue at all because, having changed working habits since the pandemic, people don’t feel like they need a desk but can instead move between areas or hop into a booth.”

The layout graduates from quieter areas on the Bishopsgate side to the more social areas at the Spitalfields end of the building, fitting the two personalities that are brought into the overall design of the office development.

“We loosely allocated the main stretches of desks and breakout spaces from quiet at one end to noisier at the other, because there are some departments that suit a quieter environment while the more interactive teams would prefer to be towards the end that feels like it has the buzz of the Spitalfields side,” explains Nicholas Gibbs, Bluebottle’s lead designer on the project. “The main kitchen space is on the Spitalfields side, then walking through, the breakout spaces become more lounge-like, quiet and enclosed.”

The reference to early colour film photography then comes in through a colour scheme in which toned-down shades of bold hues — like blue, green and red — evoke early Kodak prints, as well as through statement design features like the entrance area’s overhead flash-bulb lights. Materials and textiles such as metal mesh screens, fabric wall panels and full-length curtains add more depth and warmth to the overall space, defined by curves and clean lines.

Bluebottle collaborated with the team at Getty Images to select artwork for each zone from Getty’s extensive archive of photography. The final selection of over 100 prints was chosen based on criteria ensuring they represented the company’s identity and ethos through timeless images, that also fit in with the bold but faded colour scheme.

“We wanted to represent all of our collections and we also wanted to think about the work we do around diversity and inclusion, making sure they were authentic presentations of different demographics, but also thinking about women behind the lens,” says Hogg. These prints are displayed individually and in sets, with frames adding to the homeliness of the space.

cLIent

Getty

archItect

& InterIor DesIgner

Bluebottle

fLoorIng

Forbo, Desso

furnIture

Benchmark, Fredericia, Massproductions, Established and Sons, Icons of Denmark, Moroso, Workstories, Humanscales, Brunner, &Tradition, Andreu World

surfaces

Realm Projects, Silestone

LIghtIng

Fritz Hansen, New Works, Wastberg

other

James Tobias, AAV Ltd, Kvadrat, Storey, GDM, Parkeray, Hennessy Godden

Longevity and sustainability were taken into account through the overall design process, with the use of lowcarbon and recyclable materials such as Forbo linoleum flooring and composite stone tops for the kitchen areas. Furniture consultancy OW-N reused and refurbished existing furniture, reupholstering chairs and using the frames, but replacing the tops of the previous Getty office’s meeting room tables.

The final future-facing office design has proven successful in fostering a sense of community and collaboration and giving hybrid-working employees a reason to be excited about coming in.

“The way the space is designed, people flow back and forth throughout the day and there’s always a lot of interaction – it’s broken down a lot of the silos you get in a traditional office layout,” says Hogg. “One of the things that makes the design so successful is that it contracts and expands naturally, and even on the quieter days it has a great energy to it.”

A New Century

In this sheILa BIrD-designed Manchester music venue and dining destination, mid-century influences are reconsidered for a new one.

WordS: harry mckInLey

Manchester and music: two things as synonymous with each other – as British – as tea and biscuits, Richard and Judy, and politics and poor choices. Rhythm flows through the city and its archetypal red bricks are dense with rock history. At times it feels that one cannot swing a can of Vimto without hitting a venue that once hosted Oasis, New Order or The Smiths.

In the case of New Century, a recently-opened performance, events and social space, it was Jimi Hendrex, The Rolling Stones and Tina Turner.

Built in the early 1960s, the building was once owned by the Co-operative Group – by day a conference centre in a relatively drab part of town, close to Victoria Station and a pre-cool, even shabby Northern Quarter. By night, its dance hall moonlit as a live music venue, hosting luminaries and later, in the 1980s, raucous club nights.

In recent years the neighbourhood (rebranded NOMA), has seen something of an uptick and the building, languishing in disuse since the Co-op moved to a shiny new HQ opposite, caught the eye of local studio Sheila Bird.

“We wanted to bring the space back to life in the best way possible,” says its founder, Atul Bansal, “to reignite the soul of a building that has sat completely empty for 10 years. We want to welcome a new era of dancers back into the space and celebrate a fresh chapter of live music, performance and food and drink.”

In its reinvented guise, New Century now encompasses three floors of variably used spaces, but with music a powerful common thread. In the basement lies a new campus for dBs Institute – training the next generation of musicians, sound engineers and producers. It’s a stateof-the-art facility and one of the few training venues in the UK conjoined with a commercial music business, giving students the opportunity to apply their learning in a ‘real world’ environment, with local paying punters; also the first educational project tackled by Sheila Bird.

More interesting for the musically-inclined public are the floors above. At New Century Kitchen, smallscale independent vendors huddle around the edge of a 10,000 sq ft, 300-cover space – a natty bar in the middle and small stage at the front for evening gigs.

Image on prevIous page: An extravagant bar area welcomes guests

top Image on opposIte page: The kitchen

Bottom Image on oppposIte page: Ambient lighting sets the hospitality experience

Although clearly of our times, the design leans heavily on mid-century cues, with elegant wood furnishings (some new, some reused), period-inspired light fittings and a muted colour palette ripe with browns and burnt orange. The kitchen passes feature recycled plastic and there’s an honesty in how the bones of the building are celebrated – pitted concrete walls left exposed and a terrifically epochal coffered ceiling given only a spit and polish.

“We wanted to create a warm, inviting and inclusive atmosphere, whilst championing original features,” says Georgia Ingleton, senior designer at Sheila Bird and project lead. “We wanted the ground floor to be as transitional as possible from day to night. The booths are a favourite and create a cosy evening atmosphere, with low level feature lighting. The original timber wall

panelling from the first floor has been re-created within the ground floor bar, as we aimed to create subtle nods to the existing textures of the building, whilst introducing new and sustainable elements to the design.”

A private nook, the Boyson Bar, is inspired by the work of Alan Boyson, the celebrated, Manchester-born muralist and sculptor. During renovations, one of his grand murals from the 1960s was discovered, having lain covered and forgotten for years. Though it’s currently back-of-house (part of a more handsome than usual team meeting room), photography of this and other Boyson works was commissioned, dressing the walls of the bar.

