SHELTER
chair. It’s timeless for any designer. People would usually come to me because I could scale the room and had a holistic attitude. Frank Lloyd Wright was completely holistic, so I always gravitated towards him. He was a hero.” In addition to designing custom work for clients, he has also made furnishings, textiles and hardware for major companies including Jim Thompson Fabrics. Still, he is most passionate about creating designs which are not only stylish, but more importantly, sustainable, something which he believes is now synonymous with a new kind of luxury. Campion is a major advocate of green architecture and green design. He always does what is most ecological for himself, his family and the world. Being sustainable is a lifestyle for Platt, which drives how he lives his life – literally, as he has an electrically run Tesla in his garage. As an expert in technology, Platt also prioritizes efficiency and streamlined comfort for a truly smart home. He also worked on green development for the Greenbrier Resort. “I need a space to be an oasis where people can remain calm.” Campion would like to see an even greater ecofriendly evolution. Change and awareness has indeed increased over the last five years, and it remains mandatory for government buildings in the US to be eco-conscious, but there is still not enough interest to convince politicians in other countries to change
their ways yet. “When it comes to design, using or repurposing classical furniture is more sustainable, but in our high-level interior design niche world, the client is looking more for a look,” explains Campion. “What is the real impact, for instance, of using a product like bamboo which uses a lot of water? This is a wildly changing environment so I’m always reading, and listening to TED Talks. I currently have a few climate projects I’m working on myself, including the Audubon Sanctuary in Palm Beach near Mar-A-Lago, where we are trying to eliminate non-native plants. I’ve been partnering with Katie Carpenter, an eco-filmmaker, as we try to heal the islands.” He is also involved in an interesting project centered around budget hotels. “I embarked on a road trip where I stayed in over a dozen budget hotels. What I’m most interested in is the land which is not being used by the hotel. The bird and bee populations are down, and yet they are responsible for 30 percent of the food, and that’s because some animal that has pollinated it. I’m part of a hotel project which is in the process of purchasing budget hotels such as a Ramada Inn or Choice Hotels or below that grade. There are 50-100,000 types of these hotels across the country. The idea is to do an eco-design, but even more than that, it’s about rewiring the land and hopefully leading the way to change, locally and globally. From the top bee guy to an ornithologist, we are figuring out the
