13 minute read
candleholders to marvellous marbled wallpaper BLUE SKY THINKING Five inf luential names
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b l u e s k y t h i n k i n g
As we look ahead to a welcome fresh beginning, five thought leaders explain their new and revolutionary ideas for how design can enhance our lives
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X FEATURE Jessica Salter
The Le Haut Perché in Bordeaux, a hiking shelter designed by Studio Weave, is an example of public bodies funding community projects ‘to encourage people to hike more,’ says Je. lesrefuges. bordeaux-metropole.fr
the a rchitect
Je A hn is the director at Studio Weave, an award-winning R IBA Chartered Architecture Practice, which places value on happiness, community and the individual. He lives in east London.
A s a design studio, we start with a central concept: happiness. It sounds simple, but it ’s a complex topic a nd it ’s our job to tr y to desig n the rig ht conditions for people to feel happy. It ’s a good starting point for anyone thinking about how they want to shape their own futures. The main thing we need to do to make our lives bet ter is to integ rate more into ou r com mu n it y. In the last 50 years, that way of living has reduced so we’re often very solitary. I come from a large, messy family and it was a lot of fun and drama – I’d love to see more multi-generational living, as it used to be. But for that to happen, there needs to be housing desig ned a nd built to accom modate that cha nge because at the moment the housing market is monotonous and limited. For that, we need public bodies to step in. It will impact far into the f uture and improve people’s mental health and social cohesion and, in the long run, provide a financial return for society, reducing the need for costly social care.
T hat way of t h i n k i ng shou ld ex t end t o de sig n i ng pu bl ic buildings like schools, too. I’ve always thought that schools are the hub of the communit y, where young people go to learn and build relationships and parents meet and socialise, too. And yet, they are built like fortresses and are largely redundant outside of the core school hours. We need to tackle the ingrained thinking that exists a round the pur pose of our spaces, a nd how we ca n ha rness this conversation that Cov id has accelerated a rou nd the bou nda r y between personal and public space. Because, as we’ve all become more aware, communities are vital to our happiness. studioweave.com
M O R E W A Y S A R C H I T E C T U R E C A N M A K E Y O U S M I L E F R O M J E
The book M e t r o p o l i s : A H i s t o r y o f Humankind’s Greatest Invention by Ben Wilson. I love the city. That concentration of activities a n d h u m a n c o l l a b o r a t i o n gives somewhere like London a global advantage.
The art galleries You can’t beat Tate Modern and Britain for inspiration. The podcast About Buildings and Cities, hosted by British architects Luke Jones and George Gingell.
The website RIBA’s website, architecture.com, has a range of downloadable resources, from sustainability to reports on how to design a walkable city. The RIBA-award-winning woodland classrooms at Belvue School, a secondary for those with severe learning difficulties and a range of other needs, by Studio Weave. ‘I’ve always questioned how schools were designed,’ says Je
the desig ner
Cha rlot te Rey is the Swedish co-founder of the awa rd-w inning design partnership and creative consultancy Campbell-Rey, with clients including Bulgari and Bentley.
To make our lives better this year, I think we need a more holistic approach to decorating our homes. More people are spending more time at home than ever and it’s important to consider what they want from their spaces in a more thoughtful way, rather than just seeing decorating as another job they need to get done. That starts with celebrating the beautif ul at the heart of ever y thing. If we buy or make something beautiful and display and share it with others, then it becomes part of a nurturing ecosystem. It’s a very spiritual thing. I believe that as human beings we are all creative, and your home is a blank canvas. But we should all be more confident in pushing out the envelope a nd celebrating diversit y of taste a nd ex pression, rather than relying on what other people think is meaningful.
T he climate crisis a nd env iron menta l concerns have made people question whether they need to always buy new. It could be choosing recycled materia ls, such as a recla imed wood d in ing table, or buying antiques, which younger people are doing more of now. Antiques come with their own narrative and story and help give a space a sense of grounding, which we’re all searching for right now. Working and thinking more collaboratively than before is going to help us live a nd work bet ter: t he old way of hoa rd i ng t he best contacts for yourself has to cha nge. Last yea r, for exa mple, the designer Rita Konig opened up her private list of antique dealers – a list she had spent time sourcing – to help increase sales for these small businesses, which was an incredibly generous act. It ’s that kind of thoughtfulness and sharing that we need to increase in our professions, as well as in our private lives, to help nurture ourselves. campbell-rey.com
C H A R L O T T E ’ S H O W T O D E C O R A T E Y O U R H O M E H A P P Y G O - T O S
The book Decorating is Fun! by Dorothy Draper (£40, Shannongrove Press). A beautifully produced facsimile of the original book published in 1939. The fabric company Dedar Milano. The shop Artichoke London on Chiltern Street by Laura de Gunzburg.
The paint companies Paint & Paper Library and Little Greene. Choosing reclaimed materials for a wood dining table is a decorative response to the climate crisis and environmental concerns
the neu roscientist
D r A s h R a n p u r a i s a world-renowned neuroscientist a nd c o -aut hor of How To Be Human: The Manual.
A lot of how we can feel bet ter comes dow n to what narrative we t el l ou r s el ve s a b ou t ou r lives, and about the year we will experience. There was a study a f t e r t h e 9/ 1 1 a t t a c k s t h a t examined people who had defibrillators already fitted to monitor their heart rhy thms. For three days, there was no change in their arrhythmias, unless they happened to be right next to the site. But a month later, their readings went up dramatically, correlating with how much news they consumed. If we can generate a positive narrative about what we’re living through – even if it is terrifying – it will affect not only how we feel mentally, but have positive health outcomes, too.
