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Zodiac Lighting: Superloop Plus
Superloop Plus
New from the popular DELTA LIGHT Superloop series are these horizontal versions with an integrated decorative panel on top. The profile has an additional compartment on the upper section which serves to hold a decorative element, be it to add a personal touch, improve acoustics or make a decorative element out of the minimalistic circle.
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The Superloop family is an extensive range of slim circular and square shapes, offering a multitude of illumination options. Superloop Plus is available for all Superloop HC versions with a diameter up to 1200mm.
Available from Zodiac Lighting. Tel: +852 2893 1562
DESIGN IN A POST-COVID 19 WORLD
How will the global pandemic impact the future of design? CatchOn, a Finn Partners company, investigates
Human history is punctuated with cataclysmic episodes of disease, famine and death, but what followed were periods of introspection and creativity, driven by experiences endured to try to create a better world.
What are we likely to see rise from the ashes of the global pandemic caused by Covid-19? Will we see, after long intervals of isolation and stifled expression, the human race emerge with a sharpened perspective and an extreme desire to create, leaning into hardship to reintroduce beauty and radical change to battered societies?
For many, time feels slowed, or even on pause. In examining the state of our world after 2020, it is critical to anticipate and rethink both the challenges and the possibilities that lie ahead. The dream is that collective disaster will ultimately spur the world to rebuild together.
Exploring the opportunities and key movements ahead, this report draws from research and conversations with respected architects and interior designers, as well as insights from CatchOn’s recent webinar, ‘Catch the Experts: How is Covid-19 Impacting the Future of Design?’.
Left An experimental, lowcost, micro-housing unit, the OPod concrete pipe house was designed by James Law Cybertecture to tackle affordable housing problems in Hong Kong
Right Designed by James Law Cybertecture, the AIPod is a 450 sq-ft stackable luxury ‘pod house’ equipped with all the mod-cons
CONSCIOUS DESIGN
For reasons of sustainability, the new normal will entail reconsidering production cycles and breaking consumption patterns.
Design’s role in over-production is a growing concern. Infrastructure (www. infrastructure.com.hk) co-founder Darrel Best notes that “the design cycle has become almost as frenetic as the fashion cycle. Designers feel a compulsion to be producing new collections, regardless of whether it was truly relevant to the moment or not.”
Some architecture firms are putting the climate crisis at the centre of their practice. Snøhetta (www.snohetta.com) has taken carbon-neutral several steps further with the invention of a new standard dubbed ‘Powerhouse’, referring to its carbon-negative designs.
At Make Architects (www.makearchitects.com), director Sean Affleck observes that as one of the worst polluters, the construction “Owning fewer things industry could come under heavy scrutiny. “To reduce its carbon footprint, the industry will have to look more closely at reuse, will make people happier” prefabrication and modular construction, material choices, and – Li Edelkoort intensive landscape greening,” he says.
Infrastructure’s Best says that there is a long way to go for the industry to be able to shift completely to a more circular model. But, he says, “as long as we’re making an attempt to transition toward something that is more ecological and environmental, we’re still winning a battle. This should give us pause to think about how we can integrate more sustainable design into what we’re doing.”
Having discovered that they don’t really need much by way of possessions to survive, the consumer mindset will shift to more selective consumption: as trend forecaster Li Edelkoort (www.edelkoort.com) boldly predicts, “owning fewer things will make people happier”.
HYPER-LOCALISM
When it comes to production, sourcing, and consumption, provenance is key. The value in localism first broke through in the F&B industry, with chefs and restaurateurs placing a premium on the provenance of their ingredients.
In 2021 and beyond, where a product is sourced or made will be just as important on a mainstream level. This is a direct result of how global lockdowns have deeply disrupted or halted supply, production, and trade. Forced to look inward for alternative options when it comes to furniture and accessories, designers and consumers are learning that supporting local should be their first choice.
Co-Creative Studio’s Rosa wall art collection, crafted by Cebuano wood carvers, exemplifies the growing trend toward supporting local craftspeople Reclaimed marine rope is used in the making of the Navi lamp by Cebu-based CoCreative Studio
An early expression of this perspective was the Naples design fair, Edit Napoli, conceived in 2019 to shine the spotlight on a new generation of designers and, according to its founders, “focus on the rise of the designer-maker who is at the forefront of a movement that is challenging the traditional chain of production and distribution”.
Less optimistic observers may point out that hyperlocalism connotes a contracting pool of options, for both producer and consumer. Yet the silver lining lies in its potential not only to encourage a new breed of creativity, but also to supplant a system that has long been dominated by a storied, if small group of brands.