Upstairs, the ballroom feels compellingly frozen in time: with hardwood walls and a carving flanked stage. Yet while the aesthetics are appealingly period, the technology is

Left Image: The design leans on midcentury cues

Image on opposIte page: A spot of greenery

today’s – the original, multidimensional ceiling refitted with boldly-coloured adaptable lighting, part of an overall lighting scheme created by Luke Artingstall.

“The space is designed with creativity and collaboration at its forefront, with the music students in the basement able to work and perform on the ground floor or first floor stage; the ground floor, then, somewhere people can meet and share good food and a drink, whilst ideas flow. From a design perspective it was essential that all floors converse with each other to reflect the connectivity through the building,” explains Jon Humphreys, Sheila Bird Co-owner and Creative Partner. “From a vintage clothes stall one week to a live poetry performance another, inclusivity breathes through the project in so many ways, enticing those from all walks of life. New Century fills a gap in the market in Manchester and the building has always been part of the city’s rich pop culture heritage; we’ve just added to the journey whilst keeping true to its original purpose.”

aBove Image: The main stage

Gold standard

A new home for the cAMbridge inStitute of SuStAinAbility leAderShip aims to be the standard bearer of environmentally-conscious design.

WordS: DomInIc Lutyens

photogrAphy: Jack hoBhouse & archItype

Image on prevIous page: A myriad of seating for CISL’s main social space

aBove Image: Use of colour provides interest

Against a glowing sunflower yellow wall in the lobby of Entopia, the new home of the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) – part of the University of Cambridge’s Technology School – a sign spells out the organisation’s name in an earthy brown. Next to it is the university’s coat-of-arms. It’s emblazoned with four gold lions passant guardant – heraldry-speak for walking, one foreleg raised, while looking at the viewer – against a crimson backdrop and separated by an ermine-patterned cross (symbolic of the royal patronage enjoyed by the university). But here the coat-of-arms is made of a brown and beige material with an uneven, flecked surface –hemp board, to be precise. Prominently positioned, the heraldic feature broadcasts Entopia’s commitment to sustainable architecture and interior design.

The project inevitably aims to be a standard-bearer for the circular economy – hence its many elements

made of, or incorporating, bio-based materials, the term for materials derived from living organisms that are renewable, biodegradable and responsibly sourced. Hemp grows almost anywhere, is highly versatile and is also available as a textile with an appealingly tweedy look. Contract fabrics firm Camira supplied upholstery fabrics that cover many chairs at Entopia.

Innovative uses of renewable materials have been deployed throughout the six-storey building by Cambridge-based architectural design consultancy, Eve Waldron Design. The name Entopia references a concept developed by Envision Group – a green technology company and donor to the project – to shape a future in which access to clean, affordable energy is available to all.

“Several architects were involved, such as Architype, the lead sustainability architect, and Feilden+Mawson,”

says studio founder Waldron. “We were mainly brought on to deal with Furniture, Fixtures and Equipment (FF&E), finishes and bespoke designs. Our role grew over time as we designed the kitchens and bespoke plywood joinery. We tried to use and reuse as much material from the previous fit-out and other sources as possible. We had a goal for 60% of the furniture to be second hand or to come from CISL’s stock of furniture. It was a challenging project on various fronts. Much of it was carried out during lockdowns. Although we tried to procure as many products from UK sources, we originally planned to source plywood from Russia. But when Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022, we had to source it elsewhere – from Spain in the end.”

A visitor to Entopia wouldn’t necessarily know that much of its furniture and fittings are made of sustainable materials, so convincingly do these mimic

or function in the same way as more traditional, less environmentally friendly materials. Here there are bamboo kitchenettes, hemp-board lockers and flooring made of linoleum, 97% of which is composed of natural materials – chiefly linseed oil extracted from flax plant seeds. Punctuating different parts of the interior, such as the lobby, toilets and tea points, the linoleum is in various aesthetically pleasing shades, including jewel-bright lapis lazuli and moodier indigo.

CISL formerly occupied five offices scattered throughout the university’s estate. At Entopia – a retrofit of a non-listed telephone exchange, designed by George Ford and built in 1939, located in a conservation area in central Cambridge – CISL has centralised its operations. The building was also occupied for a while by Cambridge Assessment, which operates four examination boards.

BeLoW Image: Minimalistic design lends itself to sleek task furniture

CISL’s move to Entopia is intended to encourage staff to collaborate more easily than when they worked in different buildings. It houses its own incubator called Canopy for start-ups and small and medium-sized enterprises. This occupies one-third of the 2,939 sq m building. Entopia also boasts a large roof terrace and solar panels forming a canopy.

The project goes much further than maximising its inclusion of bio-based materials: it aims to minimise whole-life embodied carbon, which spans carbon emissions arising from the extraction and transportation of resources exploited in the production of materials and equipment and their manufacture and transportation to the site and installation. Crucially, the project didn’t just content itself with avoiding operational carbon – carbon emissions released by a building’s use alone. Materials used for insulation include hemp, cork render and wood-fibre, while a cellulose material made of recycled newspaper was sprayed on to ceilings to improve acoustic levels. The project aimed to achieve such certifications as BREEM (Outstanding), the Passivhaus EnerPHit standard and WELL (Gold).

Waldron says she had fun too, procuring stylish second hand furniture for the project. “On the whole, we went to big second hand furniture dealers as we needed large quantities of pieces, such as 250 task chairs.”

