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 stockho L mfurn I turefa I r . se s a L one D e L m o BIL e , m IL an sa L onem IL ano . I t

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.