TOTO’s Washlet is made from bacteriaresistant materials, and includes an energysaving timer and choice of cleanse modes
Left The 3-in-1 Jet Bowl from Japanese firm INAX presents an environmentally-friendly, economical and hygienic solution to the public restroom washbasin
THE BOT REVOLUTION
The pandemic will catapult the world into even more advanced and ingenious technology. Forget refrigerators that talk — we want refrigerators that disinfect.
Covid-19 brought into focus a need for sharper, consumer-attuned innovation. Smart gadgets are set to get even more creative, particularly in tackling personal hygiene. Home technology is poised to elevate every household’s standards of cleanliness, as well as physical and mental health.
More than convenience, the features of a smart home, such as reactive technology, remote control and automation will be desired for their efficiency and ability to fortify the home. Innovation will stem from real needs and experiences. Furniture and product designer Frank Chou (www.frankchou.com) has come up with a sterilising lamp, which functions as a tray and lamp that emits UV light to disinfect keys and mobile phones.
On a much larger scale, Arizonaheadquartered Zero Mass Water (www. zeromasswater.com) has invented a solar hydropanel that generates ultra-pure water from sunlight and air. This would make a basic need — drinking water — widely available even in low-infrastructure places such as Mexico and the Philippines; in the US, the product is used in residential homes and commercial establishments.
Not far behind are existing technologies not commonly seen at home. In bathrooms, for instance, the high-tech toilet, automatic faucets and dryers typically only seen in public washrooms are likely to find their way into private residences.
The bottom line? Consumers will emerge from the crisis with a different mindset. In the post-pandemic era, tools and developments that demonstrate value will be key, as innovation arises from real needs and experiences.
A nod towards both open-plan design and spatial separation is demonstrated in Ming Ding Spatial Design’s use of a partial wall constructed from OSB to separate the dining area from the kitchen and lounge
A ROOM OF ONE’S OWN
Open floor plans have been a dominant trend in residential design for years, and are a defining characteristic of many modern homes today. While this allows for spaces to flow freely, that connectivity can be detrimental to functional privacy, as many who have been working from home have learned.
With the pandemic suddenly forcing us to use homes simultaneously as offices, classrooms, meeting rooms, and gyms, often with multiple residents at once, people are realising the negative consequences of open floor plans.
JJ Acuna, founder and creative director of Hong Kong-based design studio JJA Bespoke (www.jjabespoke.com), anticipates a shift toward designated home offices. “People are going to invest in proper spaces where they can operate businesses from home, to really forge a live-work environment that’s not just a selling point,” he says.
With homes as our last refuge, practicing good hygiene in every possible way has also become imperative. We might see a cultural shift in which the west adopts more Asian practices, such as removing shoes prior to entering a residence. Mudrooms, a typical feature of farmhouses, could become a prominent addition, with the potential to be designed with washbasins and sterilisation equipment.
Looking ahead, cleanliness, efficiency, and flexibility are the drivers to watch in the interior design space. This experience will spur a spatial organisation in homes, equipping spaces with flexibility for different uses, and offering aural, olfactory and spatial privacy.
THE NOTSO-SECRET GARDEN
In the exhibition ‘Countryside, the Future’ at New York’s Guggenheim museum, architect and urbanist Rem Koolhaas and Samir Bantal, director of AMO, the think-tank of the Office for Metropolitan Architecture (www.oma.eu) explore a pivot from cities to rural areas, challenging the idea that urbanisation is the world’s destiny and proposing the countryside as “a frontier for experimentation”. An closed courtyard provides a safe green space at Inspiration Group’s renovation of a home in
With billions of people in lockdown, Guangzhou, China similar articulations of Koolhaas’ train of thought have emerged. After all, when and retail design in the years to come. living areas by becoming sheltered outdoor the best thing about living in cities is the According to Charmaine Chan, author of ‘rooms’, as well as enhancing privacy and buzzing energy outside, what happens Courtyard Living: Contemporary Houses of catering to indoor-outdoor living. when you can’t step much farther out from the Asia-Pacific, these types of dwellings The pandemic has also emphasised the the front door? are desired for many of the reasons they benefits of sunlight and open air. “Natural
Bringing a form of the outdoors in, were built in the past. ventilation will be more popular than aircourtyards will become an important Internal gardens and voids admit air conditioning systems that simply recirculate source of inspiration in both home and light, create social spaces, extend used air,” says Make Architects’ Affleck. Not limited to the realm of home design, renditions of the courtyard concept A green wall literally brings the outside in at the Trousdale Residence in California, USA may increasingly become prized features of commercial spaces, from hotels and restaurants to retail establishments. Foster + Partners (www.fosterandpartners.com) recently made a strong case for outdoor spaces in its designs of Apple’s flagship stores in Miami and New York, which have been transformed into community plazas that encourage interaction with nature. In the months ahead, businesses may eventually return to normal — but what they look like, and what they value, will be very different. Compiled by CatchOn, a Finn Partners Company \ www.catchonco.com