One guiding principle behind the project was sourcing design classics that have transcended design trends and so have stood the test of time. “The pieces had to be of contract quality and fit for purpose,” she explains. “Many of the pieces we chose were by good, recognisable brands. When furniture has longevity it’s implicitly sustainable –a form of future-proofing in itself.”

cLIent

CISL (Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership)

archItect

Architype, Feilden+Mawson

InterIor DesIgner

Eve Waldron Design

fLoorIng

Forbo, Interface

furnIture

Eve Waldron Design, Nomique, Vepa, Humanscale, New Design Group, Revive Innovations, Bisley, Very Good & Proper, Hay, Benchmark, James Tobias, Wedd

surfaces

Moso Bamboo, Richlite, Stratum Bamboo, Alusid, PLANQ, Foresso, Cecence, Stramit, Durat, Kvadrat, Camira, InLoom

opposIte page, cLockWIse from top: A smaller more functional kitchen

An open working area lends itself to productivity

Neutral bar stools accompany bar counters

Elevated lives

At Manchester co-living project, MeAdoWSide, design studio JoLIe explores how a residential project can compete with coffee shops and hotel lobbies.

WordS: Lauren teague

photogrAphy: BILLy BoLton

Image on prevIous page: Lush interiors feature throughout Meadowside, Manchester

opposIte top Image: Black loose furniture gives a bold edge to neutrality

Bottom Image: A purpose-built gym

It sounds a cliché to say that shared living is about offering residents a ‘way of life’. But with record numbers of homes being built across Manchester and the number of people living in the city skyrocketing, developers are on the lookout for differentiators to the market that will offer more than bricks and mortar.

Meadowside is the first large-scale residential development to be completed in Manchester by developer Far East Consortium (FEC) – drawn to the site by the “popularity of new residential hubs around the north of the city” and the demand for quality housing in the area, says Andrew Bradley-Nixon, the company’s Sales and Marketing Director.

As part of a new generation of living, Meadowside combines properties of different tenures – renters, first time buyers, downsizers, investors and overseas relocators – with communal amenities, creating a community of residents who embrace city centre living. When FEC purchased the plot, “well-designed homes with the significant resident amenity and additional services that homeowners and renters now expect was something that hadn’t been catered for in the region,” says Bradley-Nixon.

Split into two buildings – The Gate and The Stile –the development comprises 286 one, two and threebedroom apartments. On the second floor of The Stile, a communal residents’ lounge and gym have been designed

by young architectural design studio JOLIE, whose first step was to consider the kind of person who would be attracted to live at Meadowside and to feed this into a design response that caters directly to their needs. “Our research showed that the most likely residents would be a younger-Millennial-into-Gen-Z user,” says studio founder and CEO Franky Rousell. “Manchester is having its moment, attracting a lot of people coming from overseas. This creates a culturally-curious clientele that enjoys sharing experiences and being a part of something.”

For JOLIE, this meant emphasising hospitality and comfort and designing a space that feels welcoming and homely but was also modern, interesting and functional – ensuring that the communal spaces do not feel like a ‘bolt on’ to the building, but more-so an extension of the residents’ own homes.

For a relatively small space, it works hard. The lounge, while open-plan, is divided into designated areas: a flexible space features modular green, velvet sofas – soft to the touch to encourage physical interaction – and small black tables that can be arranged to create formal lounge seating or moved around for impromptu movie nights hosted on a pull-down projector screen; a bar is provided for making hot drinks or for preparing food which can be served at the large shared bar table; and a coworking zone operates during the day, providing an extension to the home for young employees working away from the office.

The lounge’s functionality benefits from integrated smart systems which control the music, the lighting and the projector. Although there is guidance and a curated playlist, residents are able to manipulate the lounge as they wish to make the space their own. The lighting is ambient enough to create an atmospheric mood, but is still at a good working level, while angled spotlights point at furniture elements or walls to subconsciously highlight specific textures that evoke an emotional response.

Nodding to the lifestyles of both overseas and local residents, a base palette of greens is inspired by the East-Asian matcha latte; popular for its healthy but comforting connotations. A marbled floor tile simulates the stirring of milk into the smooth hot drink and the ceiling is painted a cool shade of matcha green. Bespoke honey-toned timber furniture is used throughout for its stabilising effect and complemented by a brown textured wallpaper to create warmth. Intentional clashes of yellow or black are introduced to imply that nothing is ‘too perfect’ and to instil nuances of “bravery and playfulness,” says Rousell. “As designers, we’re curating environments that arouse a feeling from the user. When you come in here, you’re subconsciously deciding how long to stay, how to behave and how comfortable you feel. The objective is to bring the people who live here together in a way that feels natural.”

opposIte Image: Dramatic lighting meets daylight

Down the corridor, an on-site gym has been given a similar level of detail. Cardio machines are staged around the perimeter where panoramic glazing brings in energizing sunlight, while the weight training area is a darker green with luminescent lighting to denote empowerment and strength. A space for fitness classes is lined in timber.

For JOLIE, the design of the communal space at The Stile goes beyond the traditional expectations of residential providers. “Particularly post-pandemic, asset owners have to be more open-minded about their competition,” says Rousell, explaining how provision for young residents working from home is no longer a ‘nice to have’. “You’re not competing with other residential blocks anymore, it’s hotel lobbies and coffee shops – those ‘home from home’ spaces that provide a comfortable but professionallooking environment.” This, she says, is why the design approach focuses on the sensory experience it provides for the building’s residents. “A successful interior environment changes how a user feels or behaves – it’s a sympathy of the senses and, as designers, we’re curating this experience through touch, acoustics, fragrance or lighting. Our priority is to think about how design can genuinely elevate people’s lives.”

What it’s made of

h åkan n or DI n , founding member of g reenpe Ace S W eden and Head of Sustainability at bolon , discusses why materials matter and why sustainability is a journey, not a destination.

We are in a state of transition towards a more sustainable world and the driving force is climate change. Within the design industry, there is a growing focus on sustainability and the role and responsibility of designers in shaping a better world. Whilst progress has been made, there’s a lot of work to be done. The good news is that all businesses and individuals can act today to make a difference and contribute towards saving the planet.

For designers and businesses who create products, there is much to consider, from suppliers to production methods. However, when reviewing carbon footprints for a range of different companies and types of products, it is clear that the biggest contribution to the carbon output comes from raw materials. Coupled with this is the fact that many products that are created today will become waste in the future, so designers and businesses have a responsibility to strive towards circularity. To transition from a linear to a circular economy, used materials need to be repurposed into a new product, which would eliminate waste and reduce climate impact. At Bolon, our goal is that by no later than 2028 all our flooring and rugs will consist of 50% recycled material. We have made great progress so far and are halfway towards achieving this goal, which has had a positive impact.