That ’s on a global level, but our immediate surroundings, our homes, are important, too. To make our lives better we also need a sen se of agenc y, mea n i ng we need to do somet h i ng physica lly, rather than just consuming. I built a bed for my son. It is not beautiful, but my son loves it because it’s the only bed in the world that his dad made for him, and so that fact makes me feel great. Figuring out an action that gives you agency is healthy because it reduces anxiety.
The third thing we can do is practice acceptance. There are lots of things about myself that I w ish were dif ferent: one of which is that I never call my f riends. I’ve realised that I just don’t like the phone ver y much. Once you accept the things about yourself that you’re just not going to change, you’ll feel much more content. ashranpura.com
the tech g u ru
Michael Acton Smith OBE is t he co - CEO a nd co -fou nder o f C a l m , t h e m e d i t a t i o n space company.
So ma ny of u s were g u i lt y of sleepwalking through our lives, always on and constantly busy, that when the event s of 2020 happened, it caused us all to take a step back a nd push the reset but ton. T hat m ig ht be the silver lin ing to come out of th is. One incredibly powerful way to do this is to introduce meditation into our lives. There are hundreds of studies showing how beneficial it is for you, but a paper we recently published that I was particularly fascinated by was about the power of meditation for people going t h r ou g h c a n c e r t r e at m e nt s . I t r u l y b el ie ve m e d i t at io n i s a super power. Even ta k ing time to focus on ou r breathing ca n be invaluable to our physiolog y, mood and health, as several studies show. Just making ourselves be conscious of some of the breaths we take every day and taking big deep breaths through our noses (rather than shallow mouth breathing) can make an enormous difference to our nervous system and have knock-on effects on our well-being.
Fina lly, we a ll need more sleep. I read a n interest ing paper recently about how a lack of sleep can lead, long term, to diseases such as dementia. Basically, what happens is that sleep helps cleans away the protein amyloid beta at night, like a sort of brain car wash. But if we don’t get enough sleep, then it can build up over the years and possibly lead to neurodegenerative diseases. It underpins the importance of a good night’s sleep for our mental and physical health. calm.com
A S H ’ S U S E F U L S U G G E S T I O N S F O R T H I N K I N G P O S I T I V E
The podcast CortexCast, which interviews leading neuroscientists on a range of topics, from depression to pain perception to the science of sleep.
The tool A good circular saw can change your life – I underestimated that before. Bosch GKS 190mm circular saw, £129.98, toolstation.com.
The app Things, an organisational tool, where you can dump random thoughts in, and that I think aligns to how my brain works. . . . A N D R E L A X W I T H M I C H A E L ’ S C A L M I N G T O O L S
The mental-health app Calm. People are put off by mediation, but we want to show how accessible it is for anyone, at any point in their day.
The exercise machine I love the Peloton. Peloton Tread, £59 a month, onepeloton.com. The book Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor (£16.99, Penguin Life).
The supplement Relax, a mood-boosting drink including ashwagandha, 5-HTP, valerian root, holy basil and reishi mushroom, £59, drdavidjack.com.
the gardener
Sue Stuart-Smith is a psychiatrist and psychotherapist who, along with her husband, the celebrated gardener Tom Stuart-Smith, has created a world-renow ned garden at her home in Hertfordshire. She is also the author of The Well Gardened Mind: Rediscovering Nature in the Modern World (£20, William Collins).
W hen you plant and care for something, there is a moment when you look at what you’ve set in motion and think, ‘I made this happen’. That feeling of a renewed sense of hope and energ y is particularly important right now, when we’re living with so much uncertainty and having to deal with various kinds of losses. I have seen this in action on projects working with offenders and veterans suffering from PTSD, as well as people with depression and it is very powerful. One small way to start is by sowing seeds. Seeds give us a toehold into the future and when your plants start growing, it gives you a sense of momentum. I had my own experience of this a few years ago, when I was recovering from a period of illness and burnout. My husband Tom persuaded me to help him sort out the greenhouse and as I was perusing seed packets, I started planning what I wanted to sow and the next day I set to work; suddenly I was drawn back in.
A s well as the serotonin boost that we get from being outside a nd t he exercise t hat t he ga rden prov ides, t he neu roscient ist Christopher Lowry discovered that a bacterium found in soil can boost serotonin levels in the brain. Not only that, but other studies show that the ‘friendly’ bacteria that live in the soil might boost our immune systems: a single teaspoon of soil contains something in the region of a billion microbes. We are currently sterilising everything and getting our hands in the earth may be important for maintaining health. And, at a time when we’re starved of tactile contact, there is something transporting about getting your hands into the foliage. suestuartsmith.com
F U R T H E R I N S P I R A T I O N F O R T H E B U D D I N G G A R D E N E R F R O M S U E
The book Your Wellbeing Garden: How to Make Your Garden Good for You – Science, Design, Practice by Alistair Griffiths and Matt Keightley.
The seed supplier Chiltern Seeds and Sarah Raven – they have a slightly more unusual selection, with good colours and an interesting veg choice.
The app Garden Answers – one of the most comprehensive plant identification tools and perfect for whatever level of gardener you are. Tending to – and being in – an outdoor space provides a much-needed serotonin boost
A different perspective
Some furniture is made for the here and now. Some is built to stand the test of time. At Neptune, we believe that the best can do both. Because good design never grows old.