When moving towards circularity there are many challenges, however, such as sourcing large quantities of clean, recycled materials. On the other end of the value chain, the product end of life needs to be considered. At Bolon, there is a need to therefore maintain long-standing relationships with customers who will usually own the product for many years after it’s been installed, so that we can retrieve and recycle the flooring at the end of its life. This will be a challenge to overcome in the years ahead. Whilst we already have our recycling plant in place, we need to develop the systems, cooperation and business resources to retrieve our own floors after use.

Designers and businesses have a responsibility to work towards circularity, but for many, that may feel like an unattainable goal. However, they could and should take small, incremental steps to improve their sustainability credentials and work towards it, whether that’s through introducing a new recycled material into the production process, or working with their customers to encourage them to return the product at the end of its life, so that it can be recycled. Even making just one small change for the better will improve the businesses’ sustainability credentials and, more importantly, support global efforts to help the planet.

It is important not to greenwash, as sustainability practices and claims will be heavily scrutinised by the industry and your customers. However, this shouldn’t mean that designers and businesses shy away from talking about their efforts.

If your business is taking steps to become greener, but there is still a long way to go, be transparent, but more importantly commit to a sustainability journey. If you’re working towards something that you haven’t yet achieved, such as circularity, be honest about this, set ambitious sustainability goals and hold yourself and your business accountable. Show how you’re continuously working to improve your sustainability credentials, taking time to regularly analyse and evaluate your progress. Remember that sustainability is a journey, rather than a destination. Businesses should be proud of the progress they’ve made to date, and explain how they will build on this in the future.

At Bolon, we have been gradually reducing the impact of our flooring on the planet for 20 years. Whilst we are proud of our work to date, we recognise that there is still much more to be done. This thinking led to us launching our ‘Promise’ in 2021, which set ambitious new climate and circularity goals; by 2028 all our flooring will be 50% circular and we will halve the climate impact of our products, compared to a base year of 2018. This ‘Promise’ reflects our ongoing commitment to sustainability and reaffirms that the future of Bolon will be defined by sustainable practices. To keep ourselves on track, we publish annual sustainability reports which highlight our progress, as well as, crucially, key areas for improvement.

There are challenges ahead, but also big opportunities when it comes to reviewing and improving current practices. I have been working in the sustainability industry for four decades and I remain optimistic and confident that the design industry will make the requisite changes to move towards a more sustainable world.

h åkan n or DI n , Head of Sustainability at bolon, has been working professionally within the sustainability industry since 1984. He has held roles as campaign manager and board member at greenpeAce SWeden and policy adviser for Greenpeace International, as well as expert roles for the Swedish government and as adviser to several companies and public organisations, including H&M and Ikea.

The future of our cities does not depend on the behaviour of tenants in their workplaces, although it will definitely influence it. A much bigger factor will be how real estate markets respond to the demands of hybrid working. This is important because any change in the supply of commercial property will be long-lasting and affect everyone, not just tenants and occupiers.

The jury is still out, although opinions are beginning to surface. Tenant behaviour today can be fickle, but investor sentiment and developer activity can change an entire city landscape.

The extreme alternatives for commercial property are ‘everyone goes back to the office’ at one end, and ‘large scale remote working is here to stay’ at the other. These are like bull and bear markets, with the bulls betting on a renaissance of office space, and the bears fearing the slow death of offices as employees continue to stay at home.

The ‘everyone goes back to the office’ scenario is reasonably summarised by a lot of market commentators who hope and believe that hybrid working, already discouraged by many hard-line business leaders and managers, will wither, and employees will gratefully return to the commute and their newly refurbished workplaces. As a recent J P Morgan report states “one thing is clear: many workers have returned to the office, at least for part of the working week, and the workplace lives on”, while confidently projecting rent hikes and high demand for Class A space for a decade (at least in London and other UK cities).

creatIve thInkIng WIth steve gaLe

Unlikely saviour

At the same time, only one step away from the money guys, other seasoned commentators predict the opposite with office space bleeding value, rents spiralling downwards and the vacancies, reduced commercial activity and tax revenues threatening the fabric of our cities, turning them into incubators for crime and antisocial activity.

There is a bright side to the bear market in offices, in fact it could be the saviour of some cities if wisely managed, and it revolves around the opportunities to repurpose skyscrapers as residential properties.

Office buildings need to be carefully configured to use the deep floorplates that absorb daylight, and the residential demands for drainage, heating and cooling are very different. Planning constraints will need lifting, and some regulations might need re-interpretation, but local authorities are always keen to provide housing, especially in the city centre, and even better if it is affordable. At its best this is an opportunity to rebalance cities to accommodate people again, next to the education facilities, theatres, restaurants and workplaces that have always been there.

This potential shift in the market centre of gravity has been mooted for over a decade each time office demand looks like waning, but until now the take-up has been minimal. The political changes have not been put in place, and offices rents have continued to bounce back, but it is just possible that COVID might have saved our cities.

s teve g a L e is head of business intelligence at m moser assocIates

MONOKO

FOR CONTEMPLATION OR COLLABORATION

DESIGNERS & MANUFACTURERS OF WORKSPACE FURNITURE

WWW.GOF.CO.UK

The year ahead

Events

A roundup of this year’s calendar highlights.

s tockho L m f urn I ture & L I ght f a I r

Postponed three times due to the pandemic, Stockholm Furniture & Light Fair is back and taking over the Swedish capital from 7-11 February. Exhibitors from 31 countries and 30,000 industry visitors will come together to celebrate the very best of Scandinavian design. An impressive programme focuses on material circularity, plus talks from designers Sabine Marcelis and BIG’s Viktoria Millentrop. New for 2023, Ålvsjö gård – a manor located close to the exhibition – will be transformed into a platform for experimental and research-driven design, while Swedish studio Front will design the fair’s always-anticipated installation in the entrance hall.

stockho L mfurn I turefa I r . se

s a L one D e L m o BIL e , m IL an

Setting the benchmark for furnishing and design, Salone del Mobile will be in Milan from 18-23 April for its 61st edition. Held at its usual venue, the Fiera Milano, 2023 will feature the return of much-loved events including the Workplace 3.0 think tank, Euroluce - the event for lighting design - and S.Project, an interactive space dedicated to design products, and decorative and technical solutions for commercial interiors.

sa L onem IL ano . I t

L on D on D es I gn f est I va L

London Design Festival will return to the capital this autumn, running from 20-23 September. Taking place across 12 bustling design districts, the festival will see the typical mix of open showrooms, talks, product launches and show-stopping landmark installations, plus the return of industry favourites London Design Fair.

L on D on D es I gnfest I va L . com

c L erken W e LL D es I gn W eek

Since 2009, Clerkenwell Design Week has established itself as landmark event for the design community. For its 12th edition, the festival will debut its partnership with Design London. “Amalgamating Design London (which was formerly held in Greenwich in September), further bolsters the experience of Clerkenwell Design Week as the most anticipated design destination after Milan,” says Marlon Cera-Marle, Design Division Director of Media 10.

While the full programme has not yet been announced, we do know to expect product launches and exhibitions from the likes of Arper, Fritz Hansen, Icons of Denmark, Allermuir and Marazzi, alongside brand activations from Lammhults and Jennifer Newman, as part of CDW Presents. “CDW is always known for being one of the key destinations for specification – as well as discovering new talent and ideas – for architects, interior designers and creative minds alike,” adds Cera-Marle. Conversations at Clerkenwell will also return – featuring a series of opiniondividing, thought stimulating one-to-ones and panels.

c L erken W e LLD es I gn W eek . com

m I xo L ogy 23

Mixology23 will return to London’s Battersea Park for its 18th year. Bringing the industry together under one roof for an unforgettable evening of celebration and networking, this year’s Mixology takes place on 22 June at Evolution London.

Entries for the 2023 awards are now open. The deadline for submissions is Friday 3 March, with finalists published on mIxInterIors.com and announced across social media in May.

Visit m I x I nter I ors . com / events or scan the QR code to find out more and start your entry.

v en I ce a rch I tecture B I enna L e

Venice celebrates its 18th architecture biennale with an exhibition curated by Scottish-Ghanaian architect Lesley Lokko, as well as the usual series of educational tours and workshops. This year titled, The Laboratory of the Future, and running 22 / 5 – 21 / 11, each country participating will present its own exhibition in the pavilions of the Giardini and the Arsenale, and in the historic centre of Venice. This edition will once again include a selection of collateral events organized by international institutions, which will hold their own shows and initiatives in the city.

L a BI exnna L e . org

The year ahead will see a stronger interrelationship between different interior design sectors, with hospitality, residential and commercial interiors sharing design principles, to respond to new working and living patterns.

Residential design is borrowing a refinement of localisation from hospitality interiors, moving towards a more regionalised approach. This means sourcing materials and furnishings from the closest proximity possible – ideally with the highest recycled and recyclable content – to promote cultural and environmental sustainability, whilst championing local designers and makers. At the just launched The Founding in Canada Water, London, we worked with local artisans to incorporate an abundance of natural, locally-sourced furniture, art, textiles and accessories.

Another trend that is surfacing is the need to create more private and intimate spaces within public lobbies of hotels, large-scale residential schemes and offices. Open spaces with cafes have dominated lobby areas over the last two decades, but we are now witnessing the rise of break-out and meeting spaces where guests can be hosted without the full impact of the visual, acoustic and corporate ‘noise’ from café culture.

att D av I es , Director of Sustainability, t he f urniture p r Actice

This year, we’re going to see manufacturers, designers and clients turn talk into action when it comes to sustainability. The topic has evidently become a focal point for discussion and debate over recent years and the conversation undoubtedly needs to continue: industry collaboration and sharing knowledge and best practice with each other is crucial. Now is the time to act and the industry is realising this.

Last year was the biggest-ever year for British interiors companies being B-Corp certified, and that speaks volumes for what’s to come; I’m looking forward to seeing businesses take substantial responsibility for their environmental and social impact. In terms of commercial projects themselves, we’re going to be seeing a lot more emphasis on the second life of furniture – not just through circularity and recyclability of products – but in terms of furniture actually being specified for adaptability to future projects. Considering the interior fit-out of a building contributes to a third of its lifetime emissions, we need to start rethinking the blank-canvas approach and adopt a longer-term mindset for specification.

From the merging of design disciplines to building net zero, five industry authorities offer up their predications on the themes that will dominate commercial interior design in 2023.

Firstly, and I am sure there are no surprises here, is building to net zero –and how we can achieve this not only through repurposing and building greener, but through our supply chains.

Secondly, looking at community building. We’re seeing a massive push for people to come back to offices and a desire to bring the buzz back to city centres. Our economy and people need it, but how do we deal with flexibility and the work/life balance people have come to appreciate? Perhaps as an answer to that, we’ll be seeing more ‘layered buildings’. It’s an area we’re working on with clients. We’re designing and repurposing buildings which incorporate a variety of amenities, including green spaces, gyms, bars and lounges; providing a more blended sense of hospitality as well as a residential feel.

Finally, we need to have more women in senior roles and we need to open our minds to what that means – menopause for one, which seems to be one of the last taboos. We need to create more supportive, accommodating and adaptable workplaces that ensure we not only retain, but allow a range of talent to thrive.

s uzy W r I ght , Head of Workplace Operations, WS p

J asper s an D er , Design Director, J AS per S A nder S + p A rtner S

With people coming back into the workplace, the purpose of the office will continue to change and evolve with choice, socialisation, collaboration, wellbeing and sustainability all important.

Employee wellbeing will continue to climb the list of priorities. Outdoor space is likely to be seen more as a requirement and will be incorporated into workplace design to support this. The distinctions between work and home will become increasingly blurred and more simple home comforts will be expected – and provided – within the workplace.

The focus on technology and the experience and capability of participants in a hybrid meeting will come under closer scrutiny, as the role of facilitator starts to shift to a frustrating barrier if the experience isn’t good.

Inclusivity will rise with wellbeing, becoming part of the workplace DNA and seamlessly, almost undetectably, incorporated into design. We’ll also see a stronger community focus and emphasis on the amenities a locality can provide, to free up internal space and provide a positive social and environmental impact.

Design is always a counterpoint to the realities of life and the context of the world we live in at any one point. We are no doubt in a period of great negativity and uncertainty; economic recession, a war in Ukraine, huge transitions in technology use and a crisis in the environment. Now is not a time for our design to be dark, bland, monotone and bleak.

We are resolute in our optimism of the future and our belief that we can make the world a better place though good design. We predict that in the next few years people will desire their environments to be more expressive, more customisable, optimistic, bright, colourful, friendly and kinder to the world we live in.

The spaces we create will be both more minimal, whilst simultaneously being more super charged. They will definitely be less about indulgent luxury.

Projects

A selection of projects we’re excited to explore in 2023.

01 c hancery h ouse , tog ( summer 2023)

Spanning 127,000 sq ft, Chancery House will be TOG’S biggest location to date. Designed by Norm Architects and dMFK, expect a soothing material palette, tactile furnishings and a home-like feel – plus a host of other practical and thoughtful design details that aim to improve the building’s acoustics, air quality and VOC emissions. dMFK is also working alongside landscape architects Spacehub to transform the building’s dormant car park into a bio-diverse urban garden.

02 1 W arWI ck s treet , f ett L e ( spring 2023)

The brainchild of Maslows, the team behind Mortimer House, new members club 1 Warwick Street will open in London this spring, with six floors of workspace designed by Fettle. Vintage furniture and an eclectic industrial design story will feature across the flexible workplace, restaurant and events space.

03 p a DDI ngton s quare , r enzo p I ano (2023)

Renzo Piano’s Paddington Square looks to finally open in 2023 – a complete regeneration of the station and surrounding area. The project will feature 16 floors of office space, a rooftop restaurant and bar, pavilion for restaurants, new retail space, landscaped piazza and a brand-new entrance for the Bakerloo line.

04 f actory I nternat I ona L , oma ( summer 2023)

The long-awaited Factory International arts and cultural centre will open in Manchester this year, welcoming its first visitors in June 2023. OMA’s first major public project in the UK, the concrete and corrugated metal building will offer multiple configurations, hosting a broad range of art forms from major exhibitions and large-scale concerts to immersive experiences.

05 m an Dar I n o r I enta L m ayfa I r ( spring 2023)

Spring 2023 will see the much-anticipated opening of Mandarin Oriental’s second premises in London, with architecture by Rogers Stirk Harbour + Partners. On the historic Hanover Square, the property will offer a sanctuary-like experience, with 50 guestrooms, 78 private residences, an urban spa and the UK’s first restaurant by Michelin-star chef, Akira Back. Tokyo-based studio Curiosity is helming interiors.

06 s I x s enses r ome ( spring 2023)

‘La Dolce Vita’ is the mantra that sits behind Six Senses Rome. Expected to open in March, Italy’s first Six Senses will feature 96 guest rooms and suites. Surfaces are expected to be covered in cocciopesto plaster and travertine limestone, plus patterns and graphic design elements to complement suspended plants and natural lighting.

07 B roa DWI ck s oho ( summer 2023)

Renowned interior designer Martin Brudnizki will be launching his first London hotel, Broadwick Soho. Evoking Soho’s irreverent glamour, visitors can expect bold décor with bright prints and audacious patterns. The hotel is set to provide 57 residential-style rooms and nine suites, plus a penthouse. For food and drink, Broadwick will host a Sicilian-inspired restaurant, featuring an intimate dining room and terrace, as well as a wrap-around rooftop bar.

08 e m B er L ocke , k ens I ngton (J une 2023)

Lifestyle aparthotel brand Locke will open its doors to the public in Kensington from June 2023. Designed by Londonbased practice Atelier Ochre, alongside House of Dré, the interior will draw upon Art Deco as a nod to Kensington’s ‘golden age’ and the iconic Derry & Tom’s department store, which closed in 1973 after a century trading.

In a few weeks I’ll be heading to Cairo, a sprawl of some 10 million people. It’s most famed, of course, for the pyramids that skirt its edge; totems of a long-faded civilisation. At a time when, as a society, we’re fixated on what we’re leaving behind and what we’re carrying forward, some might say these architectural wonders are a fitting illustration that change – or progress – is both inevitable and unstoppable. Others would say that’s baloney.

It all depends, you see, on what we consider progress; on what we consider worthwhile change. The rise of video conferencing has been heralded as the greatest disruptor to human interaction since the telephone, or perhaps even the handshake – such is its present-day importance. During consecutive COVID lockdowns it fulfilled an impossible to predict, unequivocally essential service, not only within the world of work, but for the everyday. It gave us all the opportunity to see the solitary smile of a relative or partake in restricted group activities virtually –from birthday ‘gatherings’ to weekend quiz nights.

Yet when the world opened up, these regular digital encounters evaporated into the not-quite-so-virus-filled air, as smiles were shared over coffee, birthdays in smart restaurants and quiz nights at the local pub, be it country or corner. Analogue connections trumped online ones.

At work, the change has been less pronounced. Whether Teams, Zoom or Google Meet, video calling and conferencing is as omnipresent while ‘on the clock’ as email. The only difference is that, some of the time, we’re doing it from a desk or workplace meeting space,

The real world

as opposed to exclusively the dining table, home office or sofa – pyjama bottoms strategically out of view. But while it serves a purpose, it doesn’t mean we like it, or at least not all of the time.

A recent, wave-making report from Deloitte suggests that in-person networking is now the primary driver of business travel – partly responsible for the resurgence in travel at large. Zoom fatigue, the findings indicate, is starting to bite, with physical corporate and industry events seemingly the antidote; face-to-face the remedy. Conferences, exhibitions and trade shows are cited as having an outsize role to play in the business of relationship building and client acquisition.

So why am I going to Cairo? Well, for a design conference, of course. And while I appreciate the tussle between living (and travelling) more sustainably, and the desire to connect with an international community of colleagues and peers, the simple, unvarnished reality is that for the design industry to thrive, as well as survive, real world connections are essential. A spark of creative spontaneity cannot be lit on Teams, deep relationships do not bloom on Zoom, and ideas are less meaningfully received on Google Meet.

So while it’s unlikely video conferencing will go the way of the pyramids – interesting idea, not terribly useful –perhaps its dominance and oppressive ubiquity will be consigned to the past. Because even if, as some say, change is inevitable, it doesn’t mean it has to be permanent.

Supply and demand

Creatives are flowing into Manchester and the wider North of England, but is there space for them?

WordS: DavID thame

Want a design studio in Manchester? It ought to be an easy ask. A city buzzing with both property development and creative life – and the focus of a regional digital, media and creative sector worth a shade under £5 billion – the list of property options should be breath-taking. Yet it just isn’t. And the problem is the same in Liverpool, Leeds and across the major Northern cities.

Worse still, this potential headache could become a more serious crisis. The relocation of Channel 4 to Leeds, and the opening of Manchester’s new £210 million Factory International arts centre, can only stimulate demand from expanding London practices and homegrown talent.

The lure for design talent heading North is the fastexpanding regional economy. In the creative sector alone, the North West boasts 155 scaling-up businesses worth £2.3 billion a year to the regional economy, according to a Greater Manchester Combined Authority report published last year.

Unusually, the difficulty shared by new arrivals and indigenous businesses isn’t one of money. Compared to the £60/sq ft rents routinely faced in central London, Manchester’s top rent is £40/sq ft and, in many cases, creatives will be paying much less. For instance, if you want fitted ready-to-use office space off Manchester’s Deansgate, you can find it for an all-in cost of £16/sq ft at North Parade, Parsonage Gardens. Anything fancy will cost a good deal more, but still less than central London. At the upper end of the price spectrum, design studios

have some appealing choices. For instance, in July 2021, AEW Architects decided to take the 5,300 sq ft seventh floor of Manchester’s recently refurbished Trinity building, John Dalton Street.

In the immediate post-COVID aftermath the practice wanted to set new standards for wellbeing and collaboration. It meant less but smarter floorspace, for the 75-strong team who now occupy a suite 2,000 sq ft smaller than the old home. But the new premises come with a rooftop terrace and three outdoor balconies, and relatively few fixed workstations. It has been a hit with staff.

Not every potential occupier is so lucky. Laura Brown is co-author of the report State of the Studios Merseyside, an analysis completed in 2021. Her analysis suggests that the returns to be made from studio space simply don’t match the returns landlords can earn from other uses. The result is that studio space goes to the back of the queue.

“For a studio to charge rent the same as they would for, say, an SME (small and medium sized enterprise) or even a hot desk commercial space, simply wouldn’t be viable,” she says.

Landlords and developers are aware of the problem –and working on solutions – says Adam Higgins, cofounder at Capital&Centric, who are at work on studiofriendly schemes across the North. He says it makes commercial sense to switch from big ritzy office blocks to smaller creative spaces.

“Commercial property has to rise to the challenge of the creative industries boom – the days of the big floorplate seem dead for now. For start-ups in high growth industries, that’s smaller, flexible and coworking spaces, ideally in cheaper and up-and-coming parts of the city,” Higgins says.

“The design of spaces is also essential too, with larger organisations going for smaller spaces as a result of hybrid working. They’re willing to pay more for high quality interiors, original features and communities that have a creative edge, over a bog standard whitewash office with a suspended ceiling.”

In Manchester, Higgins is working to restore Chapeltown Warehouse in Piccadilly East into workspaces with a ground floor bar or deli.

“We expect that’ll be taken up by the creative industry set, who want a space with historic character that they can put their stamp on,” he says.

Sheffield was named last year as the best place to start a business outside London, with tech and gaming industries to the fore. Naturally, developers have spotted an opportunity.

Says Higgins: “We’re already on site delivering the types of city centre homes that creatives want to live in, but we’re also looking at what to do at Cannon Brewery – a sprawling space with bags of opportunity in the city’s Neepsend area.”

The legacy of the North’s industrial heritage provides plenty of buildings like the Brewery. Liverpool, Manchester, Bradford and Leeds have abundant supplies of ‘repurposable’ Victorian blocks of the kind creative occupiers love.

Emily Jones, director at developer Urban Splash, says she plans to further update industrial buildings like Beehive Mill and Waulk Mill in Ancoats (Manchester), and the Ropewalks area of Liverpool.

“We are also increasingly offering fitted-out workspaces and a desire from creative businesses to move into turnkey office,” she says.

“But while the aesthetics are important, so too is the approach of landlords. COVID altered the status quo, and occupiers in the creative sector want freedom to grow and move their business, that means short form leases and an open dialogue that can accommodate change.

“Add that to the cultural landscape in each city, where institutions such as Factory bring new opportunity to creative businesses, and it’s easy to see the North’s appeal.”

The area around Factory International will be a focus for those creative occupiers with generous budgets. New floorspace in the St John’s area appeals to the larger international occupiers and is priced accordingly.

Lee Treanor, Director at HBD, explains: “It’s clear that certain quarters of the city are attracting specific industries - St Johns is quickly establishing itself as a location for technology, media and cultural organisations on the back of Factory, which was a huge coup for the city.

“It’s exciting to see the St Johns district beginning to evolve and develop its own identity, building on the success of neighbouring Spinningfields, which has been a corporate stalwart for more than a decade –and with a range of occupiers including Soho House, WPP and Booking.com already in situ, it is gaining some critical mass.”

Ultimately the supply of new creative floorspace depends on the mostly international investors who fund property development in the North. And here the news is relatively good, as the AEW example shows.

AEW’s office move was one of the last pieces in the jigsaw for landlord Helical. With the architect signed up, Helical could sell the block for the healthy price of £34.5m, a serious uplift on the £12.9m it paid in 2017. Even allowing for the cost of comprehensive remodelling and refurbishment at the 59,000 sq ft, eight-storey block, Helical turned a profit.

Impressive numbers like these will attract more money to develop in the major Northern cities, not least in Manchester where the returns are highest and most assured. And with the flood of money comes a much improved chance that the studio spaces the creative sector needs will get built.“

Material Matters

g rant g IB son is a UK-based design, craft and architecture writer and podcaster. In 2019 he launched the award-winning podcast MAteriAl MAtterS

With grAnt gibSon, which was transformed into a fair at Bargehouse, Oxo Tower Wharf, in September 2022 during London Design Festival. The show is returning to the same venue from 20-23 September 2023. materIaLmatters.DesIgn

totomoxtLe

Totomoxtle is a beautiful product with a fascinating story from designer Fernando Laposse. Essentially, Laposse has revived the agricultural economy of Tonahuixtla, a small village in the southwest of Mexico. More recently, its fields had been decimated by modern corn farming methods, so Laposse encouraged the local community to revert to their old techniques, planting traditional (and very colourful) varieties of the crop. Subsequently, the husks are used to create this extraordinary veneer. It’s a narrative that involves macroeconomics, heritage, food culture and design.

smILe pLastIcs

This isn’t so much a single material, more a process. I first came across this recycled plastic in the mid-1990s, when it was created by the designer and educator, Jane Atfield, for her renowned RCP2 chair. It was completely revolutionary at the time. In 2014, the company that manufactured the material was revived by Rosalie McMillan and Adam Fairweather. The pair take single-use plastics, and other materials traditionally classed as waste, and transform them into extraordinarily eye-catching, large scale, solid surface panels. Once again, it’s about changing the perception of the value of the stuff that surrounds us.

hemp

Hemp is an extraordinary plant which can be used for an array of things: from bread to buildings, via clothing, car interiors, paint, paper, biofuel and animal bedding. Not only that, but it’s environmentally friendly, sequestering carbon, replenishing the soil and killing weeds without the need for chemicals. And potentially it’s also a zero-waste crop, meaning the whole thing can be used. Last, but by no means least, it can be sown to remediate contaminated land. I’m a little obsessed with it, truth be told.

engIneereD tImBer

I recently found myself tapping away at a laptop in The Office Group’s Black & White building, designed by Waugh Thistleton and Daytrip, and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. The Shoreditch-based coworking space is made from a beech LVL frame with CLT slabs. Mass timber products aren’t the panacea to the construction industry’s issues with sustainability – as the Material Cultures collective points out in its recent book, Material Reform, a huge volume of timber is required to create a building, meaning that if the whole industry adopted the material, supplies would quickly come under pressure. However, it is going to be a hugely important part of any future mix.

Material Innovation

cocoboArd is a visionary coconut-based panel, providing a sustainable alternative, with a positive social impact.

The first product from Swiss-based material science company Naturloop, Cocoboard is a natural bio composite panel made from coconut husk fibres and tannin extracts, suitable for furniture and interior architecture. The rough and textured coconut fibres provide a distinct, earthy aesthetic, available in various finishes and thicknesses.

Created by extracting coconut fibre or ‘coir’ from the husk of the coconut fruit, Cocoboard’s concept utilises the around 20 million tonnes of husks discarded annually at coconut farms. By working directly with a local supply chain team in Philippines, NaturLoop has ensured the integration of local farming communities

in the value chain, involving them in the collection and transportation of the husks, while making the process easier. This in turn provides the farmers additional income streams to improve their welfare and livelihood. The social impact is not limited to Philippines, and there are plans to source coconut fibres in other regions, from Sri Lanka to Brazil.

Aside from an obvious social impact, Cocoboard provides a sustainable solution. The panels are fully biodegradable, moisture-resistant and use natural adhesives to ensure low environmental footprint and non-toxic emissions.

naturLoop.com

As we all roll into 2023 it looks like more operational adjustments are needing to be made for the hybrid workforce. As a tech company we are all about a great office experience and making the office a fun place to be. Typically, we have always offered the ‘little extra’ such as breakfasts, the odd speciality lunch and, of course that staple of the tech sector, a massage.

The challenge now is one of fairness. We have got used to the fact that a significant proportion of our workforce only come in once or twice a month and so any spot benefits we offer only benefit the small hardcore of workers who come to the office regularly.

This can obviously create a dynamic we wish to avoid as it is not our intention to ‘reward’ attendance in the office, nor to create a two-tier experience for the workforce. We are very much committed to a hybrid programme with no minimums. So, what to do?

We have decided to focus on our continuous daily service levels and ensure that whatever day you come to the office you can expect a decent coffee, a healthy snack and a great office environment. I know this sounds like we have simply removed benefits, but to achieve a consistent offering is not that simple, we will need to raise our game.

Hotel mindset

As any Michelin-starred chef will tell you, the real effort is not about producing a marvellous meal on the night the inspector visits, but it is ensuring it happens for every dish, every night of the week and every week of the year. Every minute of every day there has to be a snack available, we must anticipate failure of the coffee machines to ensure coffee is available on demand, we must ensure all meeting rooms are perfect and that every morning, when the doors open, everything is ready as though it’s the first day.

It is quite challenging to create a higher sense of urgency in the, already reactive, workplace teams. It requires careful change management as it is more than simply working faster. My preferred analogy is that we need to shift to a hotel mindset. If you have an issue as a guest in a hotel you don’t get asked to open a ticket. You are usually face to face with a representative of the hotel who looks to resolve your problem there and then. We need to think like that and not just drop it into the ticket system.

To that end, we have built Service Desks in our refurbished sites and staff them continuously throughout the day. We encourage our teams to find solutions and workarounds for the client in front of them and then work to solve the underlying issue. A subtle shift for sure, but if, like a magician, we cannot distract people with big flashy spot events then we better ensure the real close-up magic is faultless